Repositioning for the post-pandemic period

Despite persistently high temperatures, autumn is upon us again and with it the threat of another corona wave. For the best possible protection, it is therefore important to develop plans now, even though after more than two years of pandemic everything had finally seemingly returned to normal. However, if companies want to protect their employees in the pest possible way and ensure smooth operations, they must think about possible precautions now. This includes, on the on hand, setting up a comprehensive hygiene concept and ensuring compliance with it, and, on the other hand, developing scenarios to deal with possible breakdowns or other difficulties such as a possibly worsening supply chain issue.

Stringend hygiene concept

In view of rising infection figures in July, it is necessary to reintroduce already known regulations and to adhere to them diligently. In addition to keeping a distance, regular ventilation and wearing a mask, for example in rooms with more people, the focus is particularly on hand hygiene. Here, however, the focus should not be solely on washing hands thoroughly with soap. Since microorganisms keep and multiply better in a moist environment, it is essential to dry hands properly, whether with a towel, disposable towels or hand dryers. Both ways are equally recommended by renowned international institutions such as the World Health Organisation or the top US health authority (CDC). As modern hand dryers often have so-called HEPA filters and UV-C lamps, they kill 99.9% of all germs from the air sucked in, thus guaranteeing a hygienic air flow without any contact. Another important component is hand disinfection. Automatically functioning dispensers are particularly suitable here to reduce contacts as much as possible. It can also make sense to purchase cleaning fans that constantly remove microorganisms from the air.

Ensure smooth operation

As far as internal processes are concerned, it may be advisable to introduce rolling schedules and use the home office flexibly. It is also advantageous to set up shift times so that they do not overlap and to separate work groups in terms of time and space. Of course, meetings should ideally be held online and unnecessary business trips should be avoided. If a business trip is necessary, employees should travel separately and not all sit in one car. The aim is to organise the different working groups in such a way that there is as little contact between them as possible. This can also mean that not all employees have access to all places. Break rooms and canteens are particularly problematic here. If possible, breaks should be set so that only a limited number of people are in these rooms at the same time. Furthermore, it makes sense to offer free tests so that infections can be detected early. But even small measures, such as leaving access doors open or installing automatic doors to avoid unnecessary contact, can be helpful.

As far as developing scenarios is concerned, for example for supply bottlenecks that occur, it makes sense to set up working groups. These can develop solutions in advance to keep operations going even if problems arise. The point is to anticipate challenges and make provisions at an early stage.

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