VenuesNow (08/25/20) Zoltak, James

Jani-King International's Scott Borland said cleaning programs for large sports venues are transforming as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the expected effect of a permanent upsurge in vigilance. "We're disinfecting like we would an operating room, kind of like when the next patient comes in and that operating room has to be sterile and as healthy as possible for that next patient," he noted. Borland added that the new approach to disinfecting is "to almost do a terminal clean [removing everything detachable and then disinfecting all fixtures and surfaces from floor to ceiling] in these environments." He does not think new technologies like ultraviolet light and robot foggers are necessarily as effective as solutions and applicators that Jani-King currently uses. "We're using the cutting-edge technologies that are available today such as electrostatic sprayers, the most effective disinfectants whether they're chlorine-based or quaternary ammoniums," Borland said. He explained that Jani-King also will require protocols for assessing the efficacy of its disinfection or infection control programs, for example through adenosine triphosphate swab testing. His recommendation to venue managers is to "do a little bit of research on some of these companies and then the products ... just to see how long those have been in place or been used, to see the track record, not only of the applicators and the chemicals and the products, but of the companies like Jani-King that have been around for 50 years."

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