Top Tips for Re-Opening
Top Tip 1- Employees and Risk Assessment
Engage with your staff and review your risk assessments together:
Ensure everyone is clear on their role and the procedures
Set up steps to monitor that your controls are followed every day. Record what you have done to monitor.
Think about the need for work cohorts(bubbles).
Make sure everyone can get to work and return home safely.
Top Tip 2 – Utility Services
Ensure utility services (e.g. gas, electricity or water supplies) are safe for re-opening. Water stagnation can occur due to lack of use, increasing risk of Legionnaires disease. Review risk assessment and manage Legionella risks before you re-start using:
the water system
air conditioning units
Top Tip 3 – Ventilation
There must be an adequate supply of fresh air (ventilation) in enclosed areas of your workplace. Identify poorly ventilated areas and maximise ventilation by:
Natural ventilation – open windows, doors (excluding fire doors), and air vents
Mechanical ventilation – use fans and ducts to bring in air from outside
A combination of both
Top Tip 4 – Hand hygiene and Cleaning
Provide enough alcohol-based hand gel stations throughout the business for employees and customers to maintain cleans hands. Important to maintain clean hands throughout the working day.
Design a cleaning schedule and train staff on its implementation. Include:
Work areas
Staff rooms
Canteens
Toilets
Equipment
Frequent touch points (door handles, trollies, baskets, handheld devices etc)
Ensure these areas are cleaned and disinfected during the workday.
Top Tip 5 – Prepare for Physical Distancing
You are required to keep a 2-metre physical distance between all persons to minimise COVID-19 transmission. Remember to identify pinch points and busy areas.
Consider how you will:
Limit customer numbers into shop at one time
Manage queues inside and outdoors e.g. 2m interval floor markings
Mark 2m intervals on the floor inside
Introduce safe routes i.e. One-way systems
Remind customers of physical distancing i.e. tannoy announcements or taped messages
Highlight pinch points and busy areas with signs to remind about physical distancing
Screen at service counters
Stagger start times, finish times and breaks