While Victoria is back on the path towards reopening (hopefully for real this time) and the rest of the country is already making solid progress towards some measure of normality, there’s no denying that things are going to have to change.
For starters, with the virus lurking in the background, you’re going to have to take extra precautions to keep your team safe.
And that includes setting up COVID-19 signs alongside your hazchem signs, emergency information panels and dangerous goods signs.
There’s just one question: “where?”
As with all things’ workplace safety sign-related, placement is key.
So, where should your COVID-19 signs go?
Some quick facts about the virus
If you’re going to create a virus plan, you need to start by understanding how it works, and more importantly, how the virus is transmitted.
Let’s start with how it’s transmitted.
According to the WHO, there are 2 main avenues through which COVID-19 is transmitted:
- Directly, via ingested droplets from infected people (according to some studies, droplets can linger for up to 8 minutes)
- Indirectly, through contaminated surfaces and items (the virus can survive for hours or even days depending on the surface)
This is why social distancing measures and stringent hygiene practices are so effective at keeping transmission rates down.
And COVID-19 signs can be a great way of ensuring that your team is adequately following both of these measures!
While all of these are simple habits, they’re only effective when people remember them and properly follow the guidelines. Luckily, workplace safety signs offer a constant reminder of the simple things we can do to protect ourselves and each other.
Our range of COVID-19 signs includes:
- Social distancing signs
- Hand washing and sanitiser signs
- Instructional signs
Full disclosure: we’re an online sign shop, not virologists. While the things we’re about to talk about are good starting points, the best thing to do is to get in touch with your state’s health organisation and check their recommendations.
The usual suspects: where should your signs go?
Door handles
If you had to make a list of surfaces that get touched most frequently, we’d bet that door handles are at (or close to) the top of the list!
While ideally you should leave doors open to reduce the need to touch anything at all, there are some doors that need to stay closed.
As one of the most touched surfaces in the entire property, it’s essential that you hang up signs around doors reminding people of the risk, as well as the importance of washing their hands after using the door (along with a disinfectant station near the door, of course).
Bathrooms
And we aren’t just listing them here because restrooms are among the most travelled parts of your commercial property – it’s also because they also give people the opportunity to wash their hands before they return to work.
Of course, as we’ve all learnt over the last couple of months, there’s a proper way to wash your hands – one that most of us weren’t even aware existed!
Among our range of COVID-19 signs are informational signs that inform readers of proper handwashing technique.
Consider hanging these signs up alongside handwashing signs to make sure that people are doing it properly!
Queue areas
Does your business require people to queue up at a register? If so, this is going to be one of the biggest “hotspots” in your entire premises – which is why they should be one of your biggest targets when it comes to COVID-19 signs!
Our range of floor stickers help people remind people of the need to maintain distance while queuing up, and can even be used to identify the specific spots where people are allowed to stand or wait.
Lunchrooms
It isn’t just queue areas where maintaining social distancing is required – break rooms are another potential hotspot.
Just like queue areas, our range of COVID-19 signs can be used to enforce distancing by reminding people of where to stand or sit, and how far to keep from one another.
On top of that however, we also stock occupancy signs that set out how many people are allowed in a room at once while maintaining social distancing.
Consider calculating how many people can safely take a break at the same time before hanging one of these occupancy signs on the break room door to ensure that people are able to stay safe
Workstations and desks
Some businesses have their team members on a single desk or workstation throughout the day.
Others see people float around and take on a range of different duties throughout the day.
If you fall into the second category, you should ensure that each workstation, area or desk is appropriately covered with COVID-19 signs reminding people to wipe down between tasks and to disinfect or wash their own hands when they’re done.
Things to think about when considering sign placement
While the spots listed above are great places to start off, the fact of the matter is that each business is unique, with its own layout, busy areas, task arrangements and more.
And all of this means that the best places to hang up your COVID-19 signs will vary.
Luckily, there are a couple of general ground rules you can follow to figure out the best spots for COVID-19 signs at your workplace…
Traffic
When hanging up COVID-19 signs, a great place to start is by looking at the most travelled areas of your business:
- Corridors
- Entrances
- Lunch rooms
More people = more potential vectors for infection – it’s as simple as that.
And as the busiest parts of your business, you’re going to need to pay extra attention to keeping them safe (which is to say they should be one of the first areas you look at when deciding where to hang up your COVID-19 signs!)
Start by hanging up social distancing signs in high-traffic areas to remind people of the need to keep apart.
In particular, consider placing floor stickers to set out minimum distances as well as places where people are allowed to stand.
Focus on surfaces
In addition to droplets, the virus can be transmitted indirectly through surfaces. As such, it’s important that you keep surfaces clean – especially surfaces like door handles and work equipment, which people are going to be using frequently!
When it comes to COVID-19 signs, another good place to start is by looking at the most frequently used surfaces.
Be sure to hang signs up reminding people to disinfect or wash their hands around surfaces that see a lot of touching throughout the day.
Our online sign shop has all the workplace safety signs you need
Now that you know where the “hotspots” are, it’s time to start shopping.
Our mission is to keep your workplace safe, and not just from illness either. In addition to our COVID-19 signs, we also stock a huge range of other workplace safety signs, including:
With nationwide delivery, we can get your signs to you with minimal delay, even with the pandemic (and the chaos it’s caused in the shipping industry).
We can even custom made safety signs for you, giving you a sign that perfectly meets your business’ unique needs.
All you need to do is get in touch with us! Call (03) 9687 3050 or send us a message, and we’ll be in touch with you immediately.
Alternatively, click here to start shopping today!
You can also visit us for custom safety signage in Melbourne: pop into our office at 122 Whitehall Street, Footscray, VIC 3011.
