A data collection and management method is disclosed for use in association with
a surface maintenance machine wherein a control system controls selected machine
operations in response to manually inputted operation settings selected by an operator
and occurring at selected times. In broad terms, an embodiment of the present invention
includes steps of receiving and storing operational and time information associated
with machine operation, conveying information to an information processor, and
processing the information so as to provide a report or record of time quantified
machine information. In a particular application, reports or records can be utilized
to provide feedback to a machine operator to improve the cleaning process, such
as by minimizing the usage of wear parts, solutions, and or energy.
