The COVID-19 pandemic arrived suddenly and spread quickly, forcing us to close our workplaces in a hurry. We have been at home for quite some time, and many of us even miss our office chairs. Our previous article discussed how workplaces should have been closed; you may wish to begin there: “link”.
But is closing correctly enough to forget the workplace until it reopens? What can or should we do during closure? The time lost to the pandemic need not mean only losses for businesses.
How Should a Workplace Be Kept Closed?
Even after taking many precautions before closing, systems, devices, furniture and products can require interim checks. If possible, visit every ten days. A half-hour visit following distancing and personal protection measures can help you ensure everything is in order. Visits should be purposeful: you may reacquaint yourself with your chair and check the coffee machine, but there is more to do. The person visiting needs a professional checklist, so begin by creating one.
What Should I Check?
Your workplace has been closed and unventilated for days. Air that is not refreshed can become stale with dust and damp. Indoor gardens and mature plants have had little daylight, respiring more than photosynthesizing and increasing carbon dioxide levels. Use the following points and your earlier closure checklist to prepare your inspection:
- Before entering, check the entrance, shutter and exterior for signs of forced entry. Your alarm is probably active, but if anything looks wrong, call the authorities before going inside so the proper procedure can be followed. You may also find a regular stray-animal visitor nearby.
- If you use natural gas or LPG, be alert for leaks. Before turning on a light, ensure the gas detector is not in alarm and there is no smell. If there is a problem, leave the door open, warn others and contact the relevant authorities.
- Once inside, first check the security and fire detection panels. Make sure there are no warnings and they are still operating.
- Check the electrical panel. If a breaker you left on has tripped, do not reset it. Breakers are protective devices and generally do not trip without a fault; rodents can also damage wiring. Have a technical specialist inspect it before restoring power. Excess current, overheating or contact issues may have caused the breaker to trip.
- Check the display on your uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and listen briefly; the device sounds a warning if there is a problem.
- Ventilate the space promptly. Prioritize fresh air if possible by opening windows and doors. If your premises are in a centrally ventilated shopping center or office building with no direct access to fresh air, opening the doors is sufficient.
- Do not operate air conditioners before they have been inspected. They usually recirculate air drawn from the room or ceiling void rather than adding fresh air; while closed, they may have accumulated dust or bacteria on damp filters.
- Open the curtains to let in daylight. Give plants moved away from glass façades to protect them from heat some sunlight, and reverse these steps before leaving.
- Water your plants and aerate the soil if possible.
- Make yourself a coffee to check the machine. While waiting, pour about 2–3 liters of water into drains to prevent smells caused by dry traps.
- Walk through the premises looking for signs of rodents or pests and water leaks in ceilings or wet areas. Seek professional help if anything unusual is found.
- Check products left in storage and ventilate them if possible.
- Check any refrigerated cabinets, refrigerators or cold rooms left running to ensure they operate correctly and maintain the required temperatures.
How Can Closure Become an Opportunity?
Major renovations are often postponed at work and at home, particularly those that interrupt operations or cause lost working time. Business continuity takes priority and even nonessential problems or tolerable losses may be postponed. We fit office work into weekends and store renovations into nights so stores can open at 10 a.m. The retail golden rule is to keep the store open and sales moving.
A closure creates an opportunity to complete these postponed projects. Many US retail chains and boutiques are using the period to renovate. Restaurants, stores, gyms, entertainment venues and shopping centers have used the forced break to make improvements they could not fit into normal operations.
- Comprehensive infrastructure improvements that may require a three- to five-day power outage at a store or office.
- Replacing systems that could not be changed without interrupting work.
- Modernizing the office IT infrastructure.
- Reconfiguring and rearranging store departments.
- Replacing floors and floor coverings.
- Improving plumbing infrastructure.
There is now time to undertake work for which you previously needed to close for several days. Social distancing introduced by COVID-19 also looks likely to remain with us for a while, meaning workplaces need to be rearranged for distancing and pandemic rules. Businesses have already been closed long enough; as signs of a return to normal appear, do not postpone these changes until after reopening.
The pandemic has prompted us to question many things and may change some permanently. But life and business continue. Those who use this time well will have a head start when activity resumes. As Alfred de Musset said, “Opportunities lie in the midst of difficulties.”
