I hope all of you out there are staying safe and healthy. Here in Berkeley, our shelter in place order was extended until May 31 – at least! I know everyone is anxious to get their workplaces open again – to get back to some sense of “normal”. But when we do start to reopen, it’s not going to be as easy as just unlocking the door, flipping on the lights and then… boom, business as usual.
Our “new normal” requires a lot of work to prepare our workplaces to be ready for both workers and customers to return safely. Since we have been providing some “essential” services, we have been able to be open in a limited way and have already gone through the process of doing just that. I thought it might be helpful to share some of the things we’ve learned, along with some resources we’ve found useful.
And, of course, you can feel free to contact me at any time if I can help in any way.
Being guided by the principle that everybody’s health comes first, second and third, we weren’t going to bring anyone back until we were certain we could do it as safely as possible. Following the recommendations by OSHA and the CDC, here are some of the steps we’ve taken:
- The first thing we did was bring in an outside professional company to fully sanitize the entire building.
- We rearranged workstations so everyone is at least 6 feet apart or has some kind of barrier between their stations.
- As an extra safety measure, we installed plexiglass plates between stations on our printing press.
- Finally, wherever possible, we moved furniture, fixtures and equipment to create wider walking corridors to help our team maintain social distancing.
After those initial preparations, we were ready to bring in our skeleton crew to work (with protocols in place of course). We also put up signs and stickers everywhere (and are working on banners and floor stickers) to remind all of us of the rules. Here is where we started:
- If you don’t feel well, don’t come in. No exceptions.
- Everyone must stay at least 6 feet apart at all times.
- Everyone is required to wear a mask at all times. (Luckily we know a great place to get masks)
- Breaks are staggered, so fewer people are in the lunchroom at the same time.
- Everyone is required to wipe down all common surfaces with sanitizer before AND after they touch them (We brought in gallons of isopropyl alcohol to mix with with water and are making our own for cleaning surfaces)
- Everyone has individual hand sanitizer bottles on their person at all times.
- Finally, we do a complete wipe down at the end of each day and have someone come in several evenings a week to do another thorough sanitizing.
One of the things that surprised me most was getting in the habit of staying 6 feet apart. Doing that is harder than it sounds. Once back in the familiar surroundings of your workplace, it’s easy to fall into old patterns of wanting to walk over and ask someone a question, to lean over their screen or grab someone walking by for a quick chat. But, be vigilant and don’t allow any exceptions. I hope you find this information useful as you begin to open up your own workplaces.
Here are some resources we used to build out our protocols and prepare and hopefully they will help you do the same:
Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
Stay Safe!
