Post-Pandemic Changes to Improve Your Commercial Building
Ever since the onset of the pandemic, many commercial buildings have made significant changes to ensure the public’s safety. It seems as if the pandemic won’t end anytime soon, so the best option for many commercial building owners is to adapt.
Having a commercial building means ensuring you incorporate post-pandemic changes to guarantee the safety of your tenants. Remember that the government also implements strict health protocols for functioning commercial establishments. Here are some tips to help you adjust to these protocols.
Tip #1: Place Hand Sanitizing Stations
The first step to creating post-pandemic changes on your commercial building is to place hand sanitizing stations in strategic places. You won’t know what kind of exposure the people in your building have, so they have to keep their hands disinfected as much as possible. It is possible for people to get infected with the Coronavirus from touching surfaces in public areas.
Placing sanitizing stations reduces the chances of infecting everyone around your building and ensures a safer environment. Make sure the cleaning personnel inspect the sanitizing stations frequently to see if they need refills. They should also clean the bottle and the area where they placed it to eliminate any contamination.
Tip #2: Incorporate Contactless Technology
Some examples of contactless technology include using online banking, motion-activated doors, or even metal detectors. Online banking is the most crucial technology that many people use nowadays because they utilize cashless transactions to avoid contact.
Motion-activated doors also benefit people because nobody has to touch door handles, limiting the virus transfer from person to person. You can place motion-activated doors in entrances or exits. It’s best to have some technicians on-call because the motion-activated doors might malfunction, so you need to get it fixed quickly.
Metal detectors for security personnel can come in very handy since they don’t have to put their hands on and inspect each person entering the building. The metal detectors can spot hidden metallic weapons underneath clothes or inside bags. If your guards need to frisk people, provide them with disposable surgical gloves.
Tip #3: Redesign Your Office Layout
Another great tip to avoid viral infection inside your building is to redesign the office layout. If there’s a business renting your building, advise them to redesign the desk arrangements and ensure social distancing. Social distancing can reduce the infection rate drastically.
It is also advisable to place plastic barriers on the front and sides of each desk. These barriers can protect them from possible contaminants in the air. You can also install general-purpose access doors and panels to keep building components out of reach to the public.
Tip #4: Use Easy-to-Clean Materials
Your building might have materials that cleaning personnel find hard to clean. Sometimes, they use several cleaning techniques before they can clean a surface, and you need them to finish cleaning as quickly as possible. Avoid placing things like cloth rugs or carpets in commercial buildings due to their absorbent qualities. Instead, look for water-resistant ones to make it easier for cleaning personnel to wash off the dirt and virus.
Tip #5: Utilize Outdoor Space
Nowadays, some commercial buildings will have seats for eating in outdoor areas because it provides a broader space for everyone to move around. Utilizing an outdoor area can give your commercial building more breathing space and significantly reduces the risk of getting infected. Aside from placing chairs and tables for eating, some commercial buildings put wide conference tables under tents to hold outdoor meetings.
Tip #6: Improve Air Filtration Systems
Coughing or sneezing inside a commercial building nowadays can make people uncomfortable while others are more complacent due to the available vaccines. However, the new delta variant can infect even vaccinated people, so you need to create a safer building by improving your air filtration systems.
Usually, the HVAC system can help improve the air inside the building. Other building owners install the latest MERV-16 air filters that capture 95% of harmful air particles. Also, contact HVAC technicians to keep your HVAC system running in top condition. You need to maintain them frequently if you want them to filter air effectively.
Tip #7: Use Online Communication Tools
If you don’t want to limit the number of employees getting bunched together in a small conference room, online communication is the best option. Many companies use them since it helps them communicate together without physical contact. Some features can help improve the flow of meetings.
Make sure you remember the different ways to improve and maintain the safety of your commercial building. These tips can come in handy to help you adjust to the post-pandemic changes and keep everyone safe.