Reference DEUTZ AG, Köln

All alone on a grand tour: As of late, autonomous floor cleaning robots have been ensuring impeccable cleanliness in the state-of-the-art engine production hall and global logistics centre of DEUTZ AG in Cologne.

Kärcher autonomous floor cleaning robots

New routes – learned quickly

Christoph Heid, Project Engineer Facility Management in the logistics centre, mapping new cleaning routes. The long aisles in the narrow-aisle warehouse are manually navigated once with the machine, which saves the route in its control unit.

Challenge:

dust is an ongoing issue, especially in logistics. To get a better grip on it, there was a focus on changing from sweeping to wet cleaning.

Solution:

the problem was successfully tackled with the purchase of the KIRA B 50 autonomous scrubber dryer: use of the autonomous robot resulted in significantly less dust and a noticeable reduction in staff workload.

Powerful in logistics and production

The cleaning robot celebrated its premiere in the DEUTZ AG global logistics centre, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of engines for off-highway use, for example, in construction and agricultural machinery. In the central spare parts warehouse in Kalk, Cologne, around 5,000 orders are processed and 40 tonnes of products are shipped worldwide every day. “With so much movement, there is a large amount of dust, which we wanted to manage better with wet cleaning and the change from a sweeper to a scrubber dryer,” said Christoph Heid, Head of Facility Management. “Initially we were still considering classic ride-on machines, but after several test runs, which impressively demonstrated the efficiency and thoroughness of KIRA, we decided to purchase the robot. It emerged that the costs for traditional cleaning were roughly twice as high as with autonomous cleaning. The workload of our employees is also significantly reduced, meaning they have more time for their key tasks.”

Intelligent navigation in complex environments

Since March 2023, KIRA has been a fixed feature in the logistics centre. The routes mapped by the cleaning robot and saved in its control unit are followed according to a precise schedule, and the robot can carry out preliminary sweeping, scrubbing and drying in one go. One important feature is the side brush, which comes as standard and allows the robot to sweep right up to the edges in the narrowaisle warehouse. The on-board computer and the multisensor system for 360° environment perception ensure superior navigation in a complex, dynamic logistics environment, where“ interference” such as pallets parked temporarily with pre-picked orders are part and parcel of the daily routine. Even moving freely in the case of a blocked route and continuing the cleaning route – after a detour calculated on its own – is not a problem.

5,000 m² under control with autonomous cleaning

The robot is autonomous thanks to the central docking station. It starts and ends its trips here, but can also replenish its resources from time to time during pit stops without human assistance and head out again with a rinsed dirty water tank, a full fresh water tank and a charged battery. “In total, there are transport routes and paths covering an area of 5,000 m², which we regularly keep in perfect condition with our KIRA, and we are completely satisfied,” states Heid.

Marathon operation in production

Project Engineer Florian Heider also appears happy. Since October 2023, he has arranged that a KIRA robot also regularly does its rounds in the production halls in Porz, Cologne, where a new DEUTZ engine comes off the assembly line every 90 seconds. “Inspired by the superb results of our logistics colleagues, we in Porz also changed over to the autonomous Kärcher robot for maintenance cleaning – and have hit the jackpot,” adds Heider, who is responsible for process technology for the assembly lines. The biggest challenge was the size and complexity of the areas that require regular cleaning. All things considered, it adds up to a full 15,000 m², which is managed by KIRA according to a precisely timedschedule. This is genuinely a mammoth task at the weekends when the robot is on the go around the clock – aside from the programmed pit stops at the two strategically positioned docking stations, which serve to replenish resources and minimise unnecessary empty trips. “As we primarilydeal with larger areas in production, unlike in logistics, KIRA allows us to work at full throttle,” explains Heider

Christoph Heid, Projektingenieur Facility management

„We are completely satisfied with our KIRA.“

Christoph Heid, Project Engineer Facility management, logistics centre, DEUTZ AG

The project at a glance

For a long time, high dust levels and staff shortages were burning issues for managers. Then KIRA B 50 arrived and eased the situation.

Challenge

Acute dust problem in logistics, where mere sweeping was no longer enough and wet cleaning was urgently required.
Dual burden: the cleaning work was generally managed by permanent staff “on the side” at both sites (also in production).

Solution

In the logistics centre, KIRA was able to solve two problems at once. The autonomous scrubber dryer reduced dust levels and relieved staff.
The cleaning performance and efficiency were so impressive that production soon followed suit and delegated the cleaning of massive areas to KIRA.

Clever savings! Compared to cleaning with a ride-on machine, the costs when using KIRA are 50 per cent lower.

3,5 h – This is how long KIRA B 50 is on the go in one session before it even returns to the docking station.

Low maintenance! 10 minutes every day is enough for KIRA to keep the area in good shape. The docking station looks after the rest – without human involvement.

Reliability and transparency! The on-board computer and KIRA portal provide real-time data. In the logistics centre, the rate of successfully completed routes is 96 per cent, while in production it is 98 per cent.