Providing enhanced standards of office cleaning at work will be an essential part to reopening office spaces after the pandemic. Although it has felt as if this pandemic and the lockdown restrictions put in place because of it have gone on forever, the end is very much in sight. The success of a vaccine and its roll out across the country in different communities will finally mean a return to normal.
However, the hygiene standards and office cleaning requirements at work are unlikely to ever be the same again. As people have remained at home in an effort to stay safe and stop the spread of the coronavirus, returning to an office space will be a challenge for most. People are more conscious of their personal health and the standard of public health of their surroundings and therefore anxiety over whether the office space is a safe environment to return to will play on many people’s minds. It will be up to the employers to ensure office cleaning practices are improved inorder to reassure employees it is safe for them to return so business can continue on the way it was previous to the pandemic.
Be sure to find out more on how Tweaq’s self cleaning door handle can create a safer work environment.
What’s the problem?
Office spaces are the perfect environment for spreading germs between people. Just think about how many people come into contact with one another each day! A keyboard can harbour over 7000 bacteria and the average work desk is actually 400 times more unhygienic than a toilet seat, with typically 10 million bacteria living on its surface at any point[1].
11% of office workers have admitted to never cleaning their keyboards and shockingly just under a half of office workers clean their keyboards less than once a month. Research has also revealed 3 in 10 workers fail to wash their hands after using the toilet![2] After using their keyboards, touching their desks and using the toilet; anything they have touched throughout the day will be a hotspot for germs. Harmful bacteria and viruses such as the flu can survive on surfaces for more than 24 hours at a time.[3] Around 80% of common infections are transmitted by touch, which means that every time you touch something in the office, you are spreading germs[1].
The spread of germs in office settings have resulted in an average of 1 in 5 employees contracting an illness each year after being infected by another colleague resulting in work absences. Minor illnesses were the most common culprit for absences in 2018, accounting for 27.2% of annual work days lost.[4]
In a post-pandemic world, high standards of office cleaning as well as sanitising office equipment and promoting high standards of personal hygiene to reduce the risk of spreading germs and reduce office illnesses will be important. Although relying on individuals to maintain these standards can not be guaranteed.
How do you enhance hygiene at work?
Tweaq has come up with a solution! Tweaq looks at a surface where people come into contact with in office spaces more than others – a door handle. People typically touch a door handle before being able to wash their hands and therefore these common touch points are another hotspot for germs to thrive on. A typical door handle can infect up to 60 percent of occupants in a single building.[5]
In order to take away this risk and reduce the spread of communicable diseases Tweaq has “tweaq-ed” the door handle, enhancing it with smart technology to create a self disinfecting door handle called “Rise”.
After a person uses Rise, the electric engine within the handle is activated by an internal sensor. The pump irrigates the sponge located inside the magnetic ring with an antibacterial solution. Ultimately, disinfecting the door handle’s surface, getting rid of 99.9% of bacteria and viruses in just under 3 seconds.
The implementation of smart IoT technology allows the user to track Rise’s usage via the Tweaq app. Activity shows how often each Rise is used as well as the level of antibacterial solution left, making it easier to schedule refills.
Tweaq’s revolutionary door handle is a perfect solution to the need for better health and hygiene in office spaces as it can guarantee to reduce the spread of diseases and infections via contact with touch points and protect every member of staff. Meet the Tweaq Rise now.
30/06/2021/