In Focus Commercial Credit This means that ideally you should have a
I think we should be focusing on making changes to the current furniture workstations and the air conditioning systems in buildings rather than just making enormous changes to the current workspace layouts
New surface treatments are being
developed that will have antimicrobial effects that last for at least seven days, so that daily cleaning becomes unnecessary. Keeping floors clean will be important,
so it is a good policy to either change your shoes on entering the building, as you would do if you were going to a gym, or wearing shoe covers at work, as you would do if you were visiting a hospital. Some companies are using UV-C robots
to roam the office space at nighttime to sterilise all surfaces. These robots have very powerful lamps that will deactivate the virus in less than a second.
What will access to and from workstations look like? Research shows that an infected person creates a cloud of viruses that extend in a plume. This extends up to 2.5m ahead of the person and up to 4m behind the person’s body. If the infected person is moving faster,
such as jogging or running, then the trailing plume can be even longer.
Use of lifts and social distancing in the workplace The situation with lifts is complicated as it is an enclosed space. Here is what you can do to minimise the risk of contamination. l Reducing the occupancy of a lift and putting markers where people should stand and how they should face is helpful. l Installing air sterilisation systems, such as germicidal UV-C, will minimize the risks of exposure. l Pressing lift buttons using the knuckle of a finger or preferably a pencil, pen or stylus, or having a touch free or voice activated lift also will be very helpful.
Is it a matter of training, or do walkways need to be widened? Walkways do not need to open up dramatically if you can organise a one-way traffic system and if you can train people not to walk immediately behind and close to an individual in front of them. Also, encouraging people to walk slowly will generate less of a plume of contaminants
one-way port traffic route in the office and that you should encourage people not to walk too close to the person in front of them. Preferably they should also walk to the
side of that person to avoid being in their particle plume. For stairways or corridors, where one-way
traffic is not possible, then there should be a floor-to-ceiling barrier that separates the two sides of the corridor space or stairwell. This will allow people to pass each other
in the opposite direction without exchanging any exhaled air.
than walking fast or running. Putting one- way arrows on the floor and entry or no entry signs can help re-educate people on how to move around the office.
How will one person push their chair back to stand whilst others remain seated and still more use the main access walkways? If there is a system in place for ensuring that people entering the building are not infected with the virus then this should minimise the risks of anyone who pushes their chair back to stand while others remain seated. If the desks are covered with the kind of enclosures shown above, then if a person raises their desk to standing level they will still be protected. To be sure that a person going from
sitting to standing does not contaminate surrounding air, if they are going to leave their desk, a policy of wearing PPE could be implemented. Consider face-shields over facemasks as
these also stop you from touching your eyes. There is some evidence that the virus can gain entry in this way.
Should we be thinking ahead and planning for the time when workstation density will be able to increase once again? Yes, absolutely, I think we should be focusing on making changes to the current furniture workstations and the air conditioning systems in buildings rather than just making huge changes to the current workspace layouts. The changes outlined above will be
effective in eliminating the virus from the airstream in a way that social distancing alone will not. There is growing evidence of effective
treatments for a COVID-19 infection that render this more like catching a cold than a potentially fatal disease. Once a vaccine is generally available, simple social distancing measures will become even less important. If, however, a company makes changes
to their workstations and their ventilation systems as has been outlined, these changes will continue to protect employees against any future pandemic viruses or other airborne pathogens. CCR
Edited from an original white paper. September 2020
www.CCRMagazine.com 15
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