Adapting to COVID-19: Deploying sanitizer wipe dispensers

It is summer 2020 and many places have eased restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses are aiming to re-open their offices in the safest manner possible. Facilities managers have a huge role to play in ensuring health and safety. Just like cleaning buildings and checking ventilation systems, installing sanitizer wipe dispensers is an essential part of business sanitizing protocols for adapting to COVID-19.

Place sanitizer wipe dispensers and disposal bins where people touch surfaces frequently. But first, talk with personnel managers about significant changes to the way employees will work. For instance, will fewer people be working in the office at once to allow for physical distancing? Will each individual be encouraged to use the same workstation regularly rather than use different ones, to prevent contamination? By asking these questions, facilities managers will get a sense of where in the building people will be located and in need of these sanitary supplies.

Before employees return to the buildings, communicate to them how you have prepared it for their safety. That could include where cleaning products, including sanitizer wipe dispenser stands and wall-mounted hand sanitizers, have been placed. Explain that by taking advantage of these resources, employees decrease the infection risk for themselves and others.

Integrate information about cleaning into broader safety messages on posters, on signs, in email, and on social media. For instance, like recommending for them to wear a mask and stay at least six feet apart from others, suggest using sanitizer wipes and hand sanitizer frequently. They can use wipes to clean surfaces, including desks, tables, counters, keyboards, and chair armrests. And suggest using hand sanitizer after touching faces and before touching items used by others, such as photocopiers and elevator buttons.

Facilities managers do work that is more essential than ever, protecting people and encouraging them to protect others. Installing sanitizer wipe dispensers and wall-mounted hand sanitizers and keeping them stocked can help companies conduct business in the safest manner possible.