A new guide to help business owners plan safe working spaces that enable social distancing and help companies work effectively during the Covid-19 pandemic has been published by the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers along with the Finishes and Interior Sector.
“How Business Owners Can Use Partitioning and Ironmongery to Help Manage Social Distancing” proposes changes to the style and layout of traditional open plan offices and other workspaces as a result of the pandemic as well as providing practical guidance to help business owners understand key considerations they need to make when adapting their workplaces.
The guide calls the process re-cellularisation – the opposite to creating open plan spaces. It advises how to provide cellular space where social distancing can be provided, where teams can collaborate, and where individuals can find safe concentrated spaces when they are in the office.
“We’ve already seen big changes to the way that buildings operate, such as one way systems, and workplaces will need to continue to be responsive as new Government advice is released,” said Douglas Masterson, technical manager at the GAI.
“Businesses need to protect staff, adhere to social distancing and maintain high standards of hygiene without compromising safety and security. This guide will be useful to employers who are looking for proactive solutions. It will help them to identify where measures should be implemented and the types of products that can deliver a safe and secure working environment.”
Implementing cellularisation using partitioning raises several questions about the considerations building owners need to make when it comes to choosing and installing partitioning systems as well as ironmongery products.
Joe Cilia, technical director at FIS, added, “We wanted to produce an accessible and useful guide that can be used by any business to understand how to approach the issue. The flow chart that we produced with the GAI is easy to follow and ensures that any unknown unknowns are dealt with.”
www.gai.org.uk/IndustryUpdates
