Facility management services team members have always had a lot on their plate when it comes to emergency facilities management. This was complicated when the pandemic hit and turned countless industries upside down. For employees and customers alike, the reopening of the markets and local businesses comes with great excitement and a justified degree of uncertainty. Fortunately, teams that apply these five steps can help ensure a safe facility throughout the current climate.
Conduct a Comprehensive Cleaning of the Facility
The heart of continued reopening in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic remains the concept of cleanliness. For management, the implementation of facility management services must focus on this one key issue. The best way to help fight the COVID-19 spread comes from comprehensive deep cleaning practices. Facilities management outsourcing remains a viable option for managers who need some additional help at this time to keep high-traffic areas clean.
Consider Upgrading Your HVAC System to Use NBPI Sanitation
The COVID-19 pandemic drove home the viable concern about the air spread of the virus and indoor air quality. New and innovative air filtration and cleaning systems have been developed to make the air indoors safer to breathe. According to data from Global Plasma Solutions, the Needlepoint Bi-Polar Ionization filtration system is capable of destroying up to 99% of COVID viruses in the air. For those in charge of facility management services, this can provide a perfect solution for air quality concerns as more and more places open up to the public. This is just one example of common facilities challenges that technology helps to address.
Install New, Durable Dividers at Registers to Help Enable Social Distancing
One of the first features to be implemented in retail stores across the country at the start of the COVID pandemic was dividers and spacers. Used at checkouts to protect cashiers and around other areas to control the flow of people and prevent larger groups from forming, these dividers are likely not going anywhere. Any managers looking at in-store features ahead of reopening should consider an upgrade if they have not already done so in the past year. New and more durable dividers can continue to help customers and staff alike maintain the new normal that is social distancing.
Maintain Crowd Control With Thoughtful Facilities Management Services
While some guidelines and mandated regulations are going away, such as wearing masks, other practices could and should continue well after reopening. Managing crowd control and managing the flow of customers throughout the store can continue to lower risks for transmission and spread among those not yet vaccinated. Growth and development during this delicate time relies on robust facilities management from end to end. Thoughtful and deliberate facilities services can ensure businesses can reopen and get back to somewhat normal operations while ensuring the risks to employees and customers remain as low as possible.
Use Proper Signage to Tell Customers What You’re Doing to Maintain a Safe Environment
Many people are still fearful of returning to regular shopping and social interactions, despite the vaccines and decline in overall COVID cases and deaths. Displaying signage that highlights what steps facilities have taken can go a long way to put people’s minds at ease. Businesses should place signage on entryway doors, throughout the store, at the checkout counter and even on websites or mobile apps. The more people know about what facility management services work to keep them safe, the more likely they are to stay and shop.
Choose the Right Facility Management Services Partner to Enable a Better, Faster, and Smoother Full Reopening
The best way to slow the spread of an infectious disease is by continuously assessing the conditions and safety of your facility to reduce its risk of transmission. By embracing new innovations and processes with help from the right facility management services partner, businesses across the country can reopen with confidence. Knowing the health and safety of their employees and customers are protected will ensure everyone feels comfortable getting back to a new semblance of normalcy. Multi-faceted outsourcing and collaboration make this easier. Request a consultation with SMG Facility Services to get started and be sure that all response actions you do consider should adhere to current guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA).
