How to Evaluate a Robot Integrator for Facility Cleaning

How do you evaluate a robot integrator for facility cleaning?

Judge an integrator on five things: choice across manufacturers, the site survey, crew training, written service terms and proof from similar buildings. Service Robot Co. is an OEM-neutral integrator that leases, deploys and services robots, and we invite you to ask us the same questions.

The stakes are practical. A cleaning robot that fits the floor and has good support becomes part of the nightly routine. One that does not fit sits in a closet after the first month, and the cost of that mistake is mostly your crew's time.

The sections below follow the order you would use in a real evaluation: how the market sells robots, what a site survey should cover, which standards to ask about, what belongs in a service agreement and how to check references.

Why use an integrator instead of going straight to a manufacturer?

Manufacturers sell their own machines, and many do it well. Tennant says it sells directly in more than 21 countries and through distributors in more than 100, and calls its global field service network the most extensive in the industry. Avidbots offers remote assistance and real-time monitoring through its Command Center. Brain Corp does not build robots at all: it licenses its BrainOS software to equipment makers and provides remote monitoring, diagnostics and software updates.

Going direct makes sense when you already know the machine you want and the maker serves your area. The trade-off is that each channel shows you one maker's catalog. Tennant's 2024 agreement with Brain Corp, for example, is an exclusive technology agreement, so its autonomy comes from one source by design.

An integrator changes who does the choosing. It compares machines across manufacturers for your site, and it carries the project from survey to service. That only helps if the integrator is honest about fit, which is why the rest of this guide is about how to test one.

What should an integrator's site survey cover?

A good survey measures your building and is willing to say no. Tennant's blog says robots work best in wide open spaces cleaned for at least three hours a day, five days a week, and that ramps and narrow hallways can be problematic, so it tells buyers to evaluate their own facility first. An integrator that skips that step is selling, not surveying.

Expect the survey to cover floor types and transitions, the narrowest aisle or corridor and the tightest turn, elevators if you have several floors, the hours the building is empty, where power, water and a drain can sit, and who on your crew will run the machine. Ask for the findings in writing, including any area the robot should not do.

Ask about setup time too. Tennant's blog says mapping can take several weeks before a machine runs and that staff must prepare areas by moving mats, signs and carts. Avidbots tells of one customer whose robot was working within a week of staff training and deployment. Both can be true on different sites, so ask the integrator to give you a schedule for yours.

Which certifications and safety standards should you ask about?

Start with the integrator's own credentials. A3, the Association for Advancing Automation, runs a Certified Robot Integrator program that its Robotic Industries Association arm (RIA) developed at the request of robot users and integrators. A3 says the scorecard weights 25 criteria, including quality, risk assessments, number of robot integrations, and engineering and programming capability. Integrators then pass a third-party audit and are retested every two years.

For mobile robots the safety standard to know is ANSI/A3 R15.08. Part 2, published in 2023, covers integrators of industrial mobile robots. The Robot Report says it requires the integrator to perform the risk assessment in line with ANSI/ISO 12100 or ANSI B11.0, reduce risks to an acceptable level and list residual risks for the user. The same article says US users must insist on R15.08-2 compliance from their integration partners.

Read both with care. R15.08 is written for industrial mobile robots, so for a floor scrubber in an office, ask the integrator which standard covers the machine and how it did the risk assessment. A certification is a useful signal and a fair question, but an answer you can follow matters more than a logo.

What service terms should be in writing?

Service is where the integrator and the maker meet, so ask who answers which call. Tennant's blog advises choosing a partner with a long record in cleaning, start-up training and ongoing education for your team, and the resources to update software over time. Tennant says it helps customers adopt robots alongside their existing teams, covering setup, employee training and monitoring of results. Gausium describes 24/7 cloud-based diagnostics for remote troubleshooting.

Turn those promises into terms. You want a stated response time, who goes on site, which parts are stocked, how often a technician visits, what the warranty covers and how software updates arrive. Ask what happens on a holiday weekend when a robot stops at night.

The checklist below is the one we would use. If an integrator will not put an item in writing, treat that as an answer.

How do you check references and pilot results?

Ask for references from buildings like yours and speak to the person who runs the robot each night, not only the person who signed the order. Ask what went wrong in the first month and how fast it was fixed.

Agree on how results will be measured before the pilot. United Robotics Group, a robot maker, advises tender writers to require an exportable report for each task showing area, time and result, and to avoid acceptance by visual inspection. ISSA's March 2026 article lists KPIs, data review and reliability processes among the things operators now plan for. Write your pilot success measures down: area cleaned per night, hours of crew time moved to other work, and number of stops that needed a person.

Keep the pilot honest. Include a bad night in the plan, such as a blocked aisle or a low battery, and see how the integrator responds.

What red flags should make you slow down?

A few patterns show up in weak proposals, and each one ties back to a source above. The first is a brand named before anyone has measured the building. Tennant's own blog tells readers to check that their facility fits before anything else, so a proposal that skips the survey has skipped the first step.

The second is a vague answer on safety. A3's scorecard counts risk assessments among its 25 criteria, and R15.08-2 assigns the risk assessment for industrial mobile robot systems to the integrator. If the integrator cannot say which standard applies to your machine and who performed the assessment, ask again.

The third is service described in adjectives. Fast, responsive and dedicated mean nothing until a number is attached. The fourth is no plan for change. Tennant notes that robots need retraining when furniture or fixtures change, so ask who remaps, how soon after you call, and if it is part of the agreement.

The fifth is no sample report. United Robotics Group advises acceptance by per-task reports with area, time and result, so ask to see one from a comparable building before you sign. An integrator who has run robots in buildings like yours has these documents on hand.

None of these is a reason to walk away on its own. Together they tell you how the integrator will behave in month three, when something goes wrong and your crew is waiting for an answer.

How does Service Robot Co. answer these questions?

We are an integrator, so these questions apply to us. We compare robots across manufacturers, survey your site, pick the machine that fits and lease it to you on a 3-year lease with a $1 buyout at the end. We then deploy it, train your crew and service it. If a machine is not right for your floor, we say so before we put anything in writing.

We do not claim to be a dealer or partner of any manufacturer, and we do not choose a brand before the survey. Ask us for the written service terms, ask what the survey found about your site, and compare the answers with any other quote you hold.

Want help picking the right robot? Talk to us

Book a free site assessment with Service Robot Co. and put this guide in front of us. We will walk your building, answer the questions in the checklist and show you what the plan looks like.

Every robot we lease comes with 24/7 support with 10-minute specialist triage, regional service engineers in every serviced state, three check visits a year and a 12-month warranty.