The Importance of Personal Protective Equipment in the Office
You’ve likely heard a lot about personal protective equipment (or PPE) over the last few months as COVID-19 has spread across the country.
PPE protects its user against many forms of physical harm or hazards in the workplace. Industries like manufacturing and mining have been using PPE as preventative measures to keep employees safe, and now PPE like hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, and face shields are becoming commonplace.
You know that PPE can make the difference between someone spreading COVID-19 and staying safe, but do you know how to implement PPE in your office building? If you’re not a business that usually keeps these items on hand, it can be hard to know what to buy, and how much.
PPE in the workplace is important because:
- Long-term conditions may result from a failure to protect yourself. Even if you’re healthy and feel fine after a day at the office, that doesn’t mean you’ve properly protected your body. Exposure to illness or chemicals on the job can have long term effects. Because we still know so little about how COVID-19 affects different people, it’s best to be protected from the start.
- It increases the quality of your workday. Think of PPE as a support system for the work you’re required to do! If you have anxiety about going back to work, you can lessen the worry when you know your employer is taking steps to keep you protected, like providing masks, hand sanitizer, glass partitions, and other cleanliness measures.
Essential PPE During COVID-19
The key feature of the coronavirus is respiratory symptoms, such as dry coughing. It primarily spreads through saliva droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. That being said, the most essential personal protective equipment items to have on hand in the office are:
- Face masks
- Gloves
- Hand Sanitizer
Face masks protect healthy individuals by preventing them from breathing in saliva droplets of an infected person. The average worker should wear a cloth face mask and practice social distancing in the office.
According to the National Institutes of Health, “coronavirus can stay stable on surfaces for several hours”. On plastic and stainless steel, for example, viable traces of COVID-19 were found two to three days after exposure. Safety gloves are critical because they can prevent your hands from being exposed. Remember to wash your hands and dispose of gloves each day!
Hand sanitizer is likely something you already have in your office. Quicker and more convenient than washing hands, the high alcohol content can kill some viruses until you’re able to wash thoroughly with soap and water.
Michigan Computer Supplies Can Help Provide Essential Personal Protective Equipment for Your Business!
As a small business ourselves, we know how hard it’s been to be closed or operating at smaller capacity for the last three months. As we all begin to reopen and navigate the way forward, we want to help ensure the safety of you, your employees, and your customers and clients. We’re offering a selection of personal protective equipment for the Ann Arbor community.
Please contact us to learn more about availability and visit this page to see our full offering! We’re all in this together. We’d love to hear from you about how we can help!
