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Facilities cleaning and maintenance post COVID-19
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s unlikely that the novel coronavirus becomes an existential threat to athletics as we know it, but not impossible. Perhaps the biggest question on everyone’s mind at the moment might be a matter of when, not if things can emerge into a new post-global-pandemic “normal.” And what does this new normal look like? The crisis might result in a wide range of interventions in sports arenas and athletic facilities design, or it might not. Only time and budgets will tell.
Until then, Shield Lockers has collected some thoughts from our industry partners to talk about facilities maintenance practices and effective design tools that they employ to support healthier wellness and recovery spaces for athletes. We also asked them to speculate on what might change to protect fans and players.
(ILLUSTRATIONS BY RYAN SNOOK. PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF MINTON (GROOMER: STEPHANIE NICOLE SMITH)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Meet the pros
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Max Reza is the Director of Team Operations for the LA Clippers. Reza has been working with the facilities, equipment, and staff of the Clippers for 9 years. In addition to the daily activities, Max has also been a part of multiple renovations and new builds for the team spaces. Shield Lockers worked with architecture design firm Gensler to complete 16 custom player lockers for the Staples Center in 2016, and again at the Honey Training Center in 2019.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″]
Locker room cleaning and disinfection protocols
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Staff and player safety is the goal of any infection prevention and routine maintenance program inside of the locker room. Buildings are a complex network of connected spaces and mechanical systems that work together to help support healthier, safer environments. It’s easy to look at a room and start picking apart what looks dirty, unsafe, or could possibly be a source of contamination for occupants. But the most basic preventative measure starts with the individual – practicing good personal hygiene and being both mindful and respectful of others in a shared environment.
Ensuring the cleanability of materials and products used in the built environment is another way of supporting a well-rounded infection prevention plan. We talk about this at great length in a recent blog post for our healthcare partners, referencing a new publication from the American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE), a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (AHA). You might be thinking that an infection prevention plan for healthcare would be drastically different than one for athletics, but you might be surprised at their similarities based on the responses we received from our panel.
Inside our locker rooms at both the NBA and NCAA level, neither Reza nor DePaepe could report any infectious outbreaks that originated from inside the locker room, at least not to their knowledge. Identifying a source of infection can be difficult given the nature of infections to persist in the air, in water, on people, and on environmental surfaces. Both also admitted to having a plan and schedule for cleaning and disinfecting the rooms.
“We have a cleaning crew that cleans our locker room on a daily basis (e.g. – trash removal, vacuum floors, clean the countertops, sprays chairs with disinfectant),” said Reza regarding the Clippers maintenance schedule. “As far as deep cleans in each locker, our equipment staff does a deep clean of each individual locker on a monthly basis. And recently, we added UV-C light sterilization of our locker room areas due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. This is something we’ll likely do on a quarter-yearly basis moving forward.”
DePaepe offered a similar process for CU Buffs basketball and volleyball locker rooms, but also indicated that they rely on internal staff to carry out maintenance procedures. “Our staff cleans the locker room daily – restrooms, trash, vacuuming, and general spot cleaning. We clean showers every other day and we use an ionized bleach sprayer periodically.”
“We would increase frequency if we had more staff,” said DePaepe, citing more money and more staff as a good start for improving their process. He also plans to increase the frequency of disinfecting the rooms with the electrostatic ionized bleach sprayer.
No-touch technology is a common disinfection method in healthcare, and apparently athletics as well. These technologies use either devices that emit ultraviolet light or systems that produce mist or vapors of a variety of chemicals. The Clippers use ultraviolet light, and the CU Buffs use an aerosolized vapor mist similar to this one. Hydrogen peroxide misting is also common in healthcare settings that could be equally effective in athletics.
With regards to manual cleaning, part of the challenge is determining what chemical disinfectants should be used and the schedule in which to use them. Generally speaking, look for products that have short contact times, a one-step cleaner and disinfectant that is compatible with surfaces, non-corrosive and that has a long shelf life. In addition, those decisions should be made across a team of experts to help support informed decision-making.
Are their methods effective? “I would say yes, because we haven’t had any skin infection outbreaks (e.g. – staph, MRSA, mumps, etc.) since I took over as equipment manager 4 years ago.” said Reza. “I try and stay as informed as possible from companies like SHIELD and other equipment manager newsletters that I follow. For example, the informational email SHIELD sent last week about “Clean Surfaces during COVID-19” was really helpful. I also work closely with our facilities manager, who is very well-versed in facility sanitation protocols.” DePaepe relies on a similar approach, citing knowledge across staff and industry best practices as methods for protecting player and staff safety.
In regards to what’s next, Reza concludes that he believes the process they’ve developed will remain in place for at least the next year. “I would assume we’ll receive new cleaning guidelines from the NBA once we return to play as well,” he said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To learn more about the cleanability of acrylic solid surface we use in our locker designs, check out the latest blog from our healthcare group where we explore this topic as it relates to the American Society for Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) recomendations for using the built environment to prevent and control infection.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_column_text]
Take your locker room to the next level.
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