STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
BEST PRACTICES FOR KEEPING FACILITIES SAFE
IN A PANDEMIC AND BEYOND Dr Lim Lan Yuan outlines some of the important considerations that will contribute to ensuring that our buildings and facilities are safe, as we move towards the ‘new normal’.
Dr Lim Lan Yuan
Dr Lim is a member of the Building and Construction Standards Committee and chairs the Technical Committee on Building Maintenance and Management. He was the Convenor who led the Working Group on the development of the newly launched TR 88 : 2021 (Technical Reference on ‘Use of technologies and processes for safe management measures’). The Singapore Engineer (TSE): What are some of the important guidelines on the use of technologies and processes for safe management measures, as highlighted in TR 88 : 2021, that address the ongoing pandemic and the post-pandemic ‘new normal’? Dr Lim Lan Yuan (LLY): With COVID-19, a number of advisories and guidelines have been introduced to assist organisations to implement safe management measures in their premises. The purpose of this Technical Reference (TR) is to consolidate all these known advisories, as well as those not currently established, into a single document which can provide a valuable reference source, for use not only amid the COVID-19 situation but also during future pandemics. The TR covers various aspects of the management of buildings and facilities, to minimise adverse health impacts on occupants and visitors. It provides guidance on design, operation and maintenance of various M&E systems, including those that govern ventilation and air-conditioning, indoor air quality (IAQ), plumbing & sanitation, as well as hygiene and cleanliness. It also provides recommendations on good practices in safe management, operation of the building, building design and interior layout; procedures for planning for emergency preparedness and re-occupation; and the technologies that can be adopted. Building design and services With regard to building design and services, the focus is on completed environments and facilities. The TR suggests best processes and practices which are useful in future design and building work. With regard to the structure, consideration should be paid to space requirements and interior layouts. With regard to services, consideration should be paid to air and water systems that will ensure indoor air quality and clean water. The recommendations may be useful in guiding the planning and design of buildings, so that they can be ready for operation during pandemics, without much modifications to the existing structure and facilities. This TR describes adaptations to be made, in order to facilitate safe management measures. 12
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER September 2021
Cleaning, management and operations With reference to the second part on cleaning, management and operations, since cleaning is an important consideration in a pandemic, the TR examines the frequency of cleaning and the use of disinfectants for common areas, toilet areas and other areas of the facility. Much of this has been widely covered in many advisories. The TR recommends the development of a cleaning strategy, by looking at disinfection methods and substances selected, the cleaning operation itself and the management of environmental services. The TR focuses more on cleaning technologies, such as robotic cleaning and whether the robots can perform to certain specifications. This is not currently covered in published standards. Hence, recommendations are made on how these technologies should be applied and on the precautions to be taken prior to their deployment. The TR also looks into the details of the procedures for both surface cleaning and air cleaning. It also looks, in detail, into the protection of cleaning staff and establishment of service levels, as well as the assessment of cleanliness and quality control. The management and operational aspects of introducing safe management measures are also discussed and good practices are recommended. In order to reduce physical contact and the deployment of manpower, the TR also recommends ways of deploying different technologies for access control, motion sensors and contactless devices, that can all help in reducing touchpoints. Emergency preparedness and re-occupation Under emergency preparedness, we consider various measures, e.g. working from home; rotation of teams; control and containment measures; business continuity plans; and the management of human resources, e.g. monitoring of staff and contact tracing. On re-occupation, a strategic re-occupation plan is recommended, with the adoption of a phased approach for gradual re-occupation. As building systems are likely to have been either shut-down or operating in a modified mode, due to a pandemic, a series of checks on all building systems should be performed, and thorough and safe cleaning of the premises should be carried out, prior to allowing re-occupation of the building.
