Will your Tucson property make people sick? COVID-19 brings this question to the forefront. Health and wellness practices will be very important.
You must consider what spaces will be dedicated to these additional operations. You’ll need to create procedures for every aspect of the work space. Some of those procedures will need to be communicated with signage throughout the new and existing work spaces.
Symptom checks for COVID-19 will become the norm for businesses large and small. And that’s only the beginning. The need for cleanliness, disinfection and personal hygiene will tax your space needs.
At Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson, I’ve talked with business owners on the best ways to configure their leased space to follow CDC guidelines addressing the coronavirus.
The challenge is to provide enough space for new operations related to SARS-CoV-2 without losing too much space to run your business.
Some of your Tucson property will be freed up because more employees will work from home. You may have fewer customers and clients coming to your building. That unused space is the first thing to look at to reuse for health-related operations.
Entry Checks
A top priority is making sure people are healthy before they enter a workspace. You’ll need a station for someone to take people’s temperatures and ask about COVID-19 symptoms—11 of them at last count.
That same station might be used to ask where employees have been or whom they have been in contact with in case someone becomes sick and people need to be alerted of potential exposure.
A lobby or reception area is the logical place to build such a station, but it might be easier to build a kiosk right outside the entry door or at the parking lot. This helps ensure that people in line have space to keep a distance of 6 feet apart.
If only employees will go through these health checks, consider space at a private access point.
You may need more than one station. See how many people you’ll test in a day or watch the flow of employees and public who access your Tucson property.
Provide space for keeping well-stocked essentials such as hand sanitizers, wipes, masks, gloves, temperature readers and forms. That keeps health checkers from having to leave their posts and slowing the checks.
Deliveries
Avoid having to do health checks with vendors, deliverers and other members of the public whose main reason to be at your business is to pick up or drop off something.
Find a space—a warehouse section, for instance—for packages and mail to be dropped off and stored until they can be distributed. That space can also be used for regular pick-ups by delivery services such as the postal service and FedEx.
Another option would be to construct a kiosk in the parking area where someone would handle deliveries and pick-ups in a drive-through process.
Visitors
Instead of allowing visitors to go to work stations or employee offices, they can be seen in dedicated meeting rooms that would be constantly sanitized.
These enclosed spaces could be in several locations on your Tucson property in lieu of an open lobby or large conference room.
The rooms should have hand sanitizers. Having sanitizing products in the room makes it more likely that it will be cleaned after each use.
Storage
Stow masks, gloves, wipes, cleaners and other hygiene and sanitation supplies in several places. That way employees won’t have to go far to get what they need.
Supplies can be kept in cabinets and closets, on shelves or counters. Just make sure they are dedicated spaces. Have a no-touch trash container close by.
Install cabinets in bathrooms so that they are well stocked with soap and single-use paper towels. Create a cleaning procedure.
You may need less sanitizing supplies than you think. With fewer employees in the office, you can practice “desk hoteling.” Work areas aren’t assigned. Employees use whatever desk is available the day they’re on site. Because these stations aren’t customized with personal effects, they are easier to sanitize. Consider using antibacterial surfaces for added protection.
Handwashing Stations
Washing hands with soap and water is still considered the best way to get rid of the coronavirus. Make it easy to do with portable handwashing stations.
Areas that have been emptied of most tables and chairs for social distancing are good spots for them. That includes large gathering areas like cafeterias and break rooms.
Make sure a cabinet to hold soap and paper towels is easily accessible. Have a trash receptacle nearby.
Sanitizer Station
High-touch areas like elevator buttons and door knobs, as well as high-use areas such as common meeting areas, will need sanitizing throughout the day. If, as the tenant, this becomes your responsibility, a station for staff assigned to sanitize areas would keep needed supplies and protective gear in one place. A locked area accessible only to assigned employees would make sure supplies are there when they are needed.
Space Planning
I can help you figure out how to use your Tucson property space at an optimum level. If you don’t have the required space, we can look at options for expansion. We can also look at Tucson property that is better configured for your new needs.
Contact me for an immediate, free consultation, 520-299-3400, michael@cretucson.com.
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