Post-Covid, Office Reopening Strategies
After several months of lockdown, companies have started making plans for reopening their offices. While many of them would have started with minimum staff. However when larger number of employees, vendors, guests etc start coming in, organizations will face a challenge. Companies need to give a sense of security to the stakeholders that the health and wellbeing of people are being well taken care of. Most companies are putting in social distancing measures as well as performing sanitization. But is it enough? We found three approaches followed by companies.
Most companies rely on information given by in-house or external persons who advise them on the steps to be taken. There are several articles in the internet that address this topic. Some are also published in the newspapers.
There are many advertisements of innovative products launched, which claim to sanitize office spaces. While these steps may or may not be effective, they are unlikely to generate confidence among the employees and other stakeholders that the company has taken the right steps to safeguard their wellbeing.
It is just not enough to sanitize the office. A lot must be done differently in terms of processes and systems that the company will follow post pandemic. For instance, if there is an outbreak of another pandemic how would the company deal with the situation. There must be a method by which the company will ensure business continuity. It is important a comprehensive solution be sought for to address this issue.
It would be wise to follow the guidelines given by reputed organizations in reopening your offices. After all it is the question of safeguarding the company’s reputation and image. Present below are offerings of two institutions – one Indian and the other international. Their propositions are quite different and cannot be compared. We will present their features, based on which the reader could decide which one is best suited for their organization.
Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH)
The first scheme is the Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene ( WASH) launched by the Quality Council of India. QCI is pioneering experiment of the Government of India in setting up organizations in partnership with the Indian industry. WASH is applicable for assessment of any workplace which has been allowed to operate. . The assessment can be done as an on-site assessment by trained assessors or remotely through a virtual system of assessment. The report will provide the applicant with an objective assessment of the safety and hygiene measures undertaken by them to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection. The framework was developed jointly by QCI along with industry stockholders.
QCI follows a 15 point check list which focusses on the processes established by the organization in addressing each element. It focusses on the systems, policies and processes laid down by the company in dealing with various aspects. Each element is classified as either essential or desirable. The various elements identified include Management Commitment, Training & Awareness, Communication etc. Some of the requirements to be fulfilled for WASH certification are
· Nominate an In-charge who shall have the overall responsibility to oversee the COVID crisis and manage the operations as per the laid down guidelines
· Identify the risks and possible disruptions arising out of the COVID-19 crisis and establish a process for business continuity.
· Demonstrate measures to eliminate or minimize disruption to the business including those impacting supply chain
· Communicate the processes for safety and hygiene measures, social distancing norms, quarantine protocol especially with regards to necessary information, including traceability.
· Adequate controls shall be in place to prevent unmonitored movement from one workplace to another and within the workplace.
· Ensure provision for adequate number of dustbins with proper fitting covers especially for used PPEs.
· Ensure that the toilets and washrooms are adequately ventilated with operational exhaust fans.
· Communicate to the suppliers on the measures to be taken in their respective workplaces to overcome any exposure to COVID-19.
· Delivery / transport vehicles shall be cleaned and disinfected at a predefined frequency.
· Sanitisers with prescribed norms or equivalent, shall be provided in the vehicles, all the time.
· Identify possible discriminatory practices (like discrimination against the persons with a history of COVID-19 or infection/ persons from affected areas/regions or not providing for PPEs for contract workers etc.)
Details of the scheme can be found at the QCI website ( https://www.qcin.org/workplace-assessment-safety-hygiene.php). It is important to note some of the conditions. For instance, the scheme is not available in containment zones. The scheme is priced to be quite affordable – Rs 10,500 + taxes if the assessment is carried out in one-man day. There are third party agencies authorized to carry out the assessment. Their list is also provided in the QCI website.
WELL Health -Safety Rating
This one is an international certification that addresses reopening of office post Covid. It is called WELL Health-Safety rating, operated by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Those in the building industry might know that IWBI is the same body that operates the WELL building standard, the world’s premier framework for advancing health in buildings and spaces of all kinds. WELL Health-Safety Rating was developed based on feedback from IWBI’s Task Force on COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections. This ia a group of nearly 600 public health experts, virologists, government officials, academics, business leaders, architects, designers, building scientists and real estate professionals.
The WELL Health-Safety Rating includes 21 features across the following core areas, a minimum of 15 which need to be met. Areas covered include Cleaning and Sanitization Procedures, Emergency Preparedness Programs, Health Service Resources, Air and Water Quality Management and Stakeholder Engagement and Communication. The focus is on processes laid and evidence of implementation done.
Under each area, there are several intents, and each intent may have one or more requirements to be fulfilled. Here is an example. Under the broad area of cleaning and sanitization, one of the intents is to ensure support of hygienic hand washing practices for all individual. To achieve this , the project has to provide in all sinks where handwashing is expected fragrance free liquid soap dispenses either through sealed disposable dispensers equipped with soap cartridges or dispensers with detachable and closed containers for soap refill. Further, for hand drying one of the following to be used – paper towels , hand dryers equipped with HEPA filters or fabric hand towel rolls with dispensers. In addition, signages displaying steps for proper hand washing need to be displayed. For verification, the company policy document and / or operations schedule will have to be submitted.
Some of the intents covered by WELL Health – Safety Rating include
· Reduce surface contact
· Improve cleaning practices
· Create business continuity plan
· Bolster emergency resilience
· Provide health benefits
· Promote flu vaccines
· Provide smoke free environment
· Assess ventilation
· Monitor air and water quality
· Promote Health and Wellness
· Innovate
The requirements will have to be met by providing required documentation such as dated photographs, operations schedule, company policy , professional narrative, letter of assurance from the owner, technical document, maintenance report, ongoing data report or innovation proposal. These will be assessed by a third party, which is Green Build Certification Institute ( GBCI) the organization that provides credentials for several rating systems including the popular LEED certification. It should be noted that the verification is done remotely and not by on-site assessment. The rating is valid for one year, at the end of which it will have to be renewed. The company which qualifies for the rating gets to use the WELL Health-Safety logo for marketing and public relations.
A major benefit of the WELL Health-Safety rating is that provides an easy way to qualify for the WELL rating, which is more comprehensive in addressing various aspects of occupant health, safety, and comfort. The pricing of WELL Health Safety rating depends on the volume. For give an idea, a Rs 1 lac sq ft office will cost $ 2730 (approx. Rs 2 lac), whereas if one goes for multiple properties, the per property rate reduces. For 8 buildings, it works out to $ 435 (Rs 33000) per building. Details of WELL Health-Safety rating are available at https://www.wellcertified.com/
From the above analysis it is obvious that the two approaches are quite different and thus comparisons will not be fair. If an organization is focussed on solving the immediate problem of reopening and looking for a certification which can give confidence to stakeholders, WASH will serve the purpose. However, if one wants to adopt health and wellness as a company philosophy and culture , is looking at a change in approach for the future, want to communicate with stakeholders and use it to build the company’s corporate brand, it will be beneficial to consider WELL Health-Safety rating.
While we have explained two such certifications, there are more offerings coming up. For instance, Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment ( GRIHA) has launched Building Fitness Indicator. It will be beneficial for companies to go for any one of the certifications to reopen office with confidence after lockdown.
Written by Rajesh Venkiteswaran