5 tips for reopening your business after lockdown

1. Employees and Risk Assessment

Engage with your staff and review your risk assessments together:

• Ensure everyone is clear on their role and the procedures
• Set up steps to monitor that your controls are followed every day. Record what you have done to monitor.
• Think about the need for work cohorts (bubbles).
• Make sure everyone can get to work and return home safely.

2. Utility Services

Ensure utility services (e.g. gas, electricity or water supplies) are safe for re-opening. Water stagnation can occur due to lack of use, increasing risk of Legionnaires disease. Review risk assessment and manage Legionella risks before you re-start using:

• the water system
• air conditioning units

3. Ventilation

There must be an adequate supply of fresh air (ventilation) in enclosed areas of your workplace. Identify poorly ventilated areas and maximise ventilation by:

• Natural ventilation – open windows, doors (excluding fire doors), and air vents
• Mechanical ventilation – use fans and ducts to bring in air from outside
• A combination of both

4. Hand hygiene and Cleaning

Provide enough alcohol-based hand gel stations throughout the business for employees and customers to maintain cleans hands. It's important to maintain clean hands throughout the working day.

Design a cleaning schedule and train staff on its implementation. Include:

• Work areas
• Staff rooms
• Canteens
• Toilets
• Equipment
• Frequent touch points (door handles, trollies, baskets, handheld devices etc)

Ensure these areas are cleaned and disinfected during the workday.

5. Prepare for Physical Distancing

You are required to keep a 2-metre physical distance between all persons to minimise COVID-19 transmission. Remember to identify pinch points and busy areas.

Consider how you will:

• Limit customer numbers into a shop at one time
• Manage queues inside and outdoors e.g. 2m interval floor markings
• Mark 2m intervals on the floor inside
• Introduce safe routes i.e. One-way systems
• Remind customers of physical distancing i.e. tannoy announcements or taped messages
• Highlight pinch points and busy areas with signs to remind about physical distancing
• Screen at service counters
• Stagger start times, finish times and breaks