Between March 2020 and today, so much has changed. We now understand how COVID-19 spreads and how we mitigate that risk. Initially, we were feverishly washing and sanitizing our hands. Then, we learned that the virus was spread by airborne particles, making masks and social distancing commonplace. As our understanding of this virus has evolved, so have the technologies that business owners have been employing to mitigate the risk of spread to their employees.
As a result, technologies like air filtration/HVAC controls, ultraviolet (UV) lighting modifications, A/V solutions, touch-free bathrooms, and sign-in kiosks for visitors with mobile integration are becoming more common in helping ensure the health and safety of workers as they return to in-person work.
One example of these technologies that were recently installed by union electrical contractors is at Chicago’s Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) building. Before the pandemic, BCBS was running about 5,000 people through its turnstiles each day. That went down to about 50 people once COVID hit. When it became evident that people in group gatherings were a source of spread and that employees were likely not coming back anytime soon, the real estate division at BCBS decided to take proactive measures to make the building safer.
BCBS facilities leadership started by reaching out to their contacts at Chicagoland union electrical contractors, Terrance Electric and Gibson Electric & Technology Solutions. Having relationships with both contractors for decades, BCBS knew they were the right teams to quickly and efficiently install temperature reading scanners at their properties and to upgrade their card access system to make it touchless. With the new technologies now operational and mandatory COVID-19 precautions now being lifted in Chicago, those who manage facilities at BCBS are breathing easier knowing they’ve done what they can to ensure a safe and healthy return to in-person work.
We know that the threat of COVID isn’t over, but it isn’t just the pandemic that’s made these touchless technologies beneficial. Think of all the other viruses (colds, flu, etc.) that won’t be as easily spread when thousands of colleagues aren’t touching the same surfaces each day. Think of the respiratory illnesses that won’t happen when the air you breathe in your workplace is freshly filtered by automated HVAC units and germicidal UV lights. For business owners and facility managers, these improvements are investments in your most important asset — your people.
Interest in these technologies piqued so quickly that Powering Chicago, an electrical industry labor-management partnership between the IBEW local 134 and the Electrical Contractors’ Association of City of Chicago and Cook County (ECA), created the Contactless Office E-Book. This e-book offers access to insights from experts in the unionized electrical industry about contactless technology modifications, arming business owners with information about the latest technological modifications to increase workplace safety. If you’re considering new technologies to improve the health and safety of your business, I encourage you to click on the link above to download the e-book.
Elbert Walters III is the Executive Director of Powering Chicago, an electrical industry labor-management partnership that invests in consistently better construction, better careers and better communities within the metro Chicago region.
