Sponsored post by Spectra Systems
In an effort to greatly reduce the risk of infection through contact with surfaces that have been exposed to the coronavirus, gaming and hospitality organizations have put rigorous cleaning procedures in place designed to disinfect public spaces and commonly touched surfaces. Unfortunately, no viable cleaning procedures have been available to disinfect one of the most handled surfaces – cash. This puts guests and staff at risk and will continue to do so with an ongoing presence of coronavirus, its variants, and other infectious pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly sensitized the public to the risks of becoming infected, particularly in public spaces and we expect that concern will continue well into the future.
Adding the disinfection of cash to a cleaning regimen completes important guest assurance.
A Viable Solution for Cash Disinfection in Casinos and Hospitality Venues
For more than 20 years, Spectra Systems has engaged us in all aspects of the life cycle of banknotes, from manufacturing to public circulation. The development of our most recent technology, the Banknote Disinfection System, or BDS-1000 was driven by our understanding of banknote circulation through our extensive central bank relationships, the COVID-19 pandemic, and scientific studies of the survival of viruses on surfaces. Those studies found that infectious viruses like COVID-19 can survive on surfaces from days to weeks, and therefore pose a risk to the public.
Cart photo courtesy of Service Central Inc.
The banknote disinfection process of the BDS-1000 is based on the known effectiveness of heat to neutralize viruses and pathogens. However, simply subjecting banknotes to heat in ambient air will cause damage due to oxidation and even burning at very elevated temperatures. The BDS-1000 eliminates the oxidation problem by replacing oxygen from the air within the heating vault with nitrogen providing a nearly 100% nitrogen atmosphere. This is achieved using a nitrogen generator, which intakes ambient air (already made up of 78% nitrogen) and extracts oxygen before supplying the nitrogen to the heating vault.
Depending on the size of the heating vault, up to 5 million banknotes can be disinfected in 60-90 minutes.
Integrating Banknote Disinfection into a Casino’s Cash Circulation Process
Given the Casino industry’s protocols for collecting, processing, counting, and dispensing cash, the BDS-1000 can be easily integrated into the process. The heating vault is designed to accommodate drop box trolleys which can be rolled into the vault without the need to remove drop boxes or banknotes themselves for the disinfection process. Therefore, nothing changes with regard to the procedures currently used by the drop staff in their collection and transport of drop boxes and slot cash storage boxes. Once the boxes are secured in the trolley it can then be moved to the BDS-1000 system which can be housed either in the count room or in a dedicated room for the disinfection system. The BDS-1000 can be also filled with vault level locking mechanism to provide secure storage. Finally, the technology is highly scalable and can be optimally sized according to a venue’s volume and workflow.
Early Adopters Program
Spectra Systems is committed to helping gaming and hospitality organizations reassure their guests that they have rigorous cleaning processes in place that focus on all aspects of public interaction in their venues, including banknote disinfection. As part of our current launch of the new BDS-1000 we are including an Early Adopter Program which provides technical consultation, customization for optimal workflow, and reduced pricing.
We welcome further discussion with you to explore how banknote disinfection might enhance your ability to provide a safe environment for your guests. Contact info@spsy.com for full details.