TAMPA, Fla. — More and more businesses are attempting to transition their employees back into the office after working from home for months due to the pandemic. Many of them are calling in consultants when it comes to safety proofing themselves from COVID-19.
“Picture this smoke as a sneeze to really understand how the sneeze will move through the space,” said Jonathan Moore, of InVision Advisors, as he uses a special device to blow smoke into the air of a downtown Tampa office.
Moore said the first area he likes to focus on when it comes to protecting your office against COVID-19 is airflow.
“Knowing the number of people that air might pass by, the air is always moving, it's recirculating through the air conditioning,” said Moore.
Moore has visited about 20 offices in the past few months — consulting managers on the safest layout possible. On Wednesday, he visited the Hardin, an insurance brokerage firm.
“When you think about the CDC guidelines they talk about the hand sanitizing, six-foot rules, but you really don’t think about where the air is going if somebody sneezes or whatnot,” said employee Jimmy Clark.
Moore said some solutions are as simple as moving around the desks or cubicles, while others involve taking apart the vents and redirecting airflow.
“There is no common solution that works for everybody it is case by case,” said Moore.
Moore said businesses need to do a lot more than just put up signs.
“Something as easy as pulling out all the chairs from the conference table immediately allows you to understand that I’m not going to fit 10 people in this room,” said Moore.
Spacing out employees and raising the height on cubicles is another suggestion.
Moore said giving employees the option to open up doors without using your hands is also becoming a growing trend.
“Just like hurricane preparedness, this is the new COVID preparedness plan,” said Moore.
“We’ve almost taken our health for granted, we should have been doing this from the beginning,” said Clark.
For more information on InVision Advisors, visit www.invisionadvisors.com.
