Patricia Olinger Patricia Olinger is the executive director of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of the cleaning-industry association ISSA. She has been involved with the development of international standards for biorisk management for more than 20 years and is the current team leader of the group that developed the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for Biorisk Management. Prior to joining GBAC, Olinger was an assistant vice president in the Office of Research Administration and the executive director of the Environmental, Health, and Safety Office at Emory University, where she helped care for Ebola patients in 2014.

Traditionally, trade show venues have focused on the appearance of cleanliness: Is the exhibit hall presentable? Do the bathrooms smell pine fresh? But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced venues to take a microscopic look at their practices to see if their protocols are effective at mitigating the risk of people contracting the coronavirus. That's in part because until there's a viable vaccine that's been widely administered, show organizers, exhibitors, and attendees are going to require assurances from convention centers, hotels, and restaurants that surfaces are sanitized instead of simply spotless, and they're going to ask about HVAC filtration systems to gauge the risk of exposure to airborne pathogens.

And in today's climate of fear, it's unlikely stakeholders are going to take a venue at its word. That's where the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) enters the picture. To help businesses assuage the public's fears, the organization developed GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation. Since the program was created, more than 45 U.S. convention centers have earned the GBAC STAR Facility seal, and additional venues are working through the accreditation process.

But what exactly does GBAC STAR mean for visitors? We sat down with GBAC's executive director, Patricia Olinger, to learn what to expect from accredited facilities.

EXHIBITOR Magazine: A lot of people in the exhibition industry aren't familiar with GBAC. Can you provide some background on the organization?
Patricia Olinger: GBAC is a division of ISSA, the world's leading trade association for the cleaning industry. GBAC itself really came together right after the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Several of us were involved with that outbreak very intimately. I was part of Team Ebola at Emory University Hospital, which treated four of the Ebola patients in the United States. Other GBAC scientists were also in the response area or have worked in professional disinfection. So GBAC's scientific advisory board consists of infectious-disease experts who have significant experience developing quality-management systems.

EM: Why has GBAC taken such a key role in the COVID-19 pandemic?
PO: When the pandemic hit, we recognized that businesses weren't trained for or equipped to address the crisis. We immediately put all of our training online, but we soon recognized that training wasn't enough. We started getting phone calls from places asking us, "How do we reopen with confidence? How do we assure our employees and customers that we are ready to reopen in a safe manner?" Because of this clear need, we established the GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation program.
EM: Can you explain what this accreditation means?
PO: The facility accreditation process helps venues develop a robust quality-management plan based on 20 elements. They complete a risk assessment to figure out where chains of infection are likely to occur. One of the risks may be the possibility that an infected individual comes into the facility. So, will they screen for symptoms? Take temperatures? Do they have a program for cleaning or disinfecting the high-use touchpoints?

Once risks are identified, we help venues address a host of questions: What is their risk mitigation? What kinds of cleaning products are they using? Do they have SOPs [standard operating procedures] in place? What are their contingency plans? Should they require masks? How many hand-sanitizer stations should they have? What we've found is that different venues – whether it's a convention center, hotel, spa, or restaurant – require different mitigation procedures because work practices vary widely. Our expertise is that we can work with each venue to help it identify where that potential chain of infection can happen and ways it can mitigate or disrupt it. So our accreditation process works as a partnership – it's not pass or fail. And it's a plan that allows for continual improvement.

EM: So it sounds like this is not a one-size-fits-all deal.
PO: Right. What we've found is that if we are very prescriptive and say, "Thou shalt do A, B, and C," it doesn't work well. People like to check a box and feel like they are good, and that gets dangerous because a bug or virus doesn't really care about that rule. So what we help venues do is put in place performance-based programs, meaning that if they want to accomplish X, these are the protocols they need to have in place. And what works for one facility based on the equipment it has and the disinfectants it uses will look different than its neighbor.

At GBAC, we really believe that we are here as a partner to work with the facilities individually. It's common for our accredited venues to call us up and say, "Hey, have you heard of this piece of equipment? What do you think about it?" Or they ask, "We're considering doing A, B, and C. Will that work?" And it's a learning experi-ence for everybody. For instance, maybe a hotel asks question about a challenge that a convention center has already solved. We pass that solution on. GBAC has become sort of a central hub to help businesses fill in the informational gaps.

EM: What about convention centers as a whole? Say I'm comparing the Las Vegas Convention Center to McCormick Place. Will they be employing different solutions to address similar problems?
PO: Some things will become common. For example, I went to the Together Again Expo at the Orange County Convention Center. Attendees and staffers were wearing masks, there were temperature checks at the door, hand sanitizers were all around, and seats were spaced apart. Those types of things are going to look similar.

But convention centers may ap-proach other solutions differently. For example, one may have electrostatic sprayers to disinfect surfaces while another might use a different type of sprayer. Or one might use crews to disinfect and clean at night while another might use robotics to do those tasks. There are a lot of solutions available to tackle similar issues.

Take escalators, for example. Handrails get touched by a lot by people. We're finding several ways to continuously disinfect them, whether the venue has someone there con-stantly wiping them down or installs UVC lights. Manufacturers are becoming extremely innovative at finding new solutions.

HVAC systems are another common issue. A venue might ask us if it should install a HEPA [high-efficiency particulate air] filter. That would be great, but what if its HVAC system isn't sized for a HEPA filter? Are there effective alternatives? What we do is study multiple options to find out what works from a scientific standpoint, and then we help businesses fill in their gaps. GBAC is something of a sounding board providing them with objective information and solutions.

EM: Can you explain what's involved in the application process?
PO: First, a facility's management team submits an application form, and then we send them a lot of information within 24 hours. They get the GBAC STAR handbook explaining the process and a template for putting together their initial 20-point plan. Venues also get access to our required GBAC fundamentals online-learning course and are put in touch with a GBAC subject-matter expert who can address their questions.

Applicants then compile and submit their documents for review through a portal. At this point there is some banter with their GBAC advisor, who helps them revise their plans and fill in any problematic gaps they might have. Once they submit their initial round of documents, it usually takes two to six weeks for the review process, which is pretty quick com-pared to other accreditation programs, such as LEED certification.

EM: Once a facility is accredited, does the process stop there?
PO: Absolutely not. Management systems such as the 20-point plan require continuous monitoring and updating, so accredited facilities will have to review and resubmit their plans each year for reaccreditation. Management will need to look at their plans and ask, "Is there a gap we need to fix?" or "Do I need to retrain staff or provide additional training?" In my experience with compliance-related activities, if you go beyond a year without reviewing and updating your plan, things start to fall apart.

EM: It seems like we are constantly learning new information about the coronavirus and how to fight it. Does GBAC have a system in place for updating accredited facilities to ensure their protocols and practices align with the latest information?
PO: We send newsletters to accredited facilities and those in the application process that keep them up to date on changes and developments. GBAC is also launching an educational forum where facilities can find solutions to their specific needs. Through these different avenues, we're hoping to keep people up to date on the latest technologies and protocols.

EM: How has the pandemic changed cleaning practices?
PO: For one thing, janitorial staff is coming to the forefront. In the past, nobody saw – or wanted to see – a facility actively cleaning. It was done at night when no one was around. What we're finding out through surveys is that visitors really do want to see that venues are preventing the spread of disease by cleaning door handles and escalator rails and wiping down chairs following a keynote address. Everyone wants to see the technologies and hygienic practices at work.

I've also noticed that people are becoming more knowledgeable about disinfection. All of the sudden, people are experts on foggers and electrostatic sprayers and the dwell time needed for specific chemicals to sanitize a surface. And to me, that's really exciting. E