A BACK-TO-WORK CHECKLIST FOR BUSINESSES 

Is your workspace safe for your team to go back to work?

Under lockdown Level 3, many businesses may be going back to work, which comes with renewed risk of the highly contagious Covid-19 infection spreading exponentially. Ensuring the safety of a team will be top-of-mind for all employers. A decontamination protocol is one of the best ways to ensure an environment meets world standards.

As a company committed to applying best practices and following the latest protocols, we have established a special decontamination taskforce to agilely disinfect any business across all sectors. With service excellence at our core, we have also instigated a Covid-19 Preparedness Assessment for our clients. To assist businesses to be ready to resume operations, we have sourced several ‘Back to Work’ essentials – such as antibacterial hand sanitizer and face masks – to ensure the safety of a space.

Here is our checklist for businesses going back to work on ways to stay safe during this unprecedented pandemic.

A CHECKLIST FOR BUSINESSES GOING BACK TO WORK: 

1. Have you decontaminated the space? Covid-19 is transmitted via droplet spread. This means surfaces can be contaminated quickly. A decontamination protocol is the best way to ensure a workplace is coronavirus free. It involves all surfaces, production lines, workstations, walls, floors and ceilings being decontaminated using specialized chemicals, after which the area is air dried. Our cleaning team is specially trained and attired in the necessary PPE. All disposable PPE is immediately placed in a biohazard bag and treated as Health Care Risk Waste. Decontamination protocols should be imperative following a positive Covid-19 incident.
2. Have you done a risk analysis? If a decontamination is done before a team returns to work then a risk analysis is done afterwards. Otherwise, a risk analysis should already be in place. This critical assessment determines high touch points (most touched surfaces) and the cleaning regimen required to maintain the necessary hygiene standards. It’s vital daily cleaning happens (at minimum) with special care paid to the mapped touch points.
3. Have you got the right products? The correct chemicals need to be used in daily cleaning practices. High-alcohol solutions work well for hard surface sanitizing of small areas and sensitive equipment. Solutions containing sodium hypochlorite such as bleach should be used on walls and floors.

Professional bodies have recommended the following chemicals be used :

• >70% IsoPropanol based hand sanitizer, Neat (Alcohol based hand sanitizer)
• Sodium Hypochlorite 0,1 – 0,5% (Chlorine based sanitizer)
• Hydrogen Peroxide >0,5% (Available as a blend of Hydrogen Peroxide and Peracetic acid based sanitizer)
• Benzalkonium Chloride 0,05% (QAC sanitizer)

4. Have you trained your team? Ultimately, a lot depends on every employee complying with the rules. It’s essential to train a team on best personal hygiene practices like frequent hand washing and hand sanitizing. Entrenching these behaviours relies on discipline. People will slip up, so have Covid-19 hygiene reminders everywhere, in the form of posters, frequent check-ins, morning mailers… even messaging mats on the floor.
5. Have you got the right PPE? We can provide the highly-sought-after gloves and masks, along with other essentials like hand sanitizer and hand washing solutions. Make sure there are strict protocols regarding putting PPE on, taking it off and disposing of it. Have a biohazard waste disposal mechanism for single-use items. And make sure fabric masks are washed, ironed and rotated consistently.
6. Have you got social distancing measures in place? Before a team returns, use reflective tape to designate well-spaced-out ‘work zones’ to comply with social distancing. Use tape to outline how people should queue for the bathroom. Draw up kitchen and lunch ‘shifts’. All communal spaces like meeting rooms should ideally not be in use, or severely restricted. Have clear policies for how team members should interact with each other and other stakeholders like customers, if applicable.
7. Have you got equipment for daily temperature testing? Enforce daily health screening. Conduct daily temperature testing using infrared thermometers. Additionally, ask questions relating whether someone is experiencing a fever, cough, difficulty breathing, sneezing, runny nose or general feeling of being unwell. Use a daily log for results.
8. Have you got drills for scenario testing? It’s important to conduct drills so you know how to handle a positive Covid-19 case, a security incident, breach of hygiene protocol etc. Practicing these with a team will take time but will enforce the seriousness of the situation and help everyone feel more prepared.
9. Have you got support systems in place? Individuals will feel a huge amount of uncertainty and stress, so employers should consider offering free counselling services during this time. Empathetic leadership is key – people appreciate honesty, constant communication, caring one-on-one check-ins, flexibility and recognition.

Please contact us to find out how we can assist you.

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