Introduction facility overview

Introduced facility: Kansai International Airport
Total floor area: about 303,443 m2
Number of users: about 76,000 people/day

 

Introduction background

By introducing the automatic cleaning robot Neo, we aim to improve the comfort of a 24-hour airport as well as address the shortage of cleaning staff. This is the first introduction at an airport in Japan. It was introduced as a result of particular emphasis on cleaning ability, cost, and safety.

Reason for considering introduction

Kansai International Airport is experiencing an increase in the number of passengers. However, it was quite difficult to increase the number of cleaning workers proportionally due to the recent labor shortage. When I was considering a cleaning machine to see if I could somehow improve the efficiency of the site and turn around the site, I was able to realize that the automatic cleaning robot Neo could guarantee sufficient performance and safety. So I was hired this time.

emphasized point

We emphasized three points. Safety first. We have carefully investigated this area to ensure that we do not hit customers or injure them. Second is performance. We checked the finish condition and speed at the site to see if there were any problems. The third is the maintenance system. We checked to see if there was a firm follow-up from the manufacturer. Of course, we also took into account the cost aspect, and we had many companies conduct demonstration experiments at this airport over a period of about a year. I was able to adopt this time with confidence.

Current status of robot usage

Currently, they are mainly active in each area of the terminal building at night when there are few passengers. I think that safety will improve in the future, so I think that it can be used during the daytime as well.

Staff reaction

There is no problem with the finished condition than I imagined. No issues at all. As for the staff, I was a bit confused at first because most of the staff were elderly, but I gradually got used to it. Right now, the robots are working in pairs, and the roles are well divided, with the robots working in large areas and the humans in small areas.

Future plans for using robots

Overseas, some airports have already installed one on each floor of each terminal building and leave the floor cleaning up to them. I would like to introduce it more and more so that it can be deployed on each floor up to the level.

Now, robots are attracting a lot of attention because they are new technologies, but I think it will become commonplace to have robots as cleaners in the future. I hope that when you come to Kansai International Airport, you will find that they are a part of the workers who support the cleanness of Kansai International Airport and are part of the natural scenery.