Smart technology continues to lead the way into a brighter future for cleaning and maintenance, creating an increase in automation for outdoor maintenance. With the continued labour shortage, many maintenance managers are leaning on technology to help bridge the gap. As well, many of today’s tech trends allow companies to lower their carbon footprint to increase sustainability and get closer to their ESG goals.

The use of robotic lawnmowers is on the rise, providing simple solutions for groundskeeping and an alternate way to conduct outdoor maintenance. The robotic lawnmower market was valued at 6.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach 15.6 billion by 2032, so many maintenance managers are seeing value in these tools.

RELATED: How the City of Waterloo is focused on a greener future

The benefits

Besides saving time and labour, robotic lawnmowers offer several other benefits to maintenance managers:

• Many robotic lawnmowers have a self-mulch feature, so you don’t have to manage the clippings, and they go right back into the soil.
• Often, they are programmable through mobile devices, so they can be scheduled, stopped, and started off-site from an app.
• They cut in random patterns without leaving path marks, so your property aesthetic remains pristine.
• Studies show that a regular lawnmower emits 89 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, whereas the robotic, battery-powered units use less energy for charging eliminating all pollution from gasoline.
• Using sensory technology, once they have completed the area, they can be programmed to head back to their charging stations so they’re ready for the next use.
• They are quiet. The average robotic lawnmower emits sound at about 100 decibels which on par with the same noise level as a car horn.

Some factors to consider:

• Weather is important. As robotic lawnmowers should not be used in inclement weather, you will need to be mindful when the machine is operational.
• Slope may be an issue for some models. While some manufacturers claim that they are capable of addressing a 70 per cent slope, others are limited to 25 to 45 per cent.
• Time and money are initial factors. Investing in the machinery can be expensive and programming and learning the technology will take time.
• There may be areas that will need to be maintained by hand if the lawn buts up to landscaping.

Outdoor maintenance is a big job so investing in technology and automation to save time and money – like robotic lawnmowers – may just be the solution managers need to help streamline their operations, go greener, and improve efficiency.