Quick Guide to Implementing New Health and Hygiene Guidelines
We recently released our Safe X Secure White Paper which interprets new health and hygiene best practices and how to implement them across different industries. Now we are diving even further into each vertical and offering additional guidelines and resources to help people find products to keep their business environments clean, healthy and productive.
For workspaces, including offices big and small, you should focus on four health and hygiene essential concepts: Social Distancing, Personal Hygiene, Disinfection / Sanitisation and Wellness.
Social Distancing
Employees should social distance whenever possible which means avoiding close contact with co-workers.
- Limit the number of people allowed in designated areas and set a limit for smaller in-person group meetings.
- Add space between people with room dividers and partitions, like cleanable desk and room dividers from Lumeah in our own office.
- Floor and wall markings are a good way to encourage and remind employees of distancing. This can easily be achieved by using a high quality and durable vibrantly coloured tape, like 3M Safety tape.
- For use on walls and other surfaces uni-chalk and uni-paint markers from uni-ball or Big Sticky Notes and Post-it Dry Erase Surface from 3M are also useful tools to help to reinforce the message of social distancing.
Personal Hygiene
Everyone in the office should wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially during key times (like before eating and after using the restroom) when people are likely to get and spread germs.
- Single-use recyclable hand towels is an option for drying hands, For a touchless solution World Dryer provides a HEPA filtered hygienic alternative.
- Hand sanitiser should be offered if soap and water are not immediately available but a great addition to entry points for offices, shops, hotels etc., we would recommend Pedal Pro sanitising stations which holds up to 10,000 shots of sanitiser when full.
- As well as washing and hand sanitising an effective barrier to avoid germ transfer for employees is TouchSafe with antimicrobial technology it can help to minimise surface contact by up to 80%.
Disinfection / Sanitization
High-traffic work areas like breakrooms, lunchrooms and restrooms should be cleaned with soap and water and then disinfected. Outside of traditional disinfectants, lab tests have shown that visible light disinfection (LVD), which uses non-UV light to significantly reduce pathogens over time, is safe for human contact and can be used continuously. LVD options are available in products like desk and floor lamps, under counter lighting and ceiling fixtures.
Another solution is to employ products that utilize Ultraviolet C (UVC) light, which uses ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of germs in the air and on surfaces. UVC works quickly (10-60 minutes depending on distance), is used for rapid cleaning, but is not safe for use on skin and eyes. Products using UVC are either standalone sterilization units, containers, or handheld wands.
- Cleaning and disinfecting should be frequent (multiple times per day) with an emphasis on frequently touched hard non-porous surfaces.
- Use cleaning products like disinfectant spray, all-purpose cleaner, antibacterial cleaner and wipes to help with cleaning, disinfection and sanitisation. We recommend ScreenDr which has antimicrobial ingredients that help prevent re-growth of bacteria on the treated surface.
Wellness
To prevent illness, employees and customers should implement extra precautions that promote wellness in and around the office.
- Employees and customers should be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like facemasks and gloves in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
- New technology, such as OneScreen GoSafe, is also emerging that offers stationary body temperature and facial recognition scanners to enhance health and safety measures. These more robust systems can provide integration with attendance tracking for employees or students. And the facial recognition scanners allow for easy visual detection to determine compliance with mask wearing protocols.
- Air filters in AC units and air purifiers may need to be changed more regularly. The longer a filter is in place, the more dirt, dust and allergens are trapped clogging the filter and decreasing their efficiency. Ideal offers a robust air purifier system removes 99.9% of pathogen viruses, bacteria, mould spores, and air pollutants
- Encourage everyone to use their own work tools. If sharing is necessary, refer to the disinfection and sanitisation rules.
- Provide single-use supplies like paper towels and food service items whenever possible.
If you would like additional information about any of our recommended products, email us at [email protected]. Include your name, business name, location(s) and contact information and we will have a Highlands representative contact you.
