In many cases, the way in which office spaces are used is going to change. The timeframe for workers returning to office buildings remains fluid and ultimately comes down to individual company decisions. In general, the schedule to return to offices en masse is likely to mirror the overall reopening of the statewide economy. The behavioral changes influenced by COVID-19 also remain uncertain. However, it is clear that health and safety concerns will take center stage at the workplace.

Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) experts have begun re-examining the modern office workspace in the light of the pandemic and changing views on shared workspaces.

Returning To The Office Is Inevitable For Many Workers

Prior to the pandemic, offices were considered essential to raising productivity, fostering culture, and attracting talent. Securing prime office real estate was competitive in metropolitan cities. In recent years, many of those workplaces focused on collaborative, group environments. Office space requirements per employee witnessed a 20% decline. The upward trend in efficiencies was due to open floor plans with break-out rooms and other common amenities. Leaders in the technology and banking industries configured spaces to provide 65-70 sq. ft. per employee – a stark contrast from the recommended 100-120 sq. ft. per employee used by the architectural community for decades.

Did we squeeze in too many people too quickly? Based on a survey conducted by McKinsey, 80 percent of respondents confirmed they enjoyed working from home, while 41% believed they were more productive.

The COVID-19 outbreak has informed leaders that a good percentage of staff can work from home and deliver efficient results. This has raised questions regarding whether there is a need to maintain offices as before. It may also be suggested that businesses enlist new strategies to make offices more humane, productive, and safe.

EHS professionals say there are indications of what the future of office spaces should look like.

Enhanced Cleaning, Disinfection, and Elimination Measures

Employees will rightfully be expecting enhanced cleaning programs as they return to work. Frequent and effective disinfecting of public areas, such as receptions, pantries, dining areas, cafés, copy rooms, wellness rooms, and high-touch surfaces will have to be considered. An after-hours cleaning program, that attacks common areas with antimicrobial treatments to prevent germs and bacteria from circulating through touch, air, and water, is also fundamental.

Ease Office Congestion

Retrofit – Workstation enclosures and space delineation has become essential. It is important to understand how collaborative spaces need to meet current safety norms. Workstations should be set up with appropriate distance between them, while rules regarding the use of common area furniture will address maintaining proper social distances. Hygienic products for employees, such as hand sanitizers, antibacterial soaps, gloves, masks, and disinfectant wipes will become standard office supplies.

Reconfigure – It is crucial to ensure social and physical distancing by introducing new elements to the office. The introduction of plexiglass, panels, dividers, and wall enclosures will be key to re-purposing interior and exterior space for maximum occupancy. Traditionally, construction materials and fabrics were never considered amenities, however, post-pandemic they will have a spotlight. Offices built with construction materials that are antimicrobial, such as metallic and some laminate surfaces, as well as treated fabrics that can withstand strong cleaning treatments, will become more commonplace.

Re-invent – Other workplace amenities aided by technology will take on a prominent role. The inclusion of touchless dispensers, faucets, trash receptacles, paper towels, smart thermostats, and motion sensors will not only help reduce physical touch but prove to be cost saving at an imperative time. Think adaptability instead of permanence. Fluid instead of fixed.

Hospital Grade Elements

Eliminating pathogens being passed through droplets, physical proximity, and airborne transmissions will need to be targeted in design. The inclusion of quarantine rooms, oxygen supplies, and mask stations in office spaces have now reached beyond the realm of sci-fi and into reality.

HVAC Considerations

Airflow, air quality, and filtration will be held to a higher standard. Office buildings may require major re-engineering to avoid virus exposure. Floor or zone based segmentation of the air distribution system will be the norm in future building designs. High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are likely to become a standard feature. Air changes per hour may have to be increased to ensure higher levels of air purity.

Investing in Physical Safety

Having undergone a long period of restricted movement, the behavior of employees will change, and they will require more physical and mental space, not to mention personal safety.

Despite these changes, we will always need workspaces that foster collaboration, innovation, creativity, and a sense of belonging. There will always be a desire for amenities like artfully designed meeting spaces, eating areas, or physical activity centers like gyms.

The experts at CAM Property Services are here to assist you in making your workspace pandemic resilient. While every organization varies with regard to privacy policies and shared spaces, returning to work will clearly be changed in many ways. Our clients have access to a wide variety of property management services and solutions informed by our in-house EHS subject matter expertise to address their evolving needs.

About The Author: Pranav Heryani is an EHS & Sustainability Specialist. Among the next generation of environmental professionals, his projects have encompassed both local and international efforts toward green initiatives with practical sustainability for the commercial sector.

Recalibrating Property Management for Environment, Health, and Safety with CAM Property Services

Weathering the COVID-19 storm with an EHS Specialist

Amidst the uncertainties that surround the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, an opportunity presents itself as a solution for future growth – recalibrating existing business models to ensure environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns have a seat in the decision-making process.

Rather than relying on business-as-usual solutions, real estate leaders are now looking to environmentalists, sociologists, and futurists for answers.

• Will the demand for space increase post COVID-19?
• Will people have a fear of riding elevators?
• Do you have the resources to keep up with the ever-evolving EHS arena?

As evident in the financial crisis of 2008, while some assets survive through adaptation, others fade. Acting quickly, decisively, and consistently will not only determine the fate of the players but also the industry after it eventually reinvents itself.

The smartest players are now thinking about how their respective industries will change and are altering their strategy accordingly. Here is how EHS should be a part of your new normal strategy:

• Technical Know-How: Understand the technicalities of science-based solutions
• Industry Expertise: Evaluate the bigger picture to identify maximum impact solutions
• Tactical Revenue Strategies: Optimize business functionality

Moreover, this goes beyond adapting. Implementing preventative measures will be bold steps to deepening your relationship with employees, customers, investors, and other stakeholders.

Here at CAM Property Services, we know what you do next matters. We have been focused on how we can adapt our diverse array of property management services, EHS subject matter expertise, and technology – to best support our existing and new clients in moving forward successfully.

Our holistic approach, CONFIDENCE+, is designed to maximize operations engagement, with an eye toward your bottom line, at a time when it is most imperative.

By focusing on the latest and safest EHS guidelines, applying the fundamentals of cleaning and evaluating assets from a social science perspective, we utilize our broad service capabilities, providing strategies that focus on increasing revenue and productivity while mitigating risk.

Be assured that the CAM Property Services team is here to support your business during these challenging times. If you want to ensure your property is a sanitized space and implement EHS within your business, please reach out to us so that we can help you pave the path forward to the next normal.

About The Author: Pranav Heryani is an EHS & Sustainability Specialist. Among the next generation of environmental professionals, his projects have encompassed both local and international efforts toward green initiatives with practical sustainability for the commercial sector.

As customers re-enter public buildings in greater numbers, we need to ensure that they are comfortable in urban spaces and allowed to move about safely. Innovative solutions are crucial to support the well-being of customers.

Our responsibility to property managers is to ensure their assets are pandemic resilient while simultaneously delivering positive impacts on business operations, thus factoring in Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) in decision-making. Our cost-effective strategies are focused on increasing revenue, improving productivity and mitigating risk at a time when it has never been more imperative.

Businesses across California are getting back into shape, proactive landlords and property managers are creating designated safe shopping zones while working collaboratively with us at CAM Property Services. We are constantly updating our service offerings with the latest and safest technologies.

It was not long ago that hardly anyone gave a second thought entering the bustling lobby of a large building or stepping on an escalator. Today, our world has changed, and the way businesses and consumers interact with commercial spaces has been altered. Building owners are making public safety a top concern, establishing safeguards for people to move through buildings with confidence.

For example, escalators are indispensable to today’s urban lifestyle, commonly found in places such as shopping centers, theaters, sports arenas, transit stations, and airports. They are used and touched daily by scores of customers to prevent accidental falls. Unfortunately, worn and gouged rubber escalator handrails can host bacteria and viruses, thus posing a direct threat to human health. It has become common that escalator riders are using handrails progressively less, which has posed increased risks and liabilities.

“If you don’t think the handrail is clean, you don’t want to hold it. Not holding the escalator handrail, however, is not a great option as it increases the risk of injury from loss of balance” says Hanna Inget, head of new services and solutions at KONE, an escalator and elevator provider.

People aren’t the only passengers on escalators. Handrails are often an express lane for germs due to constant contact with unclean hands. Researchers have found traces of blood, mucus, urine, and feces on handrails, not to mention harmful bacteria and viruses. Cleaning escalator handrails has been an ineffective and time-consuming process, until now.

CAM Property Services has added an innovative new escalator handrail disinfection technology to their facility services. It renews and disinfects escalator handrails, providing increased safety and peace of mind for customers who typically hold handrails for balance. The process requires no additional power source, no escalator downtime, and can expertly clean and condition the dirtiest of escalator handrails.

The handrail cleaning system is a non-motorized, safe and simple system to remove dirt, bacteria, and 99.9% of pathogens from moving handrails. A patented cleaning formula is applied to microfiber pads, proven effective in independent studies, attached to molded pad holders on a mobile dolly system, which cleans the moving handrails from “bead to bead” without interrupting operations.

The cleaning and conditioning solutions are biodegradable and have been developed over years.

A mix of silicones helps restore and even protect the rubberized handrail material, extending its useful lifespan. The engineered design uses the power of the escalator to facilitate the cleaning action as it restores and disinfects one rail at a time.

As we ease out of lockdown and re-enter public urban buildings, such as shopping centers, we need to feel comfortable in populated settings. From disinfecting handrails to people flow planning, innovative solutions will not only support well-being but allow your property to adapt and thrive in this new era where EHS is at the forefront.

At CAM Property Services we continue to find new ways to support our clients and their customers. Our suite of anti-virus property management services includes electrostatic fogging, aerial drone inspections, customized plexiglass barriers, and visual cues.

CAM Property Services is adapting holistic and analytical approaches to facility management and cleaning standards. Combining our diverse array of property management services, EHS subject matter expertise and observational methodologies, we are able to yield highly targeted science-based solutions for any asset class with the industry’s best services.

About The Author: Pranav Heryani is an EHS & Sustainability Specialist. Among the next generation of environmental professionals, his projects have encompassed both local and international efforts toward green initiatives with practical sustainability for the commercial sector.

Although they are commercial properties, multifamily facilities fall into a unique category with regard to upkeep. Unlike most commercial properties for business use, these properties are occupied continuously. Multifamily maintenance requires a wider range of skills and resident diplomacy, whether a high-rise apartment building, sprawling garden style community, condominiums, or townhouse community.

Multifamily properties typically have more paying tenants to keep satisfied. The demands on common areas and amenities also tend to be higher. The lifestyles of the occupants tend to follow less rigid patterns of behavior, whereas business tenants more closely follow a uniform code of behavior.

Working with a property services company that has a cooperative team across multiple disciplines will save busy property managers time, money, and frustration. Imagine the convenience of contacting just one point-person for nearly all property needs such as landscaping, janitorial, power washing, garbage area cleanup, trash chute repair, virus disinfecting, ADA compliance, and parking garage sweeping.

General maintenance is the first concern for servicing multifamily properties. As property occupants are staying home more and paying attention to sanitizing and cleaning procedures these days, a more professional standard of cleaning is demanded. Janitorial services are less behind-the-scenes than they may have been in the past.

Pristine common areas are the first key to making tenants happy. Indoor cleaning may require extra attention on frequent touch point and high traffic areas. Community rooms and fitness centers require additional sanitization. Expert carpet cleaning and floor care can extend the life of your asset. Day porter services also provide a higher level of concierge service.

Common areas are the most visible and important to keep clean. Lobbies, entryways, elevators, stairwells, parking garages, and walkways that are not maintained can become eyesores and liability hazards. A company that properly repairs and maintains trash chutes and garbage collection areas can reduce odors, disease, and safety hazards from properties.

Professional landscaping provides a great first impression for prospective residents and visitors and can add value. Exterior maintenance also covers a lot of ground and includes services such as hard surface steam cleaning, parking lot sweeping, and underground parking maintenance, to name a few. Although these areas may be lower profile, they are equally important to maintain.

Perimeter inspections, aerial drone video inspections, hauling large illegally dumped items, graffiti removal, alleyway cleanup, and handyman services should also be offered by a full-service company.

Hiring a good team that recognizes preventative maintenance issues is also valuable. The more skills a facility services team brings, the more qualified they are to identify and report potential problems. They can prevent small abnormalities from escalating into large, full-blown problems that create headaches and unwanted expenses.

This is the type of depth you should look for when hiring a company for multifamily maintenance. A strong team can save property managers considerable time and expense in the long run. Your property will provide an enhanced living experience and tenants will be routinely happier.

If you are an owner or manager of multifamily real estate in California, you should call upon CAM Property Services. From now on all your multifamily property needs could be handled with a phone call to just one company. They are a premier provider, trusted by many of the top residential property companies in the state since 1987.

Call 800-576-3050 to get started today.

Accelerate your Return-to-Office experience with these best practices and services from the Property Pros

Employees should feel confident in their return to a space that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also safe. CAM advocates a proactive approach to address any potential concerns. Savvy building owners and managers emphasize cleanliness and hygiene to create an environment that not only looks immaculate, but also fosters health and wellness.