Take reasonable precautions to safeguard your employees and others from the coronavirus. Coronavirus can spread from person to person and from surface to surface. It can be spread to others who come into contact with the same surfaces. Keeping your workplace clean minimizes the risk of coronavirus spreading and is an important aspect of developing and maintaining a ‘COVID-secure’ organization.
This advice will assist you in cleaning your workplace in order to reduce risk. You might need to clean more frequently and thoroughly, as well as clean areas that you don’t regularly clean. You can outsource your cleaning to a professional company that offers cleaning services in London.
Before you can decide what cleaning is best for your circumstance, you’ll need to conduct a risk assessment to assist you to manage risk and determine how to work properly and safeguard people while dealing with the coronavirus. To lower the danger of coronavirus, keep your office clean.
Your risk assessment will assist you in determining what your cleaning routine will entail, but there are a few fundamental points to keep in mind.
Determine which surfaces are commonly touched.
Doors, banisters, buttons, and anything else that gets a lot of use, especially if it’s by a lot of people, will require more frequent cleaning than usual. Objects that are regularly touched include:
- Desks, platforms, and workstations are examples of work surfaces.
- Door, window, rail, dispenser, and water cooler handles
- Toilets, reception, locker rooms, corridors, and elevators are examples of common areas.
- Handles on the car, steering wheel, seat belts, and interior surfaces
- Machine control panels, control pads, and switches
- Computer keyboards, printers, touch screens, monitors, and phones are all examples of electronic devices.
- faucets, kettles, water heaters, refrigerators, microwave ovens, and cabinets
- Tools, machines, vehicles, pallet trucks, and delivery boxes are all common equipment.
- incoming mail and merchandise, as well as items being shopped out
If possible, take steps to clean surfaces and objects after each usage, such as phones and conferencing equipment in a meeting room. If cleaning after each use is not practicable, such as lift buttons that are used frequently throughout the day, ensure sure they are cleaned frequently.
Appropriate cleaning regimens consist of two elements:
Cleaning from top to bottom
At least once a day, deep cleaning entails a thorough cleaning of all commonly touched surfaces.
Cleaning on a regular basis
Cleaning several times during the day is referred to as periodic cleaning. Washing goods immediately after use, as well as cleaning surfaces on a daily basis, are examples of periodic cleaning.
Reduce the amount of cleaning required
It is preferable to limit people’s interaction with surfaces and objects rather than depending on cleaning after contact has occurred. Consider how you can alter your working style to:
- As much as possible, restrict people’s movement about your workplace.
- reducing the need for individuals to touch surfaces or items
Consider the following options for limiting movement or reducing people’s urge to touch objects:
- Is it possible to assign certain work areas or vehicles to specific individuals?
- forming small groups that can work on tasks autonomously
- Close off spare workstations and put away goods that you don’t need to have on hand.
- To prevent touching handles, prop open doors (excluding fire doors or other doors that must be kept closed)
- Install automatic sensor-operated doors or footplates on doors so they can be opened with your feet instead of your hands?
- Workers should be given door hooks so they don’t have to touch handles.
- Lower the amount of cleaning equipment accessible to reduce the amount that has to be done.
Cleaning crews
Some businesses may elect to hire cleaning crews on a full-time basis. Smaller businesses may require fewer cleaning personnel. Other employees may also be involved. Based on your risk assessment, you should evaluate what is required for your firm.
Where cleaning is required, provide cleaning employees with their standard personal protective equipment (PPE). COVID-19 protection does not necessitate the use of additional PPE.
When cleaning, cleaners should maintain social distance and wash their hands with soap and water afterward. When there aren’t any nearby washing facilities, hand sanitizer should be provided.
Ensure that cleaning crews are given clear instructions and understood the importance of doing a thorough job.
Speak with your coworkers and supply them with information.
Speak with all of your employees and encourage them to work with cleaning. They can ensure that surfaces are left clean at the end of the day, allowing for more effective deep cleaning. Cleaning may be hampered if papers or other things are left on the surface.
Keeping personnel aware of any housekeeping changes, as well as the reasons for them, decreases the likelihood of uncooperative employees. It may also comfort your employees that you are doing everything possible to ensure their safety.
Posters
Post posters reminding people that cleaning will be done on a regular basis and that they should cooperate with the cleaners.
Posters can assist remind people of their obligations when you expect users to clean the equipment after each use as part of your cleaning routine.
Think about new ways of working.
Consider how a space is used before contemplating how it is cleaned. Consider which areas of the business receive the highest foot traffic and reimagine how they could be used to disperse people equitably and reduce the risk posed by concentrations of employees.
Consider putting in place a one-way system to assist staff and guests in maintaining social distance. Make sure it’s easy to find and that it’s well-marked. If feasible, keep the windows open and make sure the air extraction system is in good working order.
Cleaning Procedures should be updated and reviewed on a regular basis.
Divide surfaces into two categories: often touched points (e.g., rails, door handles, light switches, tabletops, etc.) and minimally touched points (e.g., rails, door handles, light switches, tabletops, and so on) (e.g. ceilings, floors, and walls). Ensure that things are cleaned on a regular basis in accordance with their use, i.e. the more often they are touched, the more often they are cleaned.
Make sure surfaces are cleaned properly with the right products and according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep track of all cleaning incidents and who is responsible — there are apps that can assist you with this.
Consider hiring third-party professional cleaners to deep clean your offices or other locations on a regular basis. A comprehensive clean should include anything from dusting walls and washing light switches to wiping down equipment and sanitizing kitchen cupboards, appliances, and furnishings, depending on the building.
