Mark This! is a podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs, and projects that are happening all over Aramark’s varied lines of business. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them--building opportunity, building innovation, and building community.
Mark This: Episode 49, Facilities Innovation Forum
Host:
- Heather Dotchel, Aramark Corporate Communications
Guests:
- Mike Mollerdino, Cleaning Program Director, Aramark Facilities Management
Heather Dotchel:
It's time to Mark This, a podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs and projects that are happening all over Aramark's varied lines of business. I'm Heather Dotchel.
As a member of Aramark's communications team, I see and hear amazing things that are happening across our company every day. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them building opportunity, building innovation and building community. Today, we are talking about the Aramark Facilities Management Innovation Forum where operations leaders, clients and technology partners came together to explore what's next in facilities management. From predictive maintenance and AI-driven automation to live demos of autonomous robotics and digital twinning technology, the forum showcased how the collaboration between Aramark's teams and its technology innovators is turning everyday operational challenges into real world solutions.
Mike Mollerdino is director in Facility Management's Center of Excellence and the grand organizer of the forum. He is here today to help us dig into what made this year's event stand out, why that collaborative approach matters and how it's shaping the tools facility teams rely on every day. Welcome to the podcast, Mike. Can you tell our audience about yourself and your role here at Aramark?
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. And, first off, thanks for having me, it's an honor to be on today. My role is within the Center of Excellence for Aramark Facilities and I do handle director of cleaning. So, essentially our cleaning program, design of it, working with vendors, innovation and technology that helps further along the cleaning for our operations across the line of business.
Heather Dotchel:
So, please explain for our listeners what the Facilities Management Innovation Forum is and what it was designed to accomplish.
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. The Innovation Forum is basically a gathering of all the Aramark vendors that help us further along our program, who help us innovate in the space that we're in cleaning or in O&M. And essentially the reason why we created it was there's the gap between awareness of technology and innovation from our client level and our operators out there and so what we wanted to do was somehow bring it all together in the same room so that they could see what's possible. They get to know what innovation we currently have implemented and what innovation all these vendors are working on to help solve problems in the future. Most importantly, it started out as a way for us to bridge that gap between finding what's out there and customers adopting it.
At the end of the day, we want people to know how this technology innovation is easy to fit into our operations and drives value for our customers and our clients. We always say that this is where the technology of tomorrow meets the operations of today. And it really wasn't supposed to be this large and it wasn't supposed to bring this many people together. We came up with it, Ron Mesaros and Don Pyles, one night were trying to figure out how to have a client understand what could be and so we started it in Washington DC. We did a pilot and we started bringing it to Michigan and this is now our second iteration.
But the greatest part about it is it's you have everything you need live in person. You have the technology, you have a subject matter expert who understands the technology, you get to see it, you get to feel it, you get to realize how you could put it into your operation and you don't have to learn that through a video or a PowerPoint and that has been very powerful for us.
Heather Dotchel:
Let me translate a little bit of that for our audience because my team had the privilege to be at the Innovation Forum. And what Mike is referring to when he is saying seeing it and hands-on is a room full of robots and technology and innovation that is so much fun. And if you think that everybody there wasn't absolutely delighted and geeked out to see all the automation and to have the little robots come around and clean things and hand out giveaways and do all of that, you'd be wrong because it really was more of a party than anything else in my opinion.
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. We had delivery robots getting waters to everybody, we had a robot that could paint Aramark logos on the lawn. It's a fun, exciting time for people to see and we're very proud of what we've accomplished.
Heather Dotchel:
So, why does Aramark believe that collaboration between operators, clients and tech innovators produces better solutions than any one group working alone?
Mike Mollerdino:
It's interesting. Anytime you work essentially alone or in a silo, you're really solving for what it is you know and what you fully understand or you're solving for what you think the gap is. So, meaning your perspective is tainting or putting a lens over what can be the outcome so it's steering you towards what your experiences have always been in the past. When we collaborate together, basically we're taking the perspectives which is the most important three perspectives in the scenario or equation. We have all of our operators who are out there every day, they understand what it takes to achieve something or what it takes to get something done at our client's facilities. You have the innovators who are subject matter experts, somewhat borderline geniuses when it comes to their technology and what they're building and what they're designing. And then, obviously, you have our customers and, at the end of the day, they're the ones who perceive it as valuable, they're the ones who perceive the end or output of what the operators and innovators are putting together.
Each of those views, to me, creates a different way or perspective. And once you combined all those three things together, we end up becoming much stronger and more well-rounded in the way that we present that innovation. The other thing you can think about is, Aramark, we really don't innovate technology. We don't design anything, we don't create something in that aspect. However, we apply proven innovations that we find through our vendor network and vendor partners to help solve operational challenges that only we understand as experts in cleaning and then we bring those to our clients.
Heather Dotchel:
That's a really good point, Mike. Opportunities like this forum really ensure that new technologies stay grounded in those operational challenges. There is not a vacuum there, it is very much a hands-on, see what's going on, share insights and build from there opportunity. Can you give an example of that, how the forum has ensured that something stays really grounded in those operational needs?
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. To be transparent with you, we never intended for the forum to really be a gatekeeper or a networking event of all these different technologies, we just wanted to simply showcase what we could do. But what we quickly found out was that, if you get the innovators, you get Aramark in a room or Aramark operators in a room and you get our clients together, you're getting really valuable outcomes from it. I think what surprised us the most is that vendors started connecting with vendors. So, innovators were like, "Well, this is my innovation, this is my technology, this is what it does," and then the person next to them was an equipment, a piece of equipment and they're like, "Hey, we could use that in our piece of equipment," and then they brought it to us and we found out that it could adapt and turn into something we could put in the field very quickly.
So, innovators typically naturally want to push boundaries all the time, they want to do what's possible, what can today's technology or today, in this environment, what we know now, what can we get done but oftentimes, the operations or our teams, we're not ready for that operation to be deployable. So, there are other times where we have to reign in and say just because we can do it should we do it kind of a mentality. And what we find is that, when we get in the room and we start to collaborate and figure it out, there's three criteria we're trying to solve for. First one is is this innovation practical, can we take that to the masses and use that at all 400 plus accounts that we have and is it easy to understand so that our operators, our employees, our frontline staff don't have to do a very complicated process in order to replicate the results that the innovation can do.
And that's why you operate together, that's why you work together because we have challenges but you're not going to be able to move at the speed of light, so to speak, if we don't work together and see all different aspects of something.
Heather Dotchel:
So, there were particular themes that came out of the forum, predictive maintenance, asset management, AI-driven automation. Why are these areas top of mind for the industry?
Mike Mollerdino:
When we look at really what people are looking for in terms of O&M and facilities management, they need to look at some ways that they're going to help lower cost. They need to make sure that we can improve uptime or reliability from whatever it is we're maintaining and they really want to make sure that they can address for labor constraints. And the cleaning side, the labor is definitely not at a surplus but we also look at our trades and you find out that there's not tons of labor that are already there available and able to perform these tasks. So, when we start to use predictive management or AI or anything assisted in that realm, we're basically taking real-time data to automate so that we can become proactive on our decisions, we can allocate the resources that we have at hand to help get a better performance outcome and that's really the recipe we're looking for. So, when you look for predictive, we're basically trying to anticipate or proactively make a decision that utilizes our resource in the best way.
Another way that we could say that, our customers depend on the facility's operations which have no interruptions. And in this environment for many of our customers, one minute, one hour, definitely one day of downtime can have serious consequences for their core business, for their product output, for what it is they're trying to achieve. They hire Aramark, not only to respond when we have issues, in traditional facilities management responsiveness was the beacon or the indicator of success, but now they're looking for us to anticipate what could happen, what might happen and prevent that from ever taking place. So, it's almost you're getting credit for having no issues instead of having credit for how you respond when issues arise.
So, the only way to do that is get predictive and get AI, get sensors, get data so that we can have stronger asset management so that we can start to see the gaps, we can start to fill the skill gaps that maybe exist with the lack of trades and be able to still operate at our best capability.
Heather Dotchel:
So, we've talked about the collaboration between our partners, between us and our partners and let's talk a little bit about what that collaboration actually can look like, an operational challenge becoming a piece of technology. When we look at our robotics partner, our cleaning solution partner, our equipment partner, there were a lot of fun stories that came out of it. I know one of the pieces of equipment was named after a former employee, the Arnold.
Mike Mollerdino:
Yeah.
Heather Dotchel:
Can you share more about some of the collaboration that we see between these companies that we work with every day?
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. So, let's talk robotics, right? Heather, I'm guessing you would never come close to the year Aramark started looking at robotics as a cleaning alternative. Do you have a guess?
Heather Dotchel:
I do not but I'm going to guess it's a lot earlier than I would just throw a year out for.
Mike Mollerdino:
Absolutely. So, we started looking at robots that could perform in the cleaning industry in 1988 and that's a long time ago. We stayed close to it, however, we'd never deployed our first cleaning robot in the facility side until 2014. So, when we look at collaboration and what that looks like, we've done this for a long time. The reason why it took so long to get there is the technology had to be scalable, it had to be reliable, it had to be practical and we had to navigate through some of that. The very first robotics, they used to paint lines on the floor and it would follow the lines then we went to QR codes, then you had to program it yourself, now we have LiDAR and AI-driven technology that's helping us map a space much easier. Not to mention the battery life has been remarkably better in the last decade and is infinitely better than it was in the 1990s.
So, that collaboration, we work with our Pringle Robotics very closely because they're experts in what they can do with robots and how they can design them and how they can operate them, we have a deep knowledge and understanding of how to clean. And so, once we work together and partner through that, we've been able to drive them to where the industry needs them. We're very proud of where our robotics are, we now have over 100 in facilities alone that are deployed. We did cross over about 111 million square feet cleaned with Pringle robots, we just did that about a week and a half ago and so it's a viable real world option for us.
You had mentioned that we collaborate with our vendors and we create products that we name after our individuals. Craig Arnold retired, many know him across Aramark facilities, he's a legend essentially and, when we went to Kaivac which is a longstanding partner with us as well, we were actually one of the first to jump on that technology decades ago. However, whenever they give us a new piece of equipment, we push back and say, "Well, we want it to be like this. We want it to look like this. We want it to operate like this." And they have great engineers at Kaivac, a lot of skill, a lot of knowledge and, again, Craig just basically said, "Give me all three aspects of your equipment in one platform, one machine that we can sell to an account, help the staff be more efficient, never have to go back to the janitor's closet to get five different pieces of equipment to achieve their job."
Lo and behold, Kaivac did that so we were the first ones ever to test, they call it the 1050 at Kaivac but we call it the Arnold, we were the first ones in the world to have one, we now have over 90 of them deployed in Aramark facilities and, once somebody gets a hold of one of those things, they never let it go. So, we mostly have staff fighting over who's going to get a chance to use that Arnold. That doesn't happen if we don't push to the limits of what our vendors think they can do because we know what we want, they know how to achieve what we want.
I think another great example is PathoSans, they were engineered and created an onsite generation of cleaning chemistry. So, they now have an EPA registered sanitizer, they have an effective cleaner with PathoClean that's not only safer, it's more sustainable and, in many situations, it's cost-effective versus traditional chemistry, however, they're experts in chemistry, they don't understand cleaning operations. So, they have this awesome capability that could really help the industry but they started working with Aramark to figure out how to make it work better. And at our very first forum, they were placed next to Kaivac and organically started having conversations and randomly said why can't we use our chemistry in your product as long as we do some testing and research and it doesn't void any warranties or cause any issues.
From that, they brought that to Aramark. We went out to a few accounts that we've held that had PathoSans and Kaivacs, we've now have a process that not only reduces the amount of chemical we're using in water, it saves us about 20% of the time to get better results. It's amazing what can be done when you collaborate together and you keep refining the process till you get something that is truly remarkable and scalable and effective.
Heather Dotchel:
Mike, thanks for walking us through the physical innovations that we've been talking about but let's twist it and talk about digital. Let's explore our proprietary technologies in AIWX and TwinOptix which are always a highlight of the forum and a highlight of our offerings.
Mike Mollerdino:
Yeah. AIWX is basically a fleet of sensors that we can utilize in what they call the internet of things. Essentially, those sensors can be placed on many different aspects, there's thousands of different sensors that you could utilize but you're basically allowing the building to track, monitor and report data and key indicators for predictive maintenance. For example, you can use them on a motor, a vibration sensor. If you have freezers or refrigerators where you're storing food, you could monitor the temperature in those. And basically what'll happen is it'll report out to you if there's an issue or something's happening and it will alert you to take action before it's a huge issue.
We actually used an AIWX sensor for water detection and it prevented that client from having to pay an insurance claim because, as soon as the water was sensed, it alerted somebody and they were able to stop it before it became a bigger issue. So, AIWX is a fleet of sensors that takes that readings, allows you to interpret it, understand it and take some kind of action before it becomes an issue, a larger issue.
Heather Dotchel:
Yeah, it's really amazing how deep AIWX can dig and Twin Optix too which we'll talk about in a minute. And keep me honest here, Mike, because I am certainly not the expert. But one of the things that impressed me as we moved through the forum and spoke with all of our partners and clients was how much closer each step brings us to a single source of truth and how many of these systems can augment each other in really effective, interesting ways that benefit our clients. Tell us about TwinOptix. It was showcased at the forum, it just earned a 2026 Facilities Net Vision Award. What does TwinOptix do for facilities teams and why is this award meaningful?
Mike Mollerdino:
So, TwinOptix, the easiest way to understand that, it's a data rich digital twin. So, if you've ever looked at a house on a popular app and done a virtual tour, that's very similar to what TwinOptix technology is. But it basically turns the facility into a real replication or a 3D two scale model where it has all the assets that are inside of that facility known, it gives you actionable insights about those fixtures, those assets, it better supports decisions for us to make operations, maintenance and capital planning decisions with our client. So, when we talk about the developer of TwinOptix, they understood the potential of digital twin technology but they needed Aramark to figure out how to apply it.
And so, we've talked about, hey, sports and entertainment, digital twins or TwinOptix can now allow somebody to view where their seat is. If I'm going to a sporting event, I could see where I'm going to sit, what kind of view I will have. If I'm buying a suite at a stadium or a club level, I can actually see physically what the space looks like and get an experiential virtual experience before I purchase. Convention centers are using TwinOptix now, they're using those two scale drawings so now you can plan an event, you can see what the place looks like before you make an event, you can reach out to all your vendors and to scale, plan out exactly where things will be. So, you don't have to send somebody to the site, measure it, make those things and go back, you can actually do that all virtually.
And then what we see across many markets right now is it's a large waste of time when you have an RFP go out for a large construction job, let's say. But if I can send you the link to our TwinOptix digital twin, you can size it up, you can see how many fixtures are in there, you can make your estimates for RFPs much faster and quicker. And so, I think what's happening in the marketplace is FacilitiesNet which is completely independent, it has nothing to do with Aramark or the owners of TwinOptix or developers, they're starting to see that we're using that in such a meaningful way for our customers that they're saving time, they're becoming more efficient, they're starting to see the real value there and it's being recognized.
Independent recognition to us is great because there's no one that has any interest in making those comments for us versus clients know the value, they have known the value for years, Aramark's known the value as well but they're getting data, they're getting planning, asset management, capital spend, these are all things that our customers in our marketplace are concerned about and it's not plentiful. So, every little piece matters and I think using TwinOptix is definitely a great way to help stretch those dollars as far as they can.
Heather Dotchel:
What is the biggest takeaway you want listeners to walk away with about the future of facilities management innovation?
Mike Mollerdino:
I think, a lot of times when people think of facilities, they think cleaning, they think maintenance, that's traditionally what we do, however, they don't think it's really evolved, they think cleaning has never changed in the last 20 years and neither has operations maintenance. And I want to make sure that people realize that this is an ever-changing evolution. We're helping to uncover and address many of the problems in our market space and within the customers we serve and we're even uncovering things that people didn't even know existed and solving for them. What you would think 20 years ago and where we are today is light years of difference. And I think facility service may appear unchanged but Aramark continues to innovate in areas others may overlook. We are anticipating future needs, we're developing the next generation of service solutions. And if you haven't seen or been around our operations in a while, I strongly encourage people to lean in and see all the great things that we're doing that can help out in other markets across Aramark.
Heather Dotchel:
And then purely frivolously, and I'll participate in this, what was your favorite demo at the forum this year? I had a hard time choosing but I feel a particular affinity for those little aquatic robots that kept ponds clean, it might've been the little fin that was drawn on top. But what was the demo that you particularly enjoyed?
Mike Mollerdino:
Yeah, I would agree with you. RanMarine did a great demo, I would say that was the highlight of last year. This year for me, I was blown away with STIHL, actually, and people know STIHL as the world leader in hand tools for landscaping and grounds and zero-turn mowers but they brought entirely battery operated zero-turns and equipment and I got to jump on some of those zero-turns and ride around which is pretty fun for me. And to me, I was probably most blown away with that this year. It's hard to pick though so I don't want anyone to think that I have favorites but riding that equipment was fun.
Heather Dotchel:
I can imagine. I also had a bunch of interesting side conversations. One that I found particularly fascinating was the future of batteries and what the next step beyond lithium might be but I might just be a giant geek, Mike.
Mike Mollerdino:
Well, I am a cleaning geek as well so this is the space that I've chosen to serve and I love it too so don't get me started. As you can see, I could talk for hours on these topics.
Heather Dotchel:
Well, thank you so much for joining us today, I hope to have you back on the podcast and would love to share more with our audience about our facilities management capabilities. So, please, Mark This listeners, visit our newsroom on aramark.com to access more information. Mike, thank you for joining us today. Mark This listeners, thanks again.
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