As the states begin to ease shelter-in-place restrictions and various shuttered non-essential businesses are opening, our nation’s journey towards the “new normal” has already started. No doubt, with the presence of COVID-19, it is still scarier for everyone involved, including building some guidelines that help to protect people, while minimizing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here are some of the steps that you need to consider while going with the reopening of the facilities –
Step 1 – Pre-work
- Inspect the building
The buildings that have been vacant for the last few weeks or months have also been without cleaning, which means there will be dirt, dust, virus, or bacteria. With this, you can start with an inspection of the building, for which you need to do a thorough examination that should be thorough with uv light intensity for disinfection. It should include looking for the areas where the mold can grow, and those areas are mainly restrooms, kitchens, walls, and in HVAC systems, and various other surfaces that may have been damaged due to water. It is essential to address the moldy and damaged surfaces right away with the right remediation or replacement if necessary.
- Review the application guidelines
Before reopening any facilities, you should be aware of the right methods you can use for cleaning and these should be reliable enough to provide you with satisfactory results. It would help if you made sure that the guidelines are approved with the right cleaning authorities so that you can use them to disinfect your surfaces or you can use uv light intensity for disinfection. These are an essential part of cleaning your property in a better way and getting reliable results from the disinfection process.
- Confirm funding or budget
Make sure that you have enough budget that you need for the cleaning products and tools, as well as the staff required to implement the proper cleaning protocol.
Step 2 – Update policies, procedures, and protocols
If you want to maintain a high-quality cleaning and disinfecting, it is essential to have clear and robust policies as well as procedures that are needed. It is not only true for the enhanced concern, but these are also essential in regular day-to-day operations. Below are the fundamental pieces that needed to run a high-quality and effective cleaning and disinfection program –
A written policy for cleaning programs
Cleaning program policies should be outlined depending on how often the procedures will be reviewed and updated, what methods should be in place, and the frequency and situations when the employees receive the training and feedback on the process.
Clear and detailed preventative procedure for daily usage
A strong cleaning program needs a written procedure that can specify the cleaning process for different areas in your facility –
- Each procedure should include the surfaces that need to be cleaned, who will be responsible for those areas, and the products that can be used for cleaning different surfaces.
- Other product details should include the direction of use, the time of contact, and the features regarding how to avoid cross-contamination.
- Make sure to update the procedure regularly when the new products are introduced or identify the best practices.
- Also, include the basics of public health such as washing your hands regularly, staying at your home when you are sick, and the responsibility for building occupants to help the cleaning and disinfecting team reduce the germs. It should be assigned with the occupants’ management, and it can go a long way toward supporting the work of the cleaning staff.
Procedure for outbreak preparedness
Ensure you should have the procedure for outbreak preparedness in place for when the viruses such as coronavirus can be present at your facility. The process should be relevant enough to separate the cleaning from the regular preventative cleaning procedure, as it should include the extra cleaning measures that should be taken for which surface disinfection uv light plays an essential role. It includes details regarding the threats regarding the virus and its spread, helping employees understand how to identify the signs and symptoms for the illness of the concern. It is essential to know about the correct preventive equipment that you need to wear, the produce that you need to use, and frequency you should consider for cleaning and disinfecting, or the surfaces you should disinfect.
Spotlight on products
Ensure that the disinfectants have the right claims regarding the pathogens that cause illness of concerns in your facilities, and it is essential to know that the product you are using is approved for use against the coronavirus. You should update the list regularly, but if the list does not contain the disinfectant, then you should check the manufacturer’s website or, if possible, contact the manufacturer directly to gain the right knowledge. Various manufacturers are now facing the shortage of the products for which, if needed, you can also shift to the new products. If it is the case, it is essential to ensure that you are using the right disinfectant and the right staff who is appropriately trained in using the products safely.
Educate, train, and engage staff
Make sure the cleaning you are making is blades on your facility’s cleaning and disinfecting procedure and the procedure you have made for the sudden outbreak.
Step 3 – Execute and recognize
- Reconfirm the funding or budget depending on the updates procedures and protocols
The essential thing that you need to consider is to adjust the budget according to the requirements for regularly updating the process.
- Regularly do check-ins with staff
Ensure that the staff meets the expectations of the programs and ask them for the regular feedback on how they are handling the work. You can adjust the procedure and protocol according to the needs and those outlined in the program’s policy.
- Bring awareness
You can put all of your hard work to practice for helping the cleaning and disinfecting team throughout their cleaning process so that things can move smoother. One of the best ways to help do this is to send a notice to the building occupants for sharing efforts or sharing programs with leadership for bringing visibility in every action that is taken for protecting the health and safety of the employees.
Protect your business as well as your people with a surface disinfection UV light that is available immediately to get rid of the harmful virus. Here at LuxUVC, we use the safest and powerful UVC germicidal technology that can disinfect the commercial, residential, and medical spaces. These can clean the areas in less than 10 minutes while removing the harmful effects of the germs as these can kill around 99.99% germs. LuxUVC protects surgical grade UVC technology that can disinfect the spaces in the hospitals and the surgery centers that are highly infected areas where the people can become sick immediately. No doubt, the chemical cleaners can reach the surface, but these are not suitable enough for the sensitive equipment, but with the UVC technology, you can effectively treat the spaces, no matter which type of environment it is where you are using the UVC technology for disinfecting the surface.
