The Need For Real-time Visibility Across Sterile Processing Systems
A newly published benchmark report is shining a bright—and necessary—light on a problem hospitals have been quietly battling for years: the lack of real-time visibility within Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs) and the cascading operational impact that follows. The 2025 Surgical Asset Management Industry Benchmark Report, released by Aesculap, Inc. and Ascendco Health and covered by Daniel Beaird on Nov. 14, 2025, surveyed more than 100 SPD and OR leaders nationwide. The findings paint a concerning picture.
According to the report, 76% of leaders cited human error as the biggest challenge in tracking surgical instruments, while 58% reported surgery delays caused by missing, incomplete, or unready sets. Even more striking, over 85% said real-time visibility into trays and instruments would have a “major or transformational impact” on operations.
Hospitals understand the problem, but the report validates the root cause: outdated workflows and limited data visibility are choking operational performance. As Brian Reed, CEO of Ascendco Health, put it, “The lack of real-time data and standardized workflows is holding back performance.” In other words, the OR can only move as fast as the SPD can support it.
VERDA Water Quality Systems CEO, Jeffrey Paquet said, “If you want to eliminate avoidable OR delays, you must invest in the behind-the-scenes systems that drive surgical readiness—especially real-time water quality monitoring in SPD.”
Where Water Quality Fits Into the Visibility Gap
While the report focuses largely on instrument tracking, it reinforces a broader truth: the OR is only as reliable as the systems feeding it. Instrument readiness isn’t just about trays—it’s about the entire ecosystem behind them. And one of the least visible yet most critical components is water quality – the premise behind ANSI/AAMI ST108.
Every washer, every sterilizer, every high-level disinfection step depends on consistent, compliant water. But unlike instrument tracking—where many hospitals have at least begun the journey to modernization—water quality remains largely invisible in most SPDs. Most facilities don’t know when their water quality drifts out of ST108 parameters until after damage occurs: spotting, corrosion, poor cleaning outcomes, or equipment downtime.
When water quality slips, washers stall, sterilizers fault, cycles are rerun, and suddenly those “missing or unready sets” are not human-error problems at all—they are infrastructure problems.
Why Real-Time Water Monitoring Must Be Next
If 85% of SPD leaders believe real-time data would transform operations, then extending that real-time visibility to water quality is the logical next step.
Hospitals that invest in continuous water monitoring gain:
Early warning before water quality disrupts surgeries
Fewer equipment failures and fewer reruns
More predictable OR uptime
Stronger ST108 compliance
Less strain on already overstretched SPD teams
Emerging tools like VERDA’s real-time water monitoring dashboards bring the same digital transformation to water that RFID and tracking platforms bring to trays.
The takeaway from this new benchmark report is clear:
Hospitals that modernize their SPD infrastructure—starting with visibility—will outperform those who wait. And the smart hospitals are realizing that visibility must include the water that drives every reprocessing cycle. To continue this conversation, contact us here.