Make Sure Your Essential Business Stays Open

Stop Touching Your Face

The number one most common way the flu is contracted is by people touching their faces with germs on their hands. To be safe in any setting, people must stop touching their faces. Itching noses and rubbing eyes are such natural behaviors, it can be extremely difficult to train yourself and other people to stop. Start by providing information. Let employees know how important it is. Post reminders and enforce mask policies.

Clean and Disinfect

Increase cleaning and disinfecting to the maximum frequency that your facility is capable of. Any common areas, bathrooms, work surfaces, devices, appliances, and all surfaces should be fully disinfected as often as possible. Make sure your staff or cleaning company is using the right products and the right techniques to fully disinfect, not just clean. If you’re not confident in the performance of your current service, consider changing providers.

Surfaces that should be fully disinfected include the structural surfaces of the facility like floors, walls, counters, and workstations. The frequently-used devices, appliances, equipment, and office spaces must also be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected frequently to allow these materials and surfaces to continue to be used safely.

Use Microfiber Mops

Microfiber material earned that name because it’s made of fibers that are small enough to remove contaminants from every nook and cranny. It’s also an extremely absorbent material. It’s electrostatically charged, which helps it to hold on to the materials it picks up. Make sure that your staff or cleaning company is using flat mops or other types of microfiber mops to achieve the most thorough clean possible. The best solution for this type of mop is a no-dip disinfectant, which will eliminate cross-contamination from mop buckets and dirty water.

Use the Proper Equipment

Using a disinfectant that’s not registered with the EPA is probably going to have sub-par results, which means an increased risk of infectivity for everyone in your facility. Make sure your staff or cleaning company is using EPA-registered disinfectants. Checking for registration will also save you and your employees from any potential health hazards related to the use of unregistered cleaning chemicals.

Your maintenance staff or cleaning service should be using color-coded microfiber cloths to clean the surfaces throughout your facility. Color coding eliminates the dangerous cross-contamination that occurs when companies use the same rag on your desk as they used in the bathroom. This is an inexpensive way to greatly increase your workplace safety.

Make Employees Stay Home

 If your industry allows for employees to work from home, take full advantage to the best of your ability. Most companies have discovered that allowing employees to work at home improves productivity, but more importantly, it will keep your business functioning.

If employees show any symptoms at all, do not allow them to be in the facility. Ensure that your employees have contingency plans for illness and an outbreak policy that will prepare everyone for widespread absences.