RINGWOOD, England, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As lockdown measures ease, returning to work across the United Kingdom is a cause of concern for many business owners looking to safeguard the health of their workforces. While COVID-19 remains a threat, efforts must focus on mitigating the threat of all diseases in the office environment to minimise further despair and disruption.
Legionella has long been a threat as a consequence of not carrying out regular checks of water and flushing systems. It thrives in 'Goldilocks' systems, where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold.
As most offices have been mothballed during the lockdown, there has been a halt on the normal flow of water usage, which has effectively left water sitting in pipes for weeks, posing a risk of Legionella.
Smarter Technologies Group, a specialist monitoring and surveillance engineering firm, has been working with building managers to reduce the threat of Legionella through the introduction of the company's combined automated flushing and temperature units. Placed on taps and shower fixtures, these units provide scheduled, automated temperature readings and flushing.
As well as this, most standard offices these days have showering facilities available to staff. While progressive management teams are mitigating the risks of COVID-19 by subdividing offices and introducing temperature checks, special attention should be given to these less obvious parts of the office too, which could prove fatal in other ways.
"We are concerned that basic risks such as Legionella, that are poorly understood in the wider business community, will be missed. Legionnaires' is a respiratory illness spread in the vapour mist from air conditioning units, taps and particularly showerheads. To avoid setting off a slew of problems, trained facilities management staff at all businesses need to check the shower blocks, especially since more people will be avoiding public transport by biking or jogging to work and therefore may need to use showers," explained Bradley Wingrave, CEO of Smarter Technologies Group.
"All of the normal issues linked to cleansing systems, air quality, temperature and pest control should be magnified. A staggered return to work may also overbear conventional systems as property managers contend with the concerns linked to the health of the workforce."
This is no doubt a unique period in our industrial history. That said, taking advantage of available technology may be the best way forward in keeping our people and workplaces safe and ensuring compliance with both existing regulations and the new guidance that is cascading down from the government.
For Editors:
Smarter Technologies Group - www.smartertechnologies.com
Smarter Technologies Group is a UK-based Crown Service Supplier providing monitoring and surveillance technology to various Government bodies. Smarter Technologies Group has significant experience in the commercial property sector, and has been working with landlords to ensure that premises are compliant and safeguards are put in place to provide early warning notifications that allow them to assess risk and pre-emptively mitigate threats to operations or personnel.
Contact Smarter Technologies Group:
Matthew Margetts,
e: matthew.margetts@smarterbusiness.co.uk,
t: +44 (0)7854955023
Product Information:
Jonathan Olliff-Cooper
jonathan.O-C@smartertechnologies.com
