Industry leaders say the real cost problem isn’t the price of supplies; it’s the labor nobody is measuring.
Facility cleaning programs face mounting pressure from workforce shortages, inconsistent training, and rising expectations around compliance and proof of performance. For many organizations, assessments still stop at a report instead of driving lasting change. Jim Flieler of Charlotte Products and Sanjaya Abeysinghe, chief technology officer at Optisolve, outlined a technology-driven approach built to close that gap, from real-time guidance for frontline cleaners to data-backed validation of cleaning performance.
Labor dominates the cleaning budget
Flieler pointed to a long-standing ISSA benchmark: roughly 90% of what a facility spends on cleaning goes to labor, while supplies, equipment, pads, towels, tissue, and hand care products together account for less than 10%, closer to 5% by his estimate. Despite that split, he said most facilities still spend their time chasing lower prices on supplies rather than pursuing labor efficiencies, where the bulk of the money actually goes.
That imbalance shows up most clearly in training, according to Flieler. Skilled hiring has grown harder, retention has slipped, and language barriers complicate onboarding far more than many facility leaders assume. Optisolve says its Hey Walter mobile assistant is available in more than 140 languages, helping facilities deliver instructions across diverse workforces. Paper binders, manuals, and shadowing veteran staff remain common training methods even as facilities try to standardize results across large, changing crews.
Traditional checklists fall short
Standard cleaning checklists, the kind posted on the back of a restroom door, have become a symbol of the problem rather than a solution, Flieler said. Sign-off sheets sometimes go unmarked for days before someone fills them in retroactively, and the underlying standards behind them often haven’t been updated to reflect a specific facility’s risks. Generic seven-step SOPs revisited every 90 minutes don’t account for cross-contamination points, high-touch zones, or the cleaning frequency a specific area actually needs, he said.
Flieler described artificial intelligence as already embedded in the industry through robotics and autonomous equipment, not a future development. He said AI’s core value lies in lowering the total cost of clean by accounting for labor and purchasing together, validating cleaning processes, and protecting a facility’s reputation. A guest who eats in a dirty restaurant or stays in a dirty hotel typically doesn’t return, he noted, and AI tools that tell frontline staff what to clean, where to clean, and how to clean safely can reduce cross-contamination while automatically documenting the work.
AI assistant guides frontline staff
Abeysinghe, who leads Optisolve’s technology strategy as chief technology officer, said the 90% labor figure is rarely tracked with meaningful accountability. Different crews can produce different results when no standard measurement is in place, he said, and Optisolve built its SAVI 360 assessment platform to make hidden costs more visible, including callbacks, turnover, customer complaints, failed audits, and other operational risks.
To support new custodians who have not yet memorized every procedure, Optisolve built its AI mobile assistant Hey Walter, mentioned previously, that frontline staff can query at the point of work. A worker asking how to clean high-touch points can receive step-by-step instructions, visual guides, and training videos covering preparation, safety and personal protective equipment, procedures, and product use. Optisolve says the assistant can provide guidance in more than 140 languages.
Structured training builds lasting skills
Getting an answer in the moment solves one problem, but building competency across a large, varied staff is a separate challenge, Abeysinghe said. He described a facility with 300 custodians, each trained differently, as effectively unmanageable without a standardized system. Optisolve’s training platform, Hey Walter Academy, assigns courses by role, tracks progress and completion, and documents certification results so managers can demonstrate that training occurred rather than relying on guesswork.
Each course pairs written instruction with visual guides and video demonstrations, followed by knowledge assessments and quizzes. Abeysinghe said individual assessments typically take five to 10 minutes and require a score of at least 80% to pass. Managers can view enrollments, course progress, completion rates, and certification status across their teams, while automated reminders and alerts help identify employees who need follow-up. The platform also includes optional gamification features such as points, badges, levels, and leaderboards.
Dashboard turns assessments into action
The measurement side of the platform, SAVI 360 connects assessments, analytics, compliance, and AI-powered insights. Abeysinghe said it can score and organize cleaning-quality data by facility, area, fixture, and individual cleaner. A centralized dashboard can show completed assessments, performance trends, and results across locations and employees, helping managers move from static reports to actionable oversight.
A companion inspection app lets a supervisor scan a QR code at a location, walk through a configurable checklist built around the facility’s own standard operating procedures, and mark items pass or fail. Optisolve says SAVI 360 can also analyze images, summarize assessment comments, create corrective actions, and assign follow-up tasks. Abeysinghe said a supervisor can direct corrective work to a specific employee, add a due date, and include visual context showing the issue.
Pathfinder technology reveals hidden contamination
A separate tool called Pathfinder™ addresses a different question, according to Abeysinghe: not simply whether a task was completed, but whether contamination remains on a hard, nonporous surface. Users apply Optisolve’s proprietary bio-tracker illuminator spray, and the system processes the surface information into color-coded contamination-intensity maps and scorecard results. The images are stored in the SAVI 360 quality management system, providing before-and-after visual evidence that teams can use to assess cleaning efficacy and identify corrective action. During the presentation, Abeysinghe cited a case in which an initial image showed 60% surface contamination and a follow-up image after a two-step cleaning process showed the contamination removed.
Digital twin maps facility needs
Facilities that do not know their current condition typically start with an on-site assessment, staff interviews, and a review of existing cleaning costs, Abeysinghe said. During the presentation, he described using a 3D scan to create a digital model of a building that captures square footage, room counts, flooring types, and visible facility details. He said the resulting data can support a facility-specific gap analysis comparing current task time and frequency with recommended standards.
Abeysinghe pointed to a presentation case study involving a local sports community center, where a comprehensive scan and staff interviews identified gaps against the facility’s own standard operating procedures. He said the analysis showed the center spending about $485,000 annually on labor across 11 team members. The recommended operating model, based on industry standards and best practices, was estimated at $290,000, which could result in estimated savings of up to $196,000, or about 40%. These savings could be redirected by reallocating staff time.
Platform centers on frontline workers
Both Flieler and Abeysinghe said the technology is intended to support the people doing the physical work, not replace them. That position aligns with Optisolve’s public messaging, which describes AI as a partner that reinforces frontline knowledge, standardizes execution, and provides better performance visibility. Optisolve closed its presentation with a tribute video honoring custodial workers, framing the daily, often unnoticed work of cleaning hospitals, schools, and public buildings as a form of stewardship and care rather than a routine task.
Interested in learning more about any of Optisolve’s solutions? Book a demo to see how their products can support your facility’s cleaning, training, and quality-management goals. Book a demo with Optisolve by visiting the website: Optisolve.net.
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