With the National Cabinet outlining its roadmap for a return to work, people are heading back to the office. How can building owners and managers prepare?
The National Cabinet released a three-step roadmap on Friday which will gradually relax restrictions and reopen Australia’s economy. Each stage will be implemented by state and territory governments. Health experts will observe any impact on infection risk and National Cabinet will review progress every three weeks.
Steps one and two include advice to work from home, but also allows for a return to the workplace if agreed between employers and employees.
“Property Council members are owners and managers of thousands of offices and workplaces around Australia and are working actively to ensure our buildings are COVIDSafe,” says Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison.
Social distancing, enhanced hygiene and safety measures that ensure people stay home when feeling sick are being implemented to ensure workers feel safe to return, Morrison says.
“We are engaging closely with government and key agencies like Safe Work Australia to work through the practical issues that will influence the ability of businesses to return to their offices safely, efficiently and with the confidence and support of their staff.”
The Property Council is speaking with governments and Safe Work Australia to “ensure arrangements for accessing lifts are both safe and practical, as people are only in lifts for a very short amount of time,” Morrison adds.
So, what are the top three things to consider in your building’s return to work strategy?
- Manage the flow of people
Staggered arrival and departure times can alleviate risks of congestion and manage the flow of people, but it is important for all businesses to carefully plan their return to workplaces and how they will implement social distancing requirements. For building owners and managers, a combination of measures are required to address pinch points like lift travel, queuing in building lobbies and other common areas. Safe Work Australia has recently published comprehensive guidance to assist businesses with planning.
Observing social distancing requirements in areas like lifts present particular challenges and the Property Council has been working closely with Safe Work Australia to develop guidance as a range of measures will be needed to mitigate risks such as limiting numbers of people within lifts, enhanced cleaning of high touch point areas like lift buttons and railings in stairwells, as well as signage on appropriate conduct. All these efforts need to be supported by businesses adjusting their travel times, hours of work and split teams to avoid crowding.
- Elevate cleaning practices
Safe Work Australia has developed clear guidance and a useful checklist to ramp up your cleaning regime. But be sure not to forget your cleaning workforce. The Cleaning Accountability Framework was developed by property investors, owners and managers, cleaning companies, employee representatives and industry associations, including the Property Council, to ensure best practice, improve labour practices and support ethical procurement throughout the cleaning industry.
- Restart building systems
Buildings that have been ‘hibernated’ during the shutdown can carry some hidden risks. Cooling towers and condenser water systems can harbour Legionella, and occupants returning to the building may also face health risks from low air quality or mould. AIRAH has a suite of resources on cooling towers and Legionella prevention and HVAC hygiene.
Safe Work Australia has issued comprehensive guidance to help businesses plan a safe return to work. This includes information to help businesses reconfigure worksites to make them safe, respond to incidents in the workplace and communicate with staff.
The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission has created an online planning tool to help business develop a plan to keep their workers, customers and the community safe as they reopen or increase their activities.
Treasury estimates the economic value of step one restrictions easing is $3.1 billion per month or 250,000 jobs. Prime minister Scott Morrison says up to 850,000 jobs could be restored under the three-step recovery process.
“Reactivating our CBDs and office buildings will be a vital step in restarting our economy with enormous flow-on effects for other sectors of the economy once people are moving around safely again,” Ken Morrison concludes.