During this pandemic, we must ensure that the hygiene and sanitation standards of our buildings are raised and maintained. Personally, I don't believe we are ready to reopen our buildings anytime soon. We have steps to take before we can even consider opening our schools and municipal buildings.
Ambient air during the Covid-19 period
The Covid-19 virus remains alive in the air for up to 3 hours. Therefore, it is important to ensure sufficient air exchange. In addition, the relative humidity level should be maintained between 40 and 60°C as much as possible. Condensation should be avoided during cold periods, as the Covid-19 virus remains active longer on damp surfaces.
Of course, we will not tolerate the presence of employees or visitors with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
Cluttering of spaces
You'd be surprised how cluttered offices and spaces can get. It's not uncommon for offices to be full of papers, post-it notes, plants losing their leaves, knick-knacks, and more. The more objects and documents there are, the more difficult housekeeping becomes. Everyone's cooperation is required to ensure that maintenance workers have enough time to clean and disinfect all spaces. So, from the first days of deconfinement, it's important to make sure surfaces are cleared as much as possible.
It will also be necessary to be aware that the janitors will have to prioritize washing and disinfection tasksThey will have to devote much more time than usual to these tasks.
Respect 2 meters of distance between people
It will be necessary to make it easier to estimate the 2 meters of social distancing required. Not everyone is aware of what this distance represents. Therefore, it will be necessary to:
- Make one-way corridors;
- Place signs on the ground to indicate where people should be located to respect the 2-meter distance between the two;
- We will also have to reduce the number of people in the same space. Whether it's introducing multiple dinners or allowing teleworking or holding meetings virtually.
- If this rule is not possible, other solutions will have to be found, such as the installation of plexiglass.
- The main bathroom door could be removed to reduce high-risk contact points for contamination.
Becoming aware of hygiene
Mandatory hygiene measures will be required for both employees and visitors. This can be done in several ways: awareness posters, installation of handwashing stations in several locations:
- Entrance-exit of the building, guard post;
- Entrance to the garage, offices, factory;
- Locker rooms, toilets, training or weight room;
- Cafeteria, kitchenettes, coffee corner;
- The factory;
- To vehicle maintenance;
- Before entering the elevator;
- Photocopy room;
- etc.
The increase in hygiene and sanitation costs in our buildings
There's no getting around it: it will cost more to maintain our buildings. We'll need to increase the frequency of washing and disinfecting high-risk contact points. The frequency will depend on whether or not there are people with symptoms, ventilation, humidity, traffic, the number of diners, etc. Each building is different. An assessment will be necessary (CF Health can do it for you, of course)
In the evening, the entire wash will have to be redone, in addition to the high-risk contact points of contamination. This therefore represents an increase in the number of hours of building cleaning.
Employee training
Most janitors working in cities and municipalities, school buildings have never received a real training in maintenance methodsAnd seeing that they will have to maintain their buildings in more difficult and demanding conditions increases their stress level. They feel they have full responsibility for the presence or absence of Covid-19 in their buildings. In reality, it is a question of everyone's collaboration.
So, the training will allow them to have clear guidelines of the methods of washing and disinfection during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, to disinfect properly, you need to have the right washing techniques and methods. You will also need to review the choice of products, accessories and washing and disinfection equipment. Dilution of products including WHMIS 2015 also seems very important to me.
Through demonstrations and hands-on practice of cleaning and disinfection methods, employees will master these techniques. Don't assume that someone cleaning your home is necessarily a skilled housekeeping employee. Buildings are large, with traffic, surfaces, and conditions that are very different from those of a home.
The organization of work and washing techniques must be well mastered so that disinfection is subsequently effective.
The big clean-up
Spring cleaning is upon us for most of our buildings. And for once, we really want to make sure everything is done and done right. However, the spring cleaning will be the same as in previous years if we don't plan for the products, accessories, and adequate washing equipment. And once again, we will have to plan for the employee training so that the tasks are carried out properly.
We'll have to rethink our priorities. I'm not saying floors aren't important, but cleaning and disinfecting affected surfaces will have to be a priority in the coming months.
Preventing infections through surveillance
Quality control should be done frequently, seriously and in all buildings. Here is a article on this subject. Please note that there are also tools that can help you perform quality control with accurate data. We also have training on the subject where we can We take care of this work for youQuality control allows us to check the quality of the work and adjust as needed. Visits are usually made directly with the employee(s) during quality control. This activity can tell us whether the frequency of tasks is sufficient or not.
