TYPE OF FACILITY 

 

Office, Commercial Building, Commercial Campus, Retail Store

 

OBJECTIVE

 

The purpose of this statement is to lay down the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed to resume operations post the Lockdown period.

 

PROCEDURE

 

Preparing the Facility before the reopening-

1) The Facility Management team must be informed 5 days prior to the opening.

 

2) 3 days prior to opening it is recommended that a deep sanitization cleaning is done.

 

3) 1 Day prior to the opening the entire Facility, a ULV Antivirus Fumigation using an FDA/EPA approved Anti-Viral chemical should be done.

 

4) The Frequently used surfaces including your washrooms, workspaces, lifts, door handles, railings, and other areas such as cafeterias and pantry will be sanitized and disinfected. 

 

5) An adequate number of Digital Thermometers, PPEs, Sanitizers, Disinfectants must be procured prior to the opening. SILA can provide support with the procurement of the above-mentioned items. 

 

6) An email must be sent out to all Employees working at the Facility to not report to work in case of any symptoms of the Flu. Employees residing in government declared Covid-19 hot-spots should not be allowed to resume work.

 

7) Advise Pregnant employees if any to continue to work from home.

 

8) A quarantined emergency room must be demarcated prior to opening in case any employee is found to have symptoms of the Flu.

 

9) All employees must be informed to report to work in masks and preferably gloves. In case the employees require masks or gloves to be procured by the company they must inform the company in advance.

 

10) Facilities must try and operate with a minimal no. of staff/occupants for the first month post the lockdown, and gradually increase the occupancy level over time.

 

11) Checking of all common critical amenities like lifts, DG, HVAC, UPS, RO Systems (or water dispensers) and Hydrant systems and Jockey pumps including filters and chiller water levels and refill the fresh water for proper functionality due to long time shutdown.

 

12) HVAC Systems - Cleaning the exhaust and air filtering systems before restarting operations thoroughly.

 

13) A quarantine/emergency room must be demarcated prior to opening in case any employee is found to have symptoms of the Flu.

 

14) Arrangements for additional transport vehicles to be made in advance. Physical distancing is to be maintained in each vehicle. 

 

15) Admin/Facilities Teams must have medical teams on standby, be in touch with the relevant government authorities. 

 

16) Staff must be requested to carry their own water bottles from home to prevent mass gatherings in the pantry once the facility re-opens. 

 

General Guidelines to be Followed After Reopening the Office -

 

1) All the employees and service partners will need to submit a self-declaration about not showing symptoms of COVID-19 before resuming work. The declaration should also include their family members’ health status and any travel history or contact with an infected patient in the past 14 days.

 

2) Employees residing in government declared COVID-19 hot-spots should not be allowed to resume work.

 

3) Ensure sanitizers are available at most important and frequented areas of the office. All employees to sanitize their hands at the security desk. Insist on personal hygiene of all employees and mandate the use of sanitizers every now and then. 

 

4) Any activities involving a gathering of people to be avoided and the same to be conducted via electronic media – Follow Social Distancing.

 

5) If any employee is found coughing, breathless, sneezing they must be immediately reported and shifted to the Quarantine Emergency room, and the Admin/HR must relieve them from the site and ensure the relevant government authorities or hospitals are informed of the same. The employee will not be allowed to reenter the premises until a valid medical report is furnished proving they are COVID Negative.

 

6) Employees above the age of 50 should be asked to continue to work from home.

 

7) Office shifts should have a minimum of a one-hour gap between each shift.

 

8) Mandating the use of hand sanitizers and wearing masks and gloves until normalcy resumes.

 

9) Advise Pregnant employees, if any, to continue to work from home.

 

10) Greet people our traditional way (Namaste) rather than shaking your hands with each other.

 

11) Continuation of training and awareness regarding precautions to be taken on a day to day basis.

 

12) Under the present circumstances, it is advisable to keep up to date with local rules regarding the control of the epidemic, closely communicate with relevant officials responsible for guiding businesses as they resume work.

 

Entry and Travel Guidelines

 

1) Transport vehicles to be sanitization by the transport vendor daily. 

 

2) All employee transport services to be re-evaluated. Policies for employee pick-up/drop & bus services to be amended to keep social distance measures in place. 

 

3) Employee transportation vendors must ensure all employees temperatures are checked prior to allowing entry into the vehicle (drivers included). The recommended range is 97.7 to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. In case a person falls outside this range, he/she must not be allowed to enter the vehicle. 

 

4) Seating charts of the seating arrangement must be displayed in the vehicle to ensure physical distancing.

 

5) All employees must sanitize themselves before entering the facility and be screened for body temperature using an infra-red thermometer. The recommended range is 97.7 to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. In case a person falls outside this range, he/she must not be allowed to enter the premises. 

 

6) Visitors, Guests, including candidates being called in for interviews must only be allowed into the premises with prior approval from the HR/Admin team/COVID Committee. They will have to follow the necessary protocol as mentioned above. 

 

7) Biometric Access Control Systems & Attendance monitors must be disabled until further notice in order to reduce the spread of any infections that can be caused by touching a common surface (in this case, with the finger).

 

Cafeteria and Pantry Guidelines

 

1) Lunch and tea breaks should be extended to ensure that a minimum number of employees gather at the cafeterias at the same time keeping in mind social distancing. Cafeteria entry to be reduced to 50% of its total capacity. 

 

2) Food & Beverage (F&B) Vendors to bring packed food to the facility until further notice. Cooking at the facility should not be permitted. 

 

3) The F&B vendor’s employees must always be wearing all PPEs and following entry & exit protocol daily.

 

4) All employees must be asked to carry their own water bottles from home.

 

5) The pantry should remain closed, only water dispenser shall be made operational.

 

6) Mugs and glasses should be kept apart, and washed thoroughly immediately after each use.

 

Workplace guidelines

 

1) The office workspaces must be spread out as far as possible, or employees should be required to leave a desk space between each other since the facility will be operating at a lower occupancy level.

 

2) Operate fresh air fans for 2 hours before & after office hours, and operate of exhausts, pressurization, and ventilation fans as much as possible. 

 

3) Designated Smoking areas will remain open, however, the entry to the areas must be restricted to ensure adequate social distancing. 

 

4) Keep all the non-essential doors open permanently so that touching of surfaces can be minimized.

 

5) To avoid hard copies of files and paper being passed around at the office, all staff must be requested to correspond with one another and maintain records via emails.

 

6) All mailroom packages must be sanitized upon arrival and then left unattended for a minimum of 1 day before being picked up and delivered. Employees must ensure social distancing when receiving any packages from the mailroom.

 

Facility Management Guidelines

 

1) Increased frequency of cleaning of all high touch areas, using approved sanitization chemicals. Make the cleaning process visible to people occupying the office. This will give them comfort.

 

2) Anti-Viral fumigation treatments must be carried out (recommended weekly). 

 

3) Create a separate area/bin to deposit used masks & gloves. 

 

4) If you have a video display screens, create awareness about the COVID-19 and safety measures associated with it by displaying the necessary content (SILA can help with this if needed). 

 

5) Lifts to be used at less than half their capacity to avoid crowding.

 

6) It is recommended to avoid Air Conditioning systems, however, if the AC is to be used, windows and doors should be left open.

 

7) A relative humidity level of 40% to 70% must be maintained to prevent the spread of pathogens.

 

8) It is advisable to provide MERV 13 or higher filters fitted into the AC Handling units.

 

9) All washable AC filters must be cleaned with 5% Cresol solution mixed with Water, or 1% sodium Hypochlorite solution.

 

10) If AC ducting systems are present, they must first be run on fan mode for a minimum of two hours with all doors and windows left open, and the filters must be cleaned before switching to Normal mode.

 

11) Toilets should be flushed and lids closed after anyone uses them.

 

12) In STP/WTP plants, the biocide treatment must be increased and tested with less than 25CFU/v.

 

13) Aerosol generation from any water source such as the STP shall be avoided. Face fit-tested elastomeric half-face respirator shall be used.

 

Procedure if an Occupant is diagnosed with COVID-19 after the Re-opening of a Facility - 

 

1) The concerned occupant or Employee must inform the Admin/HR/COVID Committee of this his/her symptoms and test results immediately. 

 

2) The Admin/HR/COVID Committee must inform the relevant authorities -the Government, SEZ, tech park, Industrial Park.  

 

3) The premises must be quarantined and kept closed with immediate effect. 

 

4) All building occupants who have visited the premises over the past 14 days must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, to check for the spread of cases within the office. 

 

5) The facility must undergo a deep sanitization cleaning and fumigation, as mentioned in the pre-opening process mentioned above. 

 

6) The facility must be opened for use only after getting a clearance from the relevant governmental & private authorities. 

 

7) Transport vehicles used by the infected occupant must be sanitized and quarantined by the transport vendor. All drivers and personnel accompanying or travelling with the infected occupant must undergo a COVID-19 medical test as well. 

 

Sila looks after Mumbai redevelopment with its South-Mumbai project and excels in real estate due diligence for its clients. SILA currently manages over 65 million square feet of Real Estate Assets across Commercial, Industrial, Retail, Hospitality and Residential sectors. For more information visit https://silagroup.co.in/