Today it has become necessary to adapt our working routine to a new reality, especially for those who need to commute daily to the office; the employer, on the other hand, needs to take on many new responsibilities, in order to ensure safety within the office/company.
We have to start from maintenance: since it’s not possible to re-build some spaces from scratch, the only solution is to invest in a better use of spaces and buildings that are already available, in order to make them safer from an environmental and hygienic point of view, as well as cosier and aesthetically beautiful, as only Italian design can do.
1_PHYSICAL DISTANCING
Since this virus spreads through personal interactions, it is necessary to limit them as much as possible; that is why office space needs to be transformed in order to follow the new safety distance: furniture and organisation need to be modified in every working space, from meeting rooms, to auditoriums, to common areas. Physical distancing between co-workers can be achieved by setting up barriers between desks, in open spaces, or around counters that are open to the public, and generally in every space where there could be a co-presence of workers and/or customers. There’ll be more attention in terms of sanitation, but also regarding services/facilities, which will be placed inside the working place, in order to avoid going out.
Adjustment measures:
- Washable and hygienic screen/barrier for reception stations;
- Washable and hygienic screen/barrier between working stations, in order to guarantee a minimum distance of 1,50m between co-workers;
- A pre-determined maximum number of employees per room (i.e. one employee per desk/station);
- Open doors, unless they need to be periodically closed (i.e. bathroom, entrance, meeting rooms, etc.);
- Plan employees shifts in order to allow only one person at a time inside common areas, in order to avoid crowds.
2_HYGIENE AND SANITATION
Best practices regarding personal and environmental hygiene need to be highly encouraged: constant staff training, information boards, sanitiser dispensers. Sanitation of offices and laboratories will have to be carried out often and daily. Some elements that are particularly risky in terms of spreading the infection will need to be carefully evaluated, such as:
- door or passageways handles;
- work stations;
- elevators, inner entrance doors, dead end hallways;
- air conditioning systems, that will require regular and extra sanitisation;
- water and fire systems, since there is evidence that COVID-19 can survive in water, especially at low temperatures.
3_MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT SUPPLY
Let’s not forget all the equipment and materials necessary for personal protection and hygiene, that will have to be supplied and always available for the employees. It’ll be necessary to establish a procedure for waste collection, with specific containers that will prevent contact and spillage. These are the materials that will have to be supplied to all the employees:
- Disposable gloves;
- Disposable or washable masks;
- Alcohol-based gel;
- Disposable tissues;
- Infrared thermometer at the entrance, if possible.