Reopening Strategies for Facility Managers

​As the start of the 2020-21 school year approaches, there are still many tough decisions that need to be made for states and school district administrators as we deal with the pandemic. However those decisions may fall, there is more and more guidance around what facility managers and school building operators should do to create the safest physical environments possible for students and staff. In this post, we’ll share some of the guidance we have been learning. Disclaimer: This is not a “be all, end all” list, but rather just some helpful strategies for the folks in charge of managing and maintaining school grounds.

Space preparation and strategies
Our first area of interest comes from the NEA, around how to create safe spaces once students and faculty are in your building. As building managers, you will be part of the solution in terms of how to effectively set up the spaces inside of the school buildings as safely as possible.  Here are some suggestions from their recent guidance report.

• All school facilities and equipment must undergo a deep cleaning using CDC approved disinfectants.
• Cleaning the interior and exterior of buses with CDC-approved disinfectants. Also provide ample cleaning supplies in the vehicles for routine and continuous cleaning after trips and at the end of the school day. Pay particular attention to high-touch surfaces, such as door handles and grab bars.
• Provide secure, separate storage for students’ outerwear and other belongings.
• Reduce and rearrange furniture in classrooms, dining areas, break rooms, and other areas to accommodate six feet of physical separation between and among students and staff.
• Install floor markings, signage, and other implements as necessary to designate single points of entry and exit as well as regulate and direct foot traffic to help people maintain physical distance entering and exiting school grounds and navigating school buildings.
• Install physical barriers and signage and clearly publicize policies as needed to stop students from gathering in large groups before, during, and after the school day.
• Install handwashing stations or hand sanitizing stations at school and campus entrances and exits and throughout school grounds as necessary to facilitate handwashing by students and staff throughout the day.
• Designate and prepare a compliant space for conducting in-person parent and guardian visits with students and staff members.
• Designate and prepare at least one isolation room for any student or staff member who shows symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Steps to improve air quality and safety
Because the coronavirus is transmitted primarily as an airborne virus, having a beefed-up HVAC strategy is critical. Increased ventilation is a proven way to help dilute the virus. We recently sat in on a School Facilities Management Institute, Inc. webinar that detailed out some of the granular things you should be thinking about and implementing with your HVAC systems.

• Increased ventilation.
  • Perform a building indoor air quality audit.
  • Open outdoor dampers. This will increase your energy cost but it’s very valuable in getting that full supply of fresh air.
  • Increase your humidity to 40 - 60% in your buildings. Moisture will help bring any particles to the ground faster.
• Demand-control ventilation.
  • Hone in on times. An hour or two before and after the building is open is a great time to pump fresh air into the building.
  • Think about how building usage has changed and reduce in some areas (e.g. gyms & auditoriums not being used.)
  • Many buildings have two original schedules (occupied & unoccupied). Now there’s a third one - the COVID-19 schedule. Adjust accordingly.
  • Add zoning to allow treatment of classrooms and avoid re-circulation of air.
• Filtration System Types
  • Air filters should be upgraded to a MERV 13 rating.
  • UV light is proven to be effective and can be installed at the air handler unit, duct work or classrooms. 

Other systems to monitor
If that wasn’t enough, there are other systems and procedures to be aware of and think about different approaches for. In an AASA webinar, held in June of this year, experts pointed out some additional systems, procedures and building ideas to help increase safety and health inside of school buildings.

• Review occupancy levels and schedules
• Lighting control systems
• Clean, test and treat cooling towers and other water sources
• Preventative maintenance inspections up to date
• Perform system start up procedures
• Create touchless environments – bathrooms, lights, thermostats
• Reinforce new policies for entering the building
• Employ self- testing fire alarms

For more information on how MasterLibrary can help with the management of your building procedures and processes during the coronavirus, please visit our link below.
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