Preparations and Precautions to Reopen after COVID

Retailers and manufacturers are preparing to or gradually getting back to operating at full capacity. Each industry and individual organization is coming to terms with the outlook of a post-COVID world. For some, it means coming back from a near-total closure. For others, they may have seen an increase in production numbers since social distancing measures were put in place. How can your team take measures to protect your products, processes, and team members?

Creative Containment

Accessibility to sanitizing solutions as well as implementation of social distancing measures at workstations are important steps to consider when evaluating your preparation for a return to full capacity. What do your current employee workstations look like?

CDC guidelines recommend the option to “use signs, tape marks, or other visual cues such as decals or colored tape on the floor, placed six feet apart, to indicate where to stand…” If production line stations are three feet apart and the line can’t be moved, what precautions can you take to ensure your staff’s safety and health?

Whether temporary or permanent, barriers and screens are the answer for immovable workstations. Barriers like the ones pictured below, constructed with the MB Building Kit System from item, incorporate several practical solutions into one design; the clear panel allows for total visibility, but ensures a barrier remains between the two stations. Pass-Through shelves allow tools or workpieces to be exchanged with ease without an employee leaving their station. In the case of the counter or tabletop versions of these barriers, items can be passed below the panel.

Simple yet sturdy, these frames can be built quickly and adapted to any size or shape requirements.

Safely Sanitize

.
CDC guidelines recommend individuals “wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or… use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.”

Frequent hand-washing is a major deterrent to the spread of COVID-19; however, accessibility can be an obstacle when we’re considering employee placement across facility floors.
The hand sanitation stations by item provide an ease of access that requires employers to only supply the sanitizer. As an extra precaution, there are even hands-free models powered by a foot pump to nearly eliminate contact exposure.

Innovate Remotely

Where possible, the CDC heavily recommends employers “support and encourage options to telework, if available.” For an engineer who feels tied to their computer and its software, this may seem daunting even with a company-issued laptop. File transfers over a network to team members won’t be as easy as in the office, but the good news is that item also has a digital innovation to assist with that problem.

The online item Configurators, including the Engineeringtool, Machiningtool, and Work Bench Configurators, are free to access through any web browser and with project numbers, you can easily share them with your whole team.

How will you be tackling the “new normal” post-COVID? If item can help you prepare for the return to the workplace, schedule a remote meeting with an item Expert by clicking HERE.