Restaurants, Cruise Lines and other Businesses—

Keeping People Safe by Minimizing Germs

The following is part three of a four-part question-and-answer with Dan Zubic, founder and chief executive officer of Handy Enterprises LLC. The company manufactures and markets HANDY Hand Sanitizing Solutions, a line of products that use Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) lighting to virtually eliminate highly contagious, illness-causing germs and bacteria, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Dan founded Handy Enterprises in 2017 after conducting several years of research and testing into the germicidal properties of UV-C lighting, leading to the creation of the patent-pending HANDY Hand Sanitizer product line.

Q: Are there any markets that you believe should be prime candidates for HANDY?

DAN: Any place that has a door! And any place that has a restroom!

I believe that a HANDY Hand Sanitizer should be at the entrance of a business or school. You walk in, sanitize, and mitigate any germs on your hands that you brought from outside the establishment. It should be a requirement—you walk in, then sanitize your hands. This would greatly reduce the likelihood of you spreading germs by touch within the establishment.

Similar situation with restrooms. We know hand washing isn’t done enough or properly. A HANDY outside of every restroom would offer sanitization as a complement to hand washing, especially after touching the door handle to exit the restroom.

I realize not every single building will feature a HANDY at its entrance or outside its restrooms. But restaurants, fitness centers, schools, convention centers, grocery stores, shopping malls, healthcare facilities, hotels and similar environments are great examples of high-touch locations that will benefit from better hand hygiene.

Q: You mentioned restaurants and grocery stores. Before COVID-19, most people only thought of germs when they would hear news stories about cruise ship virus outbreaks or foodborne illnesses at restaurants. Is that an opportunity for better hand hygiene?

DAN: Oh, absolutely. How do you make people feel safe going to restaurants or going back to cruise ships, for example? One way is to create a strong perception of hygiene and food safety via sanitization protocols and procedures. It’s always been a big deal in industries like that, and I know those businesses have an even more heightened focus on the safety and well-being of their guests. They are creating a strong and visible perception of safety, in addition to all the behind-the-scenes actions they are taking to elevate sanitization.

New research has shown that people now prioritize cleanliness and sanitization when choosing restaurants to patronize. And cruise lines must deal with the unique challenges of thousands of guests and employees mingling in a confined environment for multiple days.

How do you keep them safe? Sanitize as they board, make sanitizers available throughout the ship, and sanitize on the way off the ship when taking excursions so they don't bring anything to wherever they're going and sanitize on the return back. Now, will viruses and illnesses stop? Who knows? But I can almost guarantee that it will minimize the instances of ship-borne pathogens from being spread. It's all about mitigating and reducing the risk.

Q: What is the most creative or unexpected application of HANDY that you've seen so far?

DAN: A few customers jump to mind. For example, a haunted house operator used a HANDY to sanitize the hands of its performers before every shift. Also, some marijuana dispensaries have deployed HANDY sanitizers in the rooms where they are growing their product. Another one is oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Those are confined spaces where numerous people are working and living together for quite a long time.

We always thought that hotels, hospitals, and restaurants would be the three main places that you would expect as top locations for HANDY installations. But, today, when people ask about our top target markets, my answer is, anywhere there's a restroom, or anywhere that people gather. I can't say that one market is more important to us than another. The HANDY is versatile and provides a solution for a universal problem—germs. And that's why any place that has a door or a restroom would be a perfect candidate for HANDY UV-C Hand Sanitizers.

Note: Look for part four of this four-part series in the days ahead at www.handyuv.com.