Post Covid 19 Office Security

Post Covid 19 Office Security

As different states and individual cities start to lift their lockdown restrictions and their social distancing restrictions, many people will return to their offices. However, the CDC stipulates that office security needs to remain vigilant when it comes to the safety and wellness of their individual employees.  What does this require? A lot. This will vary based on each state and each city and as the guidelines change and become more flexible, certain facets of this post covid-19 security might not be required but could still be encouraged. 

Evaluating Air

Offices need to make sure that their HVAC systems are working properly before everyone returns. They also need to focus on increasing outdoor air circulation as much as possible. In any environment where there are no environmental contaminants outside, officers should consider finding ways to open windows and doors where possible or by using fans to get better air circulation.

Spacing

In some places the social distance of 6 feet apart might still be in effect or at least as close to that as possible. This means that where necessary offices need to consider post covid-19 Office security by marking areas on the floor with 6 feet apart and using signs are other visual clues especially in break rooms, parking lots, locker rooms, or entrance and exit areas. This will help not only employees but visitors to the area know how to keep an adequate distance.  This type of spacing also applies to furniture and workstations. Shields might need to be installed to maintain that distance in between different desks or chairs can be arranged in communal areas by moving them far apart, covering chairs that shouldn’t be used with tape, or just turning them around so the people can see which chairs to avoid in which chairs they can use.

High Touch Spaces

In any office there will be areas that are considered high touch and these are areas where lots of people touch the same things.  Usually there are communal coffee pots and bulk snacks like an oversize container of popcorn or pretzels into which people can reach or out of which people can pour individual serving sizes. Instead, offices might consider stalking pre-packaged items, single serve snacks or single serving instant coffees.  Staff members can be encouraged to bring their own water so that they don’t touch water fountains or you syncs as often.

Locks and Digital Security Systems

post covid 19 cleanlinessHigh-touch spaces also apply to things like locks, doors, and digital security systems. People might now be aware of the need for sanitizing keypad locks and digital security systems. Office security systems get used regularly by a multitude of staff members, much the same as an ATM gets pressed by hundreds of people every day. To that end, post COVID-19 office security dictates that you not only keep your office security systems up and running but that you keep them clean.   There are a range of different germs and while many security measures have been published to teach people how to properly wash their hands, 50% of adults still don’t wash their hands properly and one of those 50% could be the person touching your digital office security system.  The biggest problem here is knowing which type of hygiene will keep your digital security system in office locks the cleanest.

  • You need to consider a combination of different cleaning methods that you can employ in your office, encourage all staff members to employ, and assign to your janitorial staff. 
  • This includes hand sanitizers and rubbing alcohol only where hand washing is not available. Hand-washing is 100% the preferable method. Why? Because soap and water will kill germs transferred through the oral fecal route, basically all those bad germs from the bathroom that caused a lot of intestinal problems. Rubbing alcohol will not.
  • Staff members should focus on cleaning everything that gets touched including the most commonly touched items like door handles, keys, locks into which the keys are placed, digital keypads, and any other handles, knobs, or security features.
  • Include a bottle of diluted bleach, one part bleach to 10 parts water for easy spraying and sanitizing of keypads and locked where a UV light won’t penetrate.
  • Similarly, invest in UV light sanitizer in ones for communal spaces like office kitchens, staff rooms, and secretarial spaces or lobbies. These can be used by anyone who wants to before and after meetings.

All of these measures when combined can help improve the overall security and health and safety of any office.