Call JDI Cleaning Services for a Deep Clean of your Business
As your business schedules to reopen and return to regular operations, it is essential to ensure the necessary precautions are taken. Re-entering your facility after a COVID-19 shutdown requires more than just regular janitorial cleaning; it requires sanitization and disinfection.
JDI Cleaning Services has developed comprehensive cleaning protocols for our customers to ensure a successful and safe re-opening after COVID-19.
Additionally, JDI Cleaning Services has prepared a Re-Opening Plan for our customers. The Plan covers essential aspects of employee communication, business operation preparations, and facility preparation.
We provide training courses for our leading Industry Cleaning Practices. Please read more here about course schedules.
The Re-Opening Plan for Businesses in Ontario
JDI knows there are three primary aspects to provide a successful return to business safely and healthily:
1) Educating your Employees on How to Return to Work Safely
2) Establishing a Safe and Healthy Business Operations Plan
3) Preparing for a Healthy Work Environment
Read more about government-approved disinfecting protocols that all JDI commercial cleaners use.
1) Educating your Employees on How to Return to Work Safely
Even though you will soon reopen your doors and return to standard business operations, it is essential to know that the risk of employees contracting COVID-19 coronavirus without a vaccine in place is present and needs to be addressed accordingly. As you begin your communication plan with employees regarding a safe return to the workplace, make sure to educate them about the proper ways they need to return to work safely.
Actively encourage sick employees to stay home:
- Employees who have symptoms (i.e., fever, cough, or shortness of breath) should notify their supervisor and stay home.
- Employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met.
- If you become aware of any employee or person visiting your facility who has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the facility should be disinfected before operations continue.
Reinforce the importance of personal hygiene procedures: We have all learned the importance of washing our hands correctly and maintaining personal hygiene. These aspects are even more critical as employees return to the workplace. Educate your employees about the importance of continuing hygiene precautions and ensure they have the necessary means and equipment to do so. This may require the installation of handwash stations at entryways or refilling restroom soap dispensers more frequently.
Educate employees on any new procedures implemented: As your employees begin returning to the workplace, it may be necessary to implement new policies and procedures to prevent the spread of the virus. It will be important to educate all employees of the new policies and provide the necessary equipment for adherence to the procedures.
Some recommendations to consider:
- Limiting meetings to no more than five people.
- Ensuring social distancing rules can be followed in all meetings and gatherings, allowing a minimum of six feet between employees.
- Staggering break times to limit the number of employees using common areas at the same time.
- Limiting the use of shared equipment or devices such as printers and copiers.
- Setting up temporary workstations to allow a minimum of six feet between employees.
- Opening additional access points to the building to limit traffic congestion.
- Staggering work hours to reduce employee density.
2) Establishing a Safe and Healthy Business Operations Plan
Identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible for COVID-19 issues and their impact on the workplace.
Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices.
- Ensure sick-leave policies are flexible, consistent with public health guides, and employees are aware of and understand these policies.
- Maintain flexible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for a sick family member or take care of children due to school and childcare closures.
- Additional flexibilities might include giving monetary advances on future sick leave and allowing employees to donate sick leave to each other.
- Employers that do not currently offer sick leave to some or all of their employees may want to draft non-punitive “emergency sick leave” policies.
- Employers should not require a positive COVID-19 test result or a healthcare provider’s note for sick employees to validate their illness, qualify for sick leave, or return to work. Healthcare provider offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and not provide such documentation promptly.
Consider establishing policies and practices for social distancing. Social distancing should be implemented if recommended by Federal, Provincial or Local Government health authorities. Social distancing means avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (approximately two meters or six feet) from others when possible (e.g., breakrooms and cafeterias).
Strategies that businesses could use include:
- Increasing physical space between employees at the worksite.
- Increasing physical space between employees and customers (e.g., drive-through, partitions).
- Implementing flexible meeting and travel options (e.g., postpone non-essential meetings or events).
- Delivering services remotely (e.g. phone, video, or web).
- Delivering products through curbside pick-up or delivery.
Employers with more than one business location are encouraged to provide local managers with authority to take appropriate actions outlined in their COVID-19 response plan based on local conditions.
3) Preparing for a Healthy Work Environment
Consider improving the engineering controls using the building ventilation system. This may include some or all of the following activities:
- Increasing ventilation rates.
- Increasing the percentage of outdoor air that circulates into the system.
Disinfect the workplace environment:
- Disinfect all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, and doorknobs.
- If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
- For disinfection, use the government of Canada-approved disinfectants. A list of Government of Canada products approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is available online.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time, etc.)
- Read more in our article ‘Clean First, then Disinfect’
CDC Guidance for how to clean and disinfect
When cleaning hard (non-porous) surfaces:
- If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water before disinfection.
- For disinfection, only the Government of Canada approved and registered disinfectants should be used.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products for concentration, application method, contact time, etc.
When cleaning soft (porous) surfaces:
- For soft or porous surfaces such as the carpeted floor, rugs, and drapes, remove visible contamination if present and clean with appropriate cleaners indicated for use on these surfaces.
- If the items can be laundered, you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions using the warmest appropriate water setting for the items and then dry items completely.
- Otherwise, use government-registered products and approved for use against COVID-19 and suitable for porous surfaces.
When cleaning electronics:
- For electronics such as tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATMs, remove visible contamination if present.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products.
- Consider the use of wipeable covers for electronics.
- If no manufacturer guidance is available, consider using alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol to disinfect touch screens. Dry surfaces thoroughly to avoid the pooling of liquids.
When performing general cleaning:
- Wear disposable gloves and gowns (or protective suits) for all cleaning tasks, including handling trash.
- Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) might be required based on the cleaning/disinfectant products used and whether there is a splash risk.
- Gloves and gowns or protective suits should be removed carefully to avoid contamination of the wearer and the surrounding area.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Always wash immediately after removing gloves and after contacting a person who is sick.
- Hand sanitizer: If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol may be used. However, if hands are visibly dirty, always wash hands with soap and water.
Call JDI Cleaning Services and allow us to help you with a successful re-opening of your business.
Please call us at the numbers below:
In the Kitchener/Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and Brantford areas: 519-884-9600
Regional Directors: Dan and Olga Radulovic- [email protected]
In the Hamilton, Burlington, Stoney Creek, Ancaster and Grimsby areas: 905-634-5228 extension 14
Regional Director: Josh Gingrich – [email protected]
In the Mississauga, Oakville, Milton and Brampton areas: 1-800-567-5091 extension 368
Regional Director: Juan Arboleda – [email protected]
In the Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland -1-800-567-5091 extension 14
Regional Director: Josh Gingrich – [email protected]
In the London, Woodstock, St Thomas and Windsor areas: 519-672-8111 extension 1
Regional Director: Anita Elliott – [email protected]
In the Toronto area: 289 -208 – 0937
James Apps – [email protected]
