Covid-19 Secure Workplace
Adjusting to a Covid-19 Compliant Workplace in 2022
Getting back to the workplace may be an overwhelming thought to many of us after lockdown, being furloughed or working from home, the workplace may seem a daunting place for both employer and employee to re-enter.
As an employer, you may feel overwhelmed, not knowing what measures are necessary to be put in place and how to make your workplace Covid-19 compliant whilst maintaining a functioning business. These are exceptional times and its likely you haven’t budgeted for the additional expense and increased overhead to meet your compliance needs.
Proici have been offering our services designing exceptional, well thought through workplace environments for over 20 years. Within the Proici team we have a wealth of experience and we’re here to help you through this transition by adapting existing spaces or designing a new workplace safer for all employees upon their return.
During lockdown, Proici have been discussing and researching with industry specialists and our community of suppliers on ways to implement this post lockdown work environment.
Physical Working Practices
There are some initial opportunities that can be implemented with minimal investment creating a safer working environment without drastically changing where you work.
Hand Sanitisation Stations
We have developed competitively priced hand sanitisation stations that are hands free foot operated dispensers which engage with your employees and encourage the use of cleaning your hands regularly at all key points in a workplace environment.
Download our Hand Sanitiser PDF
Divide Screens
Creating physical barriers for employee wellbeing and feeling safe glass or plastic screens that are easy to clean and maintain. Clear screens can blend into the workspace without a large physical presence or obstruction.
There are other alternatives solutions that can form a more aesthetically pleasing accompaniment to the office environment available in endless colour and shape options including upholstered, Timber and coloured acrylic screens.
Recycled PET felt screens which feature not only anti-microbial properties but also acoustic properties, which can aid in improving acoustics by reducing noise pollution levels in your workplace.
Agile Working
We need to consider that conventional small offices and meeting rooms which conventionally may have accommodate many users from two upwards should now be allocated to individuals or smaller groups who are able to operate at a safe distance.
Proici have been at the forefront of promoting agile and ‘activity based’ working for many years. Agile working has been becoming more and more popular as technological changes allow workers to become more flexible in their place of work and allowing greater interaction with other teams. This is both a challenge and an opportunity in the post covid office environment. By freeing up space by incorporating more agile working techniques, we can reduce the amount of smaller room enclosures, thus allowing us to occupy open spaces with the ability to keep to social distancing guidelines.
The benefit of such fluid spaces is that they can be endlessly modified to achieve alternative layouts or a new strategy. By using temporary screens whether hanging, desk mounted or mobile freestanding it enables the creation of temporary defined and enclosed spaces. The screens are available in several options including PET felt, Acrylic, Glass and Write on surfaces. When investing we need to consider dual use products and write on surfaces assist group communications, presentations and meetings. Agile tables and desking can have power and data incorporated allowing employees to plug in their own laptop and work at a safe distance from others. Simplicity of our working environments and the ability to adequately clean them will be key going forward.
Flexible Working
Working from home having been put into practice during lockdown may be a viable solution for the New Norm. As an employer you be able to rotate employee’s presence in the office and working from home in shift patterns. This would ensure less people in the workplace at any one time, reduce overcrowding and allow us to keep to social distancing rules.
Technology plays a key role with this approach and offering employees the tools and support to operate from home.
Health and Safety risk assessments, Broadband Internet Speeds, Correct furniture selections, Software, hardware, insurance and employment contracts are just some of the items an employer must evaluate when considering requesting employees to work from home.
Desk Rotation and Shift Working
If space is at a premium in your workspace, a way of creating safer working distances would be to allocate a shift system for the office or area. Banks of desking or tables could be allocated per shift, so employees do not face each other. Think of the seating arrangement in an aeroplane or at a sports stadium with all users facing in a single direction.
Shift A occupies the space week one and all face North with Shift B occupying the same area week two and all face South. You eliminate the potential of sitting opposite another user within a 2m distance. All users facing the same way and sat at least 2m away.
One Way Systems
Travelling around the workplace could lead to problems with crowding in corridors and struggling to maintain social distancing.
By creating one-way systems to help employees follow a safe route will reduce opportunities for face to face contact and contamination. This can be achieved using communication and directional Wayfinding and Signage solutions mentioned below in greater detail.
Technological Assistance in the Workplace
Technology is paying an ever-greater role in the workplace allowing employers and employees to choose where and how they operate. This technology can also be used to help implement a Covid-19 secure office.
Booking in systems
A solution becoming more and more popular in the Agile working environment, these can be installed in any room and around agile workplaces or furniture to allow employees to facilitate social distancing by pre booking spaces and facilities in advance.
This reduces overcrowding and bottle necking at certain spaces, like tea points, meeting rooms etc
Room Busy Indicators
At locations of potential overcrowding or bottlenecks in WC’s or Teapoints / Kitchens tec. We can provide a Traffic Light indicator system that communicates when the facility is in use or too busy. These can connect to Apps or BMS systems.
Monitoring and Notification Systems
Physically track the use, occupancy and overcrowding of smaller spaces such as toilets, tea points, canteens and changing rooms.
Automated Doors
Installing new or adapting existing doors automation can severely reduce the contact with heavy foot fall surfaces such as door handles and push plates which can carry germs.
Manual Door Devices
To enable the door opening with one’s foot, arm or elbow can be a very economical and practical consideration for many employers and severely reduce the contact with heavy foot fall surfaces such as door handles and push plates which can carry germs.
Touch Free Movement Sensor Light Switching
To remove the additional hand contact onto light switches consider altering or adding hands free movement sensors (PIR) that trigger lights to be operated within the workplace.
This solution is also energy efficient.
WC Toilet Touch Free Solutions
We offer hands free automated movement sensors to control the toilet flush or taps at sinks therefore severely reducing the contact with surface that can potentially carry germs.
From research obtained we are at risk if a toilet pan is flushed with the toilet seat/ lid open and not closed. We have WC toilet unit that operates completely hands free thus reducing user hand contact with any surface carrying germs.
The toilet has a sensor to automatically lift the lid for the user and automatically close the lid after use then automatically cleans the seat and flushes. This solution does ‘tick all the boxes’ for Hygiene.
Thermal Detection Cameras
Thermi-Screen Body Temperature Detection System can accurately detect facial temperatures of up to 40 people at
once with an accuracy of ±0.3ºC, this is ideal for monitoring body temperatures at entrances to events, transport hubs and buildings.
This solutions offers Accurate face tracking, the system recognises body temperatures in multiple conditions and can detect 40 people over 5 meters.
This solution can be installed and configured quickly into any industrial, public or commercial unit.
Non-Contact Thermal Detection Access Control Systems
This multifaceted non-touch access control system can be installed in conjunction with your current access setup and be configured to utilise any combination of body temperature, face recognition, mask detection, QR code or card / FOB for authentication.
The system can detect body temperature from the face in only 0.2 seconds and has industrial leading technology that allows accuracy of ±0.3ºC without the need for frequent calibration.
visitors and control entry can be monitored through two way audio and entry admission, making it ideal for almost any environment, including hospitality, retail and medical premises.
Material Choices and Selections
Surface properties and their ability to be robustly treated to an increased cleaning schedule will play an important part in the decision-making process going forward.
Within our consultation we will work with you and assess the buildings limitations to put together a solution that meets your requirements, budget and health considerations.
Material choice will be a factor in many aspects of office design going forward, below is some examples.
Finishes
These will play a large role in controlling the coronavirus spread. We partner with many suppliers allowing us to specify surfaces that are easy to clean, are robust enough to withstand an increased cleaning schedule and maintain their aesthetic qualities.
Furniture
Glass or Perspex screening may be a beneficial solution to help with social distancing short term as you adjust to new working practises.
However at Proici we have a team of designers that can help to formulate a fully holistic working environment using many innovative furniture solutions that take into account all the measures that social distancing requires, but at the same time make your employees enjoy their working environment as much as possible.
One Way Systems and Wayfinding
Communication is key to informing employees and visitors on new safe practices. Installing additional signage to ensure people maintain social distance rules will be key to this. Proici have proven experience in creating wayfinding plans for workspace environments.
As designers and with access to manufacturers we can offer bespoke solutions for walls and flooring materials that help to subtly inform employees of social distancing. Carpet designs can be formulated to provide information on how close people should stand to each other using colour, shape and texture as indicators.
Flooring can be installed to provide graphical information on one-way systems around an office. The opportunities are endless in this regard.
