COVID-19 heightened awareness surrounding the importance of ongoing high-quality infection prevention in public facilities.
Facility Infection Prevention Challenges
One of the primary functions of facility custodial services is to prevent the spread of infection while limiting occupant exposure to toxic and corrosive disinfectants.
Prior to the COVID outbreak, numerous methods existed to prevent cleaning and sanitizing tool and product contamination, and surface cross-contamination.
While that has not changed, awareness surrounding the process and its impact on occupant health and safety have increased dramatically in the last two years.
What has changed is a better understanding by all stakeholders regarding the impact exposure to specific products in an enclosed environment can have on their short and long-term health, especially in a tightly enclosed environment, including a diminished capacity to combat COVID infections.
According to Chemical Watch;
Increased use of disinfectants due to the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, is causing concern over the links between exposure to the products and the development of respiratory health conditions.
A number of studies have reported an association between frequent use of disinfectants and cleaning products, both at home and at work, and asthma – including a recent paper by Elissa Abrams from the University of British Columbia, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Others, including a 2019 US longitudinal study conducted among nurses, also support a link with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The US NGO Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) has warned that the "likely overuse" of disinfectants, containing substances such as quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) and chlorine bleach, might present a hidden human health risk during the outbreak.
According to the WHO, weakened respiratory systems put people at greater risk of becoming severely ill from the coronavirus.
Covid-19: concern over link between disinfectant use and respiratory health
Facility Infection Prevention Tips
To combat the rising challenges of increased awareness of -- and demands for -- improved cleaning and sanitization services while preventing occupant exposure to harmful chemicals, custodial teams and executives must implement:
- Auditing - Checking and verifying the efficacy of cleaning and sanitization methods while maintaining high-quality indoor air through the use of ATP and IAQ devices.
- Training - Ongoing training is required, even for experienced service providers, to function as a strong base for high-outcome practices and as a refresher course that underscores proper methods and safe handling procedures.
- Real-World Applicability - Cleaning, in theory, is rarely applicable to cleaning in a real-world environment subject to dynamic occupancy and use, so custodians and cleaning programs must remain flexible and adaptable to user behaviors and demands.
Additional methods that have proven highly effective before and during the COVID outbreak include:
- Provisioning and maintaining the supply levels and sanitation of easily accessible hand hygiene stations.
- Employing day porter services to follow behind the flow of occupant traffic and wipe down designated high-contact surfaces throughout the day.
- Implementing team cleaning methods to reduce the strain on labor and facility resources while maximizing cleaning outcomes.
- Providing self-service sanitization and hand hygiene products for office workers to clean their own workstations and maintain hand sanitation without having to traverse the office to the restroom.
- Training on and enforcing the importance of cross-contamination prevention through the use of color-coded cleaning tools and dual-bucket methods.
- Increasing mechanical and natural airflow throughout the facility.
- Upgrading HVAC filtration systems, and;
- Using advanced sanitization technologies, such as electrostatic sprayers, to decrease costs and times to sanitize large spaces while significantly improving coverage areas and outcomes.
Takeaway
Infection prevention methods have always been critical for securing occupant health and safety.
However, occupants are now more aware than ever of the processes and products used to sanitize their workplaces, as well as the impacts on their health.
According to numerous studies, they expect:
- Increased cleaning frequencies.
- Services provided by trained and certified technicians.
- Safer product selection, and;
- Environmentally sustainable practices.
Implementing and maintaining those resources in-house may prove cost-prohibitive for many organizations.
Outsourcing is a proven method for onboarding highly in-demand cleaning and sanitization services and experience for a fraction of the price of maintaining a similar service in-house.
If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation on-site assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!
In Bakersfield, CA, call (661) 437-3253
In Fresno, CA, call (559) 206-1059
In Valencia, CA, or Santa Clarita, CA, call (661) 437-3253
In Palmdale, CA or Lancaster, CA, call (661) 371-4756
