Commercial Improvements To Create Healthy Spaces
You want to make your staff and customers feel safe and welcome in your business by offering physical distancing and limiting the potential spread of germs. These physical changes can help accomplish those goals, depending on which ones suit your space:
Create an outdoor seating area for staff during breaks, lunch hours, and meetings.
Set up garbage stations that don’t require staff to open the lid with their hands.
Install an HVAC system to increase the filtering of air, bring in more fresh air and to lower humidity to stymie viruses. Run it for two hours before staff come in and two hours after they leave.
Add HEPA filters to our ventilations to keep out germs, plus dust and other irritants.
Open windows as often as possible to circulate fresh air more frequently.
Make sure exhaust fans in washrooms are working as they should.
Consider using an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation device to clean the air of any high-traffic spaces
Spread staff out to work in reception areas and little-used conference rooms rather than sharing offices. They should ideally be six feet apart.
Install Plexiglas or other transparent shields to stop the spread of germs
Take away chairs or turn them over so people stay apart in waiting areas. Even better, build nice benches in different corners that respect the six-foot spacing.
Mark floors clearly so people know how far apart to stay in common areas, such as lunch spaces and locker rooms.
Put up a sign with the rules right at the entrance so people know who what to expect. If you want people in masks, say so right up front in a friendly way.
Replace doorknobs and hand-grasped door handles with ones that use levers activated by a foot or an arm to get in and out. Automatic doors are also an option.
Install lever taps or get touchless ones to minimize where dirty hands come into contact with fixtures.
Open up cramped rooms by removing a wall or bulky furniture so people can stay apart.
Install surfaces that are easily cleaned and free from clutter so you can easily reach every inch of counters.
Store cleaning supplies in cupboards that are open and easily within reach for less frequent touching of surfaces.
Create a new flow via extra doorways or a widened area in a hallway.
Once changes are made to your space, and staff adhere to new protocols, you can get back to business with the confidence that your staff and customers will be healthy.