Protective Screens. Which is Best?
Pure Office Solutions guide to choosing the correct type of social distancing screen for your workplace
When preparing for your staff to return to the workplace it is critical that employers assess and manage the risks of COVID-19 and take steps to keep everyone safe. Therefore, you need to think about the risks employees face and do everything reasonably practicable to minimise these risks.
In conjunction to government guidelines protective screens or barriers should be used to separate people from each other if a 2m distance cannot be followed. For instance, the protective screens you have already seen in shops but which type screen will offer your employees/customers the most protection without creating an oppressive workspace.
Our handy guide will help you differentiate from the wide range of products available so you can decide what would work best for you and your business.
What is most important
The most important consideration for any protective screen is “wipeability”. Being able to regularly clean and sterilise the screens with anti-bacterial cleaner will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the screen shielding employees from possible infection.
What height should protective screens be?
There is no definitive answer to the question “What height should barrier screens be?” The main function of barrier screens is to protect against coughed or sneezed airborne droplets, which are relatively large and fall from the air, due to gravity, within a short distance.
No screening can fully protect against viral aerosols (fine particles that can float in the air for hours) but the weight of evidence seems to suggest that aerosol transmission is negligible, if it occurs at all, outside of healthcare settings where there is very close contact between infected people and healthcare workers.
We suggest that 660mm above desk height provides an appropriate barrier against airborne droplets between seated people, and floor standing screens 1895mm high an appropriate barrier between standing people (or a standing person and a seated person).
Types of Protective Screens
Screen Extensions
Convert your existing office dividing screens quickly and easily with acrylic screen extensions. Supplied with clamps you can easily remove the screens without damaging your existing screen dividers. The screen panels are manufactured from tough 5mm thick clear cast acrylic which is easy to wipe clean. You can provide optimum protection without causing any obstruction.
Cubicle Screening
Create effortless cubicles for increased protection. This configuration is a combination of desk-mounted, part glazed screens (660mm high) and floor-standing, part glazed screen (1895mm high) to create personal cubicles which still let in a lot of light. Screens can be upholstered in fabric or antibacterial vinyl.
Part-Glazed MFC Screens
Instead of the traditional fabric or vinyl covered screens you now have the option of choosing matching or contrasting MFC part glazed screen which are fully ‘wipeable’ and easy to sterilise. This in-turn makes the screens much more durable compared to being upholstered.
Freestanding Screens
Perfect for customer facing areas these screens are fixed to table tops to offer maximum stability and protection. Freestanding screens can also be used to separate desk areas and even conference tables where there is currently no desk dividers already in place.
Letterbox Screens
Letterbox screens incorporate a small ‘letterbox’ style section to allow easy passing of items between people whilst maintaining social distancing.
Floor-Standing Screens
These screens are perfect to block off or create different areas as they can be positioned anywhere, they can be either fixed to the floor or easily moved. They can be fabric, antibacterial vinyl or fully MFC or a combination of glazed and MFC. Where not fixed to the floor, floor-standing screens come with stabilising feet for extra peace of mind.
Workstation Divider
Keep productivity high with temporary workstation dividers which create a clear barrier between team members working on the same production line.
For more information regarding protective screens please call us on 01926 468 668