by Brianna Crandall — June 23, 2021 — When faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, facilities managers (FMs) had to quickly adapt to implement new health and safety measures in their buildings. In addition to more stringent and frequent cleaning and disinfecting regimens, new measures included many physical changes as well.
According to the 2021 CMM In-House/Facility Management Benchmarking Survey from Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine, sponsored by Coastwide Professional, more than 90% of facilities posted new signage or visual cues to promote hand hygiene or social distancing, 81% installed partitions or barrier shields, and 72% set up touchless hand sanitizer stations. In addition, 69% made disposable wipe dispensers/stations available, and 63% instituted temperature screening/scanners in their facilities.
These measures have become familiar sights of the new facilities landscape, and some of them might be here to stay. According to a recent GP PRO survey, facility managers have responded to the coronavirus pandemic by more than doubling the number of hand sanitizer units in their buildings. The survey found that 85% of those responsible for buying or maintaining hand sanitizer units plan to keep most or all of them once the pandemic is over.
In addition to the usual questions about operating budgets and problem areas, CMM asked facilities managers questions directly related to the coronavirus pandemic such as how staffing changed, if they purchased more disinfecting chemicals and equipment, and what types of health and safety measures they installed in their facilities. Here is a snapshot of their responses:
- Staffing is stable
- Budgets are down or flat
- Disinfection purchases are up
- Health and safety is top priority
For a full explanation of the responses above, and more insights from FMs and in-house facility providers, download the complete 2021 CMM benchmarking survey.
