Offices buildings and campuses have always presented unique challenges when it comes to maintaining healthy operations. Each environment has a unique design and layout, even across a single company. In addition, employees interact with their workspace on a daily basis for prolonged periods of time and commonly gather in shared spaces like common work areas, shared work stations, conference rooms and auditoriums. In order for employees to feel safe working in these environments, businesses need to employ a comprehensive plan for cleaning and disinfecting, communicate those efforts effectively, and plan for deep cleaning remediation if the need arises.
Today, KBS is working with clients to help create environments that make employees feel safe as more offices reopen. In order to do that, operators can look to KBS to deliver a broad range of solutions that answer those needs. This includes:
- Creating and executing strategies for touch point cleaning
- Verifying cleaning and disinfecting using advanced technologies
- Planning when cleaning will take place to maximize visibility and effectiveness
- Communicating cleaning protocols to employees and visitors
- Planning for deep cleaning and COVID responses in the future
Revamping Cleaning Protocols
Today, protocols for cleaning need to address frequency and scope of cleaning as well as how cleaning is actually performed. For example, EPA registered cleaning chemicals that are rated to kill and neutralize a wide range of bacteria and viruses are essential. KBS cleaning teams are properly trained to execute cleaning protocols with these chemicals correctly. They are also trained on how to protect themselves while performing those tasks.
For office buildings and campuses scheduling cleaning during open office hours is also a factor to consider. KBS is working with its clients to shift schedules to be performed while employees are present or close to shift changes. This helps assure employees that areas are professionally cleaned on a regular basis, but it also helps reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses as employees and visitors continually flow in and out of the workplace.
Tailored Plans for Efficiency at Scale
Offices and business campuses are highly unique environments designed to meet the needs of each specific location. As a result, planning for healthy operations needs to be tailored to meet those specific needs. To meet this demand, KBS works with clients to create efficient plans for healthy operations. And rather than taking a one size fits all approach, KBS ensures that operational needs are met in the most efficient way possible.
In addition, businesses need cleaning and disinfecting protocols that are performed at an appropriate frequency and to a high standard across all of its operations. KBS deploys this level of consistency across over 60,000 sites nationwide.
Verification
While chemicals, training, and proper techniques are effective, verification offers further assurance of the true impact of cleaning and disinfecting on surfaces. KBS uses advanced technology to measure the viral and bacterial load on surfaces. Teams evaluate the results and change procedures if necessary. Studies have shown that the use of these measurements can be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of hygiene intervention programs aimed at preventing viral spread. Performing before and after cleaning, measurements can help verify the efficacy of the cleaning and disinfection interventions and inform adjustments to protocols and frequency of cleaning if indicated.
Communication
Working hand-in-hand with keeping cleaning teams visible, business operators need to inform employees and visitors about the strategies they are deploying. Signage, print outs and digital communication detailing the disinfectants being used and the training and safety measures taken to protect employees are all important to creating a welcoming successful business environment. KBS works with its clients to inform and create these communications so that employees are not just informed that cleaning is taking place; they are informed of all actions taking place to ensure healthy operations.
Response to Crisis
Office building and campus operators need to have a plan to deal with outbreaks quickly and effectively. Early in the COVID-19 crisis, KBS executed a plan to respond to outbreaks with deep cleaning and disinfecting services. For these services, specially trained and equipped teams perform a deep cleaning and disinfection on all horizontal and vertical surfaces. The services includes HEPA vacuuming all carpeted areas, machine cleaning all floor surfaces with EPA registered disinfectant cleaning solutions, hygiene barrier cleaning, the proper application of virucides, and disinfecting furniture and fixtures. Workers for this service are equipped with head to toe level 4 PPE. KBS has performed over 120,000 COVID responses since the crisis began and can deploy teams nationwide.
Infrastructures for Health
For business offices and campuses, cleaning and disinfecting are part of an entire infrastructure and strategy. The more these strategies are integrated, the more effective they can be. For example, KBS is working with some businesses to supply and install hygiene barriers and other products that help prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. KBS team members can work through touch point cleaning, high traffic areas, and employee traffic patterns to make recommendations about where these barriers can be installed and how they are to be cleaned. Working with business operators, experts can test surfaces and determine high traffic areas in visitor facing spaces and also in employee break rooms, meeting rooms and other areas to make further recommendations around hygiene barriers and enhanced touch point cleaning.
Summary
Maintaining healthy operations will be a major factor for office campus environments in the foreseeable future. Cleaning and disinfecting scope and frequency will need to be enhanced, advanced technologies to verify efficacy should be leveraged and entire infrastructures that enable safe interaction between employees implemented. Partnering with KBS is an important step to help ensure these goals are efficiently and effectively integrated for businesses to successfully operate in the acute and post pandemic environment.
For additional information, please contact us.
