Byoplanet International: A Brief History

Byoplanet Founder and CEO Rick O’Shea began his career as a professional golfer spending 10 years on the PGA, Mexican, Canadian and Asian tours. After leaving the tour in 1999, he founded Elite Golf Cruises, one of the largest onboard golf academies in the world. It was during this time that Rick witnessed the challenge of cleaning and disinfecting ships quickly and effectively – a space ripe for innovation.

In 2010, he began working with Steve Cooper, the founder of Electrostatic Spraying Systems Inc. (ESSI), which was based on a technology he co-developed as part of a master’s degree project at the University of Georgia. ESSI developed the first commercially successful electrostatic sprayers for agricultural and ornamental crops, which are still used today in over 20 countries around the world.

Together, Rick and Steve adapted the ESSI technology for the infection control industry, and ByoPlanet was born.

The adoption of electrostatic sprayers quickly spread. It was a key tool used to eradicating the largest Norovirus outbreak in CDC history on one of world’s largest luxury cruise ships. Every square inch was decontaminated in an easy to use, cost-effective manner, returning it to service in a single turn around day.

The Byoplanet sprayer continues to evolve and now serves a broad spectrum of industries looking to deploy superior infection control practices.

WHAT IS INDUCTION CHARGED ELECTROSTATICS?

The nozzle of the Byoplanet ES sprayer is designed to first atomize the stream of liquid (break into droplets) and then induce an electric charge onto each droplet. Like a magnet drawn to the surface, the droplet is driven to the target, while also being repelled by all the other like-charged droplets in flight. These forces create the “wrap-around effect” that ensures even hidden surfaces are completely coated with disinfectant.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT DISINFECTANT

Even with the best delivery system in the world, it is only as a good as the disinfectant used. As Byoplanet evolved as an organization, it became apparent that promoting “any waterborne disinfectant” was leaving too much to chance. There are three primary factors when choosing a disinfectant for electrostatic spraying:

EPA registered product: We are in the business of eliminating germs from surfaces, and using products that have been through the rigor of EPA registration is paramount to ensuring the product delivers on that promise.

Safety: Whenever you atomize a chemistry, it is important to understand what steps and personal protective equipment are required to limit the operator’s respiratory exposure. It is also important to understand how long that chemistry remains in the air, so when people reenter the space, they too are not at risk.

Surface Residue: At Byoplanet, we promote the use of the sprayer as the “last step” in the process. Once the surfaces have been cleaned of all visible soils, the disinfecting step should be as simple as spraying and allowing the product to dry. The best product will leave little to no residue on the surface.

TRAINING AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THE NEW STANDARD OF CLEAN

The pandemic has changed the way both customers and service providers approach cleaning and disinfecting. We must now clean for health with a much higher standard and a deeper understanding of tools and protocols necessary to deliver that standard. What became clear is that even within the cleaning industry, there is a significant lack of knowledge about how to approach environments that have likely been contaminated with COVID-19.

To address this gap, Byoplanet has partnered with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association), to provide training and accreditation to organizations that are committed to implementing the highest standard of clean and are prepared to welcome patrons back.

At Byoplanet, the system we promote includes the sprayer, a well-vetted disinfectant or sanitizer and the proper training. With those three tools, the task of cleaning for health becomes a manageable operation that allows the safe return of staff and patrons.