Reoccupying Your Workplace
This is an article about safety. You probably assume it’s about PPE, or fall protection, or confined spaces. Nope, not this safety article. This article is about behavioral changes and how STO’s Safety 360⁰ philosophy got us back to work amid a pandemic. But more than that, it’s about how Safety 360⁰ is going to get you back to the office, too.
In 2019, STO Building Group launched the Safety 360⁰ initiative developed by LF Driscoll across our entire organization. A behavior-based approach to safety, Safety 360⁰ focuses on empowering all individuals in our organization to become safety champions through training, awareness, and positive reinforcement. Safety 360⁰ is about more than being safe—it’s about a safe and healthy future. From our workplace—whether it’s a jobsite or one of our WELL Certified offices—to yours, we’re sharing best practices, international partnerships, and vendor relationships to get you back to the office whenever you’re ready. We presume you have the basics in order, like wearing masks and washing hands. Our guidance starts with the minimum operating standard for your building. Buildings were designed to be occupied, and there may have been physical changes to your space while you were out. Our building experts know what to look for and have long-term relationships with building managers and engineers—many of whom already know us as team players. Beyond validating your space is operating the way it should, we can also help with anything from touchless features and UV disinfection lighting to signage and workstation reconfiguration.
Getting a third-party “stamp of approval” can help, too. The WELL Health-Safety Rating is a visual symbol that shows your organization has taken operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans, and stakeholder involvement into account around a best-in-class standard for your facility that not only addresses the pandemic but also whatever else 2020 has to throw at us… earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires (OK, 2020, that’s enough). The STO Building Group has a long-standing relationship with Delos and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and has the in-house consulting services to scale the WELL Health-Safety Rating from one office to an entire portfolio. At the end of the day, indoor air quality is the most critical design element of your space when it comes to COVID-19 mitigation.
Through our partnerships, we can help find the right indoor air quality solution for your space and work with building facilities to determine what changes they may have implemented al-ready and what further actions make sense, including fixing broken operable windows or adding filtration systems.