How to make your office safe for everyone during COVID-19

The COVID-19 office safety is something to worry about now that most of the staff are back at work even while the pandemic persists.

As a general course of action to help employees stay safe at work you could adopt several measures. You could examine the physical layout and determine modifications to the office environment such as providing well ventilated workspaces, placing sneeze guards on the desks etc. You could also undertake a risk assessment of elements that have the potential to expose staff members to the virus. Additionally, you can facilitate staff to maintain social distancing, practise hygiene and hand washing and wear face coverings. You can also educate them on the need to take the COVID-19 vaccination without a delay, recognize early symptoms, seek prompt medical treatment and stay home if they show positive symptoms.

In addition, you can instruct employees to take steps to protect their co-workers by the proper disposal of used masks and tissues; practise personal hygiene when sneezing; and clean common touch points such as office phones, fax machines etc., after use.

Anything else to add to your checklist?

There is …disinfection!

COVID-19 safety disinfection and sanitization of your facility cannot be overlooked when you have your staff back at office.

A plan in place must focus on the frequency of carrying out disinfection activities, as well as the cleaning and disinfection of different aspects such as surfaces, electronic items, chairs, tables, drapes and carpets, air-conditioned spaces, high touch points, common areas, etc to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In the instance an infected person is reported in your facility, disinfection must be carried out seeking the assistance of a professional disinfection service provider.

Disinfectants used to sanitize must be safe while being effective.

The law makes it mandatory for disinfection service providers and disinfectant suppliers to be registered with the Registrar of Pesticides. Hence, some of the disinfectants used are only available to the registered service providers.

Also, professional disinfection companies deploy trained staff to carry out the sanitization while taking necessary precautions.

Our specialist disinfection solutions and services are designed to provide businesses with an essential resource to ensure health and safety of the staff during the pandemic.

We offer our clients not only the most sophisticated products and technology, but also professional expertise to carry out a well-coordinated, proper disinfection exercise in a legally compliant manner.

We are licensed with the Registrar of Pesticides as a disinfection service provider and accredited under ISO 22,000 to carry out disinfection in accordance with global food safety standards.

While adhering to the regulations issued by the Registrar of Pesticides of Sri Lanka, we follow the health guidelines on COVID-19 and the global standards stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) USA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) USA in our services.

Our COVID-19 safety disinfection services include Precautionary Disinfection as well as High-level Specialist Disinfection.

Our Precautionary Disinfection Service is available as a stand-alone or regular disinfection of premises to lower the risk of cross-contamination. It is carried out when there are no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on-site.

The methods used are ULV disinfection fogging and electrostatic spraying which are legally compliant to the WHO, EPA guidelines and Government regulations. This specialist disinfection helps maintain a high level of hygiene in any facility.

High-level Specialist Disinfection targets facilities that have been closed within the past 72 hours and need a highly specialized disinfection when a suspected or confirmed case of infection is reported at the workplace.

This is essentially a manual disinfection using a WHO, EPA and ROP approved disinfectant specifically approved for COVID-19. It is a high-level disinfectant that kills a broad range of pathogens within seconds of contact and has been tested against COVID-19.

This method includes higher levels of bio-security and safety controls, hence require a site survey by one of our specialists.

We also provide a post-treatment report confirming the service provided which meets with local and international standards.

Creating a plan for a safe work environment would help businesses manage the anxiety of the employees. Action now for prevention and preparedness would also go a long way in protecting your valuable resources in many ways!