GBCSA healthy workspaces collaborate on guidelines to assist employers to reopen safely.
The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) and engineering consultancy Zutari have developed a “safe return to the workplace” guideline, to help facilitate a responsible reopening of offices in South Africa.
The guideline is a technical guide for existing buildings that identifies best practice recommendations for a healthy and safe return. The resource is available for free, and aimed at building owners, facilities managers, office managers and tenants.
“What is emerging is a realisation that lockdown cannot be a long-term strategy against Covid-19 and that the ‘new normal’ for workplaces is evolving because of the need for human interaction,” says GBCSA technical head Georgina Smit. “Commercial buildings are not typically designed to standards aimed at minimising the spread of infectious disease to the extent of hospitals, which are built for this purpose.”
Although a “new normal” is emerging in office working, it will need to respond not only to a changed world of work, but will have to manage health-related risks as well. “However, there are various measures that can be implemented to reduce the risk of transmission,” says Zutari technical director Martin Smith.
The framework and guideline consist of five categories and 45 initiatives and have been put together to understand the range of options that should be considered when implementing the return to the workplace, with safety as the key priority.
It provides an overview that identifies infection control strategies at various levels of decision-making and responsibility.
Martin explains that the guidelines are set up in a structure similar to the Green Star rating tools, with various interventions grouped under a number of applicable categories. The guide puts forward a recommended best practice for each initiative. It is a user-friendly starting point for stakeholders to understand what needs to be considered for a safe workplace.
When considering mitigation strategies for a building, it is important to understand how infections such as Covid-19 spread. The guide makes recommendations related to management, personal behaviour, indoor air quality, safe water systems and design for safety. Each category has been collated around the point of control within the building in mind.
For example, the management category highlights the need for mental health support services that encourage resilience and ensure that discrimination does not occur.
Martin says the first step for those interested in applying this to a building they work in is a healthy building assessment audit.
“The purpose of this is to provide an understanding of the current status of the building and its related services and address the preparedness of management and staff to handle health-related risks. It serves as a gap analysis of your building’s status in relation to desired outcomes and requirements of this guide.”
Martin emphasises that the role of air quality needs to be considered, which involves addressing building ventilation rates to ensure sufficient ventilation or outdoor air supply rates, to minimise a build-up of pathogens or contaminants suspended in the air.
Good amounts of fresh air also contribute to occupant wellness, which could translate into productivity benefits.
