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USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
PRODUCTS
Tools for Reopening Businesses are adding procedures and devices to boost safety
“It’s very expensive to do that, but I felt that was worth INCE HIS EIGHT it,” Bruell says. “In my mind, RESTAURANTS if you’re committed to moving reopened last May, forward, it was just the cost of Cleveland chef doing business.” The range of busiand restaurateur Zack Bruell has nesses incurring or considering such grown accustomed to doing things additional costs to maintain operations differently. The tables are no longer is broad, from those reopening office set in advance, and staff members wear space to those that heavily rely on foot masks and sanitize every time they traffic. At each turn are a variety of tools serve a table. They that companies can no longer line plates up on their arms, deploy to deliver a instead carrying one safe environment. in each hand. But it can be Those new confusing to know Chef Zack Bruell approaches were where to invest. “A cottage joined by tools like contactless thermometers for industry has grown up around COVID,” says Dr. James reading guests’ temperatures and, in two of the locations, Merlino, chief clinical transforionizers to scrub the air. mation officer at the Cleveland Clinic and lead for the clinic’s AtWork initiative, which helps employers develop and implement plans to reopen safely. Cleveland Clinic also offers nine industry-specific safety guides on its website. Merlino says the “simple tactics” remain the most important: wearing a mask, washing hands, social distancing, educating about symptoms and staying home if you are sick. That aligns with guidance from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), which provides similar guidelines on the Back to Work Safely website it sponsors. For companies that want to improve safety for their employees, clients and customers, there are a variety of tools worth considering.
By Sandy Smith
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TEMPERATURE CHECKS Merlino recommends the CONTINUED
ZACK BRUELL RESTAURANT GROUP; GETTY IMAGES
