Ideas for your company’s Covid Free protocol

Corresponding John Pearl, director of bay window, a company specializing in design, construction and installations, “is firmly entrenched in the commitment of companies to do everything in their power to avoid contagion, both among workers and customers”. However, another of his observations is that faced with an unprecedented situation like that of Covid-19, there are no professionals who can guide the most reliable protocols in de-escalation. “We ourselves, with more than 16 years of market presence, had to use the weeks of lockdown to join forces and document ourselves on these topics,” he says.

Faced with a scenario that is unique in the collective memory, each company is therefore preparing to open as best it can, following the basic protective measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and public health authorities: wash hands very frequently, cover mouth when coughing, hold your breath Maintain a social distance of at least one meter and avoid touching your face. After talking about it for two months, most of us citizens have learned and internalized it, but now that the de-escalation has occurred, by taking to the streets and getting back to work, it seems that something more is being done got to. These are some of the actions companies are taking.

The basics

The basic personal protective equipment, PPE, recommended for both staff and customers includes at a minimum the use of surgical masks and protective gloves, preferably nitrile or vinyl. Some people choose to replace or reinforce the mask with face shields to protect the eye area as well. Then, depending on the activity, there is talk of protective clothing and other accessories that are considered appropriate. An example can be found with optometrists, who are advised to cover themselves with a surgical gown to prevent the transmission of infectious agents. The general recommendation is that all such material is disposable and for single use only. Otherwise, they must be disinfectable after use.

To this end, many shops and establishments have added dispensers with hydroalcoholic solution to disinfect hands and gloves, and watered the rooms with paper napkins. This is e.g. B. the case at talent gardena coworking space of 4,500 square meters spread over five floors, open 24/7 to serve the most diverse companies that are present in its facilities.

capacity control

This is another of the precautions that have been taken to the letter in facilities open as essential services. The norm was one employee, one customer and, albeit less stringent, capacity control in factories and offices to ensure social distancing will be common for a long time to come.

In the case of Talent Garden, for example, the person assigned to the reception desk reportedly has the task of noting the names and times of everyone entering the premises for this purpose Sandra BesgaShe, responsible for marketing the space, “that if someone tests positive, she can inform the people who have been in contact with her.”

Others with fewer resources have chosen to move the switch directly to the facility’s access door. This ensures that only they handle the items and of course no one enters them.

Other distancing measures

In addition to controlling the flow of boarding and alighting, many companies have moved to creating a full signage route based on colorful stickers on the floor, reminding customers of the distance they need to keep and the direction they are going need to drive to avoid the crossing of people as much as possible. Colored ribbons, curtains or any other visual reminder of distancing are also valid.

Already in other spaces where interaction is greater, it has been decided to install screens, either in methacrylate or in plastic or a similar material. This is the solution they resorted to in the Talent Garden, where they arranged “1.5 x 90 cm methacrylate screens in case a connection is required and others in screen-printed cardboard to separate spaces between companies”. to have.

Others, like Juan Peal, are more inclined to reorganize space to ensure social distancing than to resort to partitions, which he believes is a short-term solution. Peral advocates a definitive restructuring of workplaces to transform them into healthy spaces that protect us not only from the current pandemic but also from any other virus such as seasonal flu. In this sense, she also defends the introduction of mechanisms that automate operations as simple as opening and closing doors, flushing cisterns, taps or turning lights on and off, among others. Avoiding contact with these common surfaces would be the best course of action.

disinfection of rooms

The minimum requirement of a facility open to the public is twice daily cleaning. In some cases, using bleach and soap is enough, but in others it gets complicated, especially in those rooms where a source of contamination has been registered. For these there are “heavy artillery”, including the “ozone cannon shots” which they say are applied to the Koker fashion brand https://kokeronline.com/; Ionization and Ultraviolet Light Systems. With that in mind, Peral and other experts, such as Maria VisaCEO of MTS Tech and Professor of Industrial Disseny Engineering ELISAVA, They call for caution and warn that “it seems that Pandora’s box has been opened” and that solutions are being marketed that may be harmful to health.

reinstatement of workers

Most large companies have a phased plan for rehiring employees and have staggered their return to work. In others, entry and exit times have been made more flexible to avoid bottlenecks at turnstiles and elevators. This strategy has been followed at BBVA or Telefónica, for example, where they have proposed a gradual return to work in three phases.

Health test and temperature measurement

Companies like insurer Mapfre have developed a health protocol to individually assess each employee’s risk of suffering from the disease before taking on the job. Repsol has also spoken about testing those employees identified as having an active, probable or investigated case before returning to the workplace.

More precarious, but considered in some spaces, is taking the temperature daily or before allowing the person to enter the premises. Most opt ​​for the infrared thermometer we’ve seen so many times on TV, which measures temperature remotely and in seconds. In this case, remember that the Spanish Data Protection Agency has ruled against their use.