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As businesses reopen and employees return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s now more important than ever to improve safety precautions and reduce liability by following health guidelines through the sanitization of common areas and equipment. BuildingReports’ recent update to SafetyScan will allow facility management professionals to track and provide verifiable reporting on disinfection efforts.

While the virus has been shown to be predominately passed from person to person by close contact, it is possible to contract COVID-19 and other respiratory disease from an infected surface by touching the mouth, nose, or possibly eyes after contact. Some projections as to how long the virus can live on various porous and non-porous surfaces have been provided by authorities, research is still underway to provide better guidance.

As the most trusted name in compliance reporting, BuildingReports verifiable barcode reporting system leverages mobile applications to collect detailed data during the inspection, testing and maintenance of critical facility systems and provide convenient electronic reporting on-demand, 24/7. To assist facilities in their efforts to maintain strict decontamination efforts, SafetyScan now features a new device type for Disinfected Surfaces that allows for tracking of the following information:

• Surface Type – allows tracking of common surfaces, including Buttons, Counter Tops, Doors, Doorknobs, Handrails, Radios, Steering Wheels and user defined areas.
• Frequency – indicates the frequency with which the surface was disinfected in hourly increments, as well as longer periods such as Daily, Weekly, Monthly or by Shift.
• Cleaning Supply Used – an open text field allows employees to indicate what type of cleaning solution was used to disinfect the surface.
• Lot # – allows for tracking the source or supply of the disinfectant being used as a quality control measure.
• Dwell Time – the Environmental Protection Agency defines dwell time as, “the amount of time that a sanitizer or disinfectant must be in contact with the surface, and remain wet, in order to achieve the product’s advertised kill rate.” This field allows for reporting the amount of time the surface remained wet, up to 30 minutes.
• Type of Cleaning – provides options for Intermediate Disinfection, Sanitization, Sporicidal/Sterilant and UV treatment types.
• Area Type – indicates if the surface is in a General Access, Limited Access, Public Access and Sequestered Access area to help determine potential exposure and contamination risk.

While not new, SafetyScan also includes the ability to track and report on personal protective equipment (PPE), including those items that can be used to help prevent the spread of contagious diseases, such as:

• Masks (N100, N95, N99, P100, P95, P99, R100, R95 and R99)
• Breathing Apparatus and Breathing Cylinders
• Gloves
• Clothing

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends 6 steps to disinfecting surfaces:

1. Before using a disinfectant, ensure that it is approved by the EPA for the intended purpose by checking the list here: www.epa.gov/listn
2. Follow the directions provided by the manufacturer, in particular the “use sites” and “surface types” as directed. Also pay careful attention to instructions regarding any precautionary measures that should be taken.
3. If instructed, pre-treat the surface with soap and water prior to applying disinfectant if it is visibly dirty.
4. Refer to the manufacturer’s contact time instructions based on the surface and disinfectant being used. This should appear along with the use sites and surface type instructions.
5. Be sure to use gloves when handling the surface and chemicals. Disposable gloves should be discarded safely after each use. For reusable gloves, a pair should be set aside specifically for COVID-19 disinfecting. Always wash hands immediately after removing the gloves.
6. When finished, be sure to securely fasten containers and store or dispose of all cleaning supplies as directed.

To learn more about SafetyScan, please contact info@buildingreports.com.