The New Norm
What effect has the pandemic had on the future of our industry? Our offices? Industrial facilities? The multi-family world?Sentry Commercial offers a look. Changes in space? See below. Changes in the industry? Take a look at our “New Norm” series, featuring interviews with Curt Gemme and industry experts telling us what they are seeing in their respective fields.
Updated on June 29, 2020:
Best Practices:
-
- This is primarily about employee health and wellness.
- Stay apprised of governmental, WHO, CDC, etc. guidelines (See Resources below).
- Communicate your plans to make your employees, tenants and visitors feel safe.
- Determine maximum capacity of your workplace:
- Min. 200-300 SF PP.
- Remove any chairs and workstations not intended for use.
- Require use of face-masks at all times (See Resources Page below).
- Ensure employees wash their hands regularly.
- Visitors:
- Develop visitor policy (No visitors, screened visitors, electronic visitor logs. etc.).
- Workforce:
- Consider work-at-home.
- Consider requiring high-risk groups and over the age of 65 should continue to stay home.
- Consider phased-in, re-entry approach.
- Rotate work staff (50% in office, 50% at home).
- Increase number of shifts.
- Sanitizing:
- Strict cleaning and disinfectant protocols in all settings.
- Constant, repetitive sanitizing of facilities, workstations, keyboards, phones, common areas, etc.
- Eliminate as many phone handsets as possible.
- Sanitize packages shipped and received.
- Workflow:
- One-way employee movement (i.e. clockwise or counterclockwise).
- Branded social distancing floor decals.
- Larger/increased space to move around the office.
- Post floor plans showing 6’ distancing and sanitizing stations.
- Janitorial:
- Consider no outside cleaning services (each person responsible for taking their trash home).
- Employee/Visitor Policy:
- Determine if you will screen employees and/or visitors health status.
- IF you decide to screen employees, determine if you want to outsource said screening to healthcare service.
- Determine if you require employee and/or visitor questionnaire prior to entry.
- Determine company policy in the event an employee or visitor tests positive.
- If you choose to screen:
- Passive screening:
- Health questionnaire of all employees and visitors (see Sample Documents below).
- Active screening (see Vendor Resources below):
- Thermal Cameras.
- Company health apps.
- Temperature upon entry (Max. 100.3).
- Passive screening:
- If you choose to screen:
- Defined response plan for employee/visitor COVID infection.
Building/Space Entry:
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- Automatic/Touchless door entry (see Vendor Resource Information below)
- No phone in the building/space lobby.
- No-touch screen tenant directory.
- Facial recognition technology (ability to track all movements in the building through facial recognition).
- Microbial entry door mats to walk on.
- Enter front door, leave through side door.
Building Common Areas:
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- Lobby:
- Elevator:
- Voice activated or touchless elevator controls
- Encourage alternatives such as stairs.
- Hire attendant.
- Limited elevator capacity.
- Elevator:
- Bathrooms:
- Touchless access to lavatories.
- Touchless toilets/urinals, sinks and soap/towel dispensers.
- Stairwells/Stairways:
- Consider “one-way stairwells” (up only in one, down only in the other).
- Lobby:
Office Space:
-
- Enhance daylight to interior space.
- Install numerous hand sanitizing stands for convenience and assurance.
- Install more voice activated technology (see Vendor Resource Information below).
- Air quality (See Resources Page below):
- NOTE: Debate still exists on air circulation (i.e. increase vs. reduction of circulation)
- Increase fresh air rates.
- Enhance filtration/optimize air delivery
method (make sure it gets to the breathing
zone). - Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI).
- Bipolar ionization.
- Control humidification.
- Pro-active maintenance program for HVAC.
- Re-visit ASHRAE standards.
- Sophisticated plug and go air purification systems with virus minimizing filters (such as a copper layer).
- Private offices:
- More of them.
- PRIVATE MEANS PRIVATE – No one else may enter (possibly including the cleaning crew).
- Open workstations:
- Desks facing away from each other.
- 6’ x 6’ high workstations with some version of vision panels to create the appearance of open space.
- Acrylic safety shields minimize risk of transmission.
- Consider alternating workstations usage (i.e. dormant workstations).
- Lunchroom:
- Consider closing lunchrooms.
- Paper plates, cups, plastic/disposable utensils, etc.
- Use of microwave/water cooler/toaster oven only when using masks/gloves.
- No seating or seating spaced 6’ or more apart.
- Conference Rooms:
- No touch systems for doors.
- Reduce existing conference room to accommodate 50% of previous capacity.
- Engage “people counters” which indicate how many people enter the room and whether they maintained proper distance from each other when they entered.
- Close entirely and move conferences to open, non-enclosed areas.
- Outside conferences (i.e. Green open space (weather permitting)).
- Hoteling:
- Fully sanitized after EVERY use.
Office Space Common Areas:
-
- Copier Rooms:
- No touch systems for doors.
- Voice activated machines.
- No touching copier/printer without protective gloves.
- Assign one-person exclusive use of the room.
- Bathrooms:
- No touch systems for doors, plumbing fixtures and toilet stalls.
- Increased and multiple times per day cleaning.
- Copier Rooms:
Warehouse/Manufacturing Space:
-
- Shipping Areas:
- Signage and floor marking to create separation of functions and routes for shipping and receiving operations.
- PPE for shipping and receiving employees.
- Shipping and receiving area use limited to shipping and receiving employees only.
- Route packages received via non-congested areas.
- Shipping Areas:
Related Articles:
-
- This is the end of the office as we know it:
- The pandemic already pushed millions to work from home. Many of them will likely go back to a very different office. Read inVox.
- This is the end of the office as we know it:
Resources:
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- WHO:
- CDC:
- Occupational Safety & Health Administration:
- ISSA:
- Hand Sanitizers, Cloth Masks, Cleaning Supplies:
- Face Mask Guidelines:
Vendor Resources:
-
- Touchless Entry:
- Open Path: https://www.openpath.com/
- Janitorial Services:
- Patterson Maintenance Services: http://pattersoncleaning.com/
- Air Purification:
- Auraair – https://www.auraair.io/
- Facial Recognition:
- Vaango: https://vaango.co/
- Touchless Entry:
Sample Documents:
NOTE: The information below will be edited on an ongoing basis, providing all timely content. We welcome your input. This is meant to be a collaborative, timely resource.
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