Make sure your workplace is clean and safe for employees.

Broadly, OSHA states that it is an employer’s responsibility to provide a clean and safe workplace that is free from known hazards. Usually, this comes up more in the context of exposure to occupational chemicals or bloodborne pathogens (especially for healthcare workers), but infectious diseases like the coronavirus pose risks to workers, too. There is no specific OSHA standard covering COVID-19, but some OSHA requirements may apply when it comes to preventing exposure to the coronavirus in your workplace. The closest analogy is probably a widespread flu outbreak, which OSHA has established guidance on in the past. Coronavirus is somewhat different and still less understood, but their recommendations can be useful to keep your workplace safe.

Protect against spread of Coronavirus

• Promote personal hygiene. For example, provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disinfectants, and disposable wipes for employees to clean their work surfaces.
• Educate on prevention. Provide employees with up-to-date info on coronavirus risk factors and protective behaviors, like cough etiquette and symptom assessment.
• Minimize exposure. Consider ways to minimize physical contact between employees and with clients or customers, such as email, web conferencing, and telecommuting. Schedule work tasks in ways that decrease the likelihood of exposure. Reschedule, postpone, or consider making all-hands meetings and events virtual. Encourage ill employees to stay at home without fear of any reprisals.
• Perform routine environmental and disinfection cleaning. Surfaces that should be regularly cleaned include: Workstations and desks, light switches, floors and walls, counter tops, door knobs, bathrooms, eating areas, and other touch points.

COVID-19 Safety Doesn’t Stop There

With so many people under one roof, it can be virtually impossible to maintain a clean and sanitary workplace without help. Let Hercules Services keep your office or other commercial property clean and germ-free with full-service commercial cleaning solutions. Contact us to get started today.

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Protecting Your Workplace from the Coronavirus:

Cleaning for the Coronavirus is essential to help stop the spread of the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus, or COVID-19, has been detected in 90 locations around the world, including the US. While the scale of the coronavirus outbreak seems daunting, it’s important to remember that we’ve seen similar global pandemics over the past two decades, most notably SARS and swine flu. As with each previous global outbreak, calmness and preparation can help minimize the impact.

Take Steps to Protect Yourself and Your Employees From Coronavirus

Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

The first tip is pretty straightforward: any employee showing signs of illness SHOULD NOT come into work. Actively encourage your employees to stay home if they have any symptoms of acute respiratory illness. They should not come in until they have absolutely no fever or other signs of illness for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or symptom-altering medication.

Perform Routine Infectious Disease Remediation

Now let’s talk about routine cleaning for the Coronavirus throughout your building. Everything in your workplace should always be kept clean and sanitary, but the need for thoroughness peaks when trying to prevent the spread of germs. Surfaces that should be regularly cleaned and disinfected include:

• Workstations and desks
• Floors and walls
• Counter tops
• Doorknobs
• Bathrooms
• Eating areas

At Hercules Services, we use state-of-the-art equipment along with traditional cleaning methods to provide a comprehensive cleaning solution for any type of office facility. Disinfecting is a fast and cost-effective supplement to standard cleaning regimens. Disinfectants are applied to surfaces in a thorough, even manner, regardless of the shape or angle of the surface in question. We clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily in workplace common areas (e.g. tables, hard-backed chairs, doorknobs, light switches, remotes, handles, desks, toilets, sinks). We only use products with EPA-approved emerging viral pathogens claims.

Turn to Hercules Services for a higher standard of professional cleaning care. Schedule a free walk through today and let us help make your building a healthier, safer, and cleaner workplace for all.

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Ways to Protect Your Office Against the Flu with Office Cleaning

The flu is a productivity killer for commercial offices.  It’s important to protect your office against the flu.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, U.S. employees miss 17 million days of work each year because of the flu, which costs employers an estimated $7 billion in lost productivity.

For most offices, an outbreak of the flu can throw all momentum off course. Fortunately, there’s a relatively simple solution: Regular commercial cleaning and disinfecting.

Disinfecting your work space is one of the most significant ways to protect your office against the flu. In fact, routine cleaning is something the CDC recommends for controlling the spread of influenza in schools, which can be applied to commercial work spaces.

Beyond routine cleaning, though, there are steps every office can take to protect against influenza. Here are a few of the most important steps offices can take to stay healthy and clean during flu season:

• Practice Basic Hygiene to Prevent the Spread of Germs

Simple hygiene can go a long way to preventing the spread of influenza. Here’s why: On surfaces, the influenza virus can infect people for up to 48 hours, according to the CDC.

Promoting good hygiene can thus slow the spread. The OSHA highly recommends offices and critical environments follow some basic protocols, including:

• Encourage employees to stay home if they’re sick
• Providing hygiene educational materials during flu season
• Wash hands regularly
• Provide hand sanitizer to employees in multiple locations
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
• Keep disinfectant wipes in the office
• Encourage employees to disinfect their personal work space

This strategy isn’t just great for flu season; it can help prevent illness throughout the year.

Bonus Tip: Reminders work! According to one study, hand washing reminders improved compliance across all employee groups.

• Disinfect More Frequently to Kill Germs

Professional cleaning service is one of the fastest ways to slow the spread of influenza. Regular cleaning, though, isn’t always enough. Although using a professional cleaning service will help to slow the spread of influenza, cleaning alone doesn’t disinfect surfaces.

That’s why it’s important to work with your commercial cleaning company during flu season on a disinfectant program. Many surfaces in your office should be disinfected regularly during flu season, including:

• Office supplies like staplers
• Computers and copiers
• Phones and handsets
• Shared furniture, e.g. conference room tables and chairs
• Door knobs and handles
• Common areas

Having a commercial cleaning service professionally disinfect your work space routinely is the most-effective flu prevention tactic. Proper disinfecting kills 90% of germs, including the flu virus. That’s why during flu season, your commercial cleaning program should include regular disinfecting services.

Need Help? Contact Hercules Services

Hercules Services is your trusted vendor for quality professional office cleaning.  We service clients throughout Northeast Ohio. Including Cleveland, Akron, Canton and surrounding areas. We’re here to assist with your office and workplace disinfect needs.

Contact us today for all your office cleaning needs!

CONTACT HERCULES SERVICES FOR YOUR COMMERCIAL OFFICE CLEANING

Hercules Services is a full service janitorial and commercial cleaning company equipped to keep your office or business in top shape for years to come. Our happy clients can testify to the quality of our work, the efficiency of our professionals, and the beautiful clean that they experience. If you’re ready to see how a professional can upgrade your service and keep your clients happy, give us a call at 216-464-1530 or visit us online. To see testimonials and specials, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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