While the construction industry gears up to return to work, Belfast-based concrete specialist, Adcrete, is passing on expertise from its sister company, Christeyns, by adding hygiene products to its portfolio.
Gus Vaughan, Director at Adcrete, explained: “As the construction industry gets back to work and in line with Site Operation Procedures set out by the Construction Leadership Council, changes will need to be made in order to reduce the risk of future Coronavirus contamination.
“Often overlooked are the areas of contact point hygiene, hard surfaces in high traffic areas, and to meet Public Health Agency guidelines these will need to be approached differently, with hygiene and cleaning routines enhanced as we look to a future out of lockdown.”
As part of a hygiene chemical manufacturing group, Adcrete are well placed to offer advice and provide tried and tested sanitation products to help support companies with the new protocols. There are multiple touch points that we all encounter during a normal day and the vital role played by cleaning staff will now take on a more comprehensive function, to include regular, effective sanitisation on multiple hard surfaces.
“We have seen a new demand for hygiene products within our customer base as well as new market channels,” added Gus. “Companies are keen to find solutions for cleaning vehicles, hard surfaces as well as hands. We are working on a sanitation unit to help ease access to these products in high use areas.”
Research is ongoing into Covid-19 (Coronavirus) but evidence has shown already that infectivity on hard surfaces can remain for several days in the right conditions. It is worth noting that according to the WHO the advice given is on cleaning and disinfection and not disinfection alone. The use of a product that combines the best attributes of both a detergent and a disinfectant, or sanitiser, would be the best choice.
Using products that enable users to both clean and disinfect the surface will maximise the removal of contaminants and increase the safety of operatives and members of the public. All products need to have demonstrated virucidal efficacy under BS EN 14476 conditions and be safe to handle and suitable for use on all common hard surfaces.
Hand hygiene is the second battle to address if we hope to win the war against contamination. Much focus has been on the use of alcohol hand-sanitiser, however if incorrectly used these products can provide a false sense of security. The recent WHO report commented on the importance of hand washing using soap and water as well as stating that: “handwashing is a greater protective barrier to infection than wearing disposable gloves”. The report goes on to comment that “Hand sanitizers can be used as an additional measure but should not replace handwashing”.
Hand washing does need to be effective however, and it is easy to miss certain areas. Continual reminders to staff of how to wash hands properly is important to avoid complacency. Whilst alcohol hand-sanitisers have a role to play in ensuring our safety during the current outbreak, when there is no other alternative, it is the practice of effective hand washing that is critical using a properly formulated product such as Hand Soap from Christeyns UK.
Guided by colleagues at Christeyns, Adcrete will continue to monitor developments and issue further guidance to its customers as the situation changes, or new technologies become available.
Adcrete Ltd is the sole distributor of Oscrete Construction products in Ireland and Northern Ireland and has established a reputation for providing innovation, experience and first-class partnering to the precast concrete, ready-mix and ready-to-use mortar industries.
Gus Vaughan
T: +44 (0)7940 195715
E: gus@adcrete.co.uk
Johnny Mooney
T: +44 (0) 7879 885743
E: johnny@adcrete.co.uk
Jonathan Tiernan
T: 00353 87 9073418
E: jtiernan@adcrete.ie
