Coronavirus: hygiene measures for the use of mobile equipment

Minimising the risk of infection in the workplace

Whereas employees in offices can often work easily from home, this is impossible for employees in hospitals, warehouses, factories, shops and distribution centres. This makes it all the more important for these organisations to minimise the risk of infection on the shop floor by following the measures and guidelines of the RIVM.

Is there a risk of contamination through mobile devices?

Many hospitals, warehouses, factories, shops and logistics companies use mobile devices, scanners, printers and voice equipment. The devices are often used in shifts by several employees. Although the chance that the virus is contagious via objects is very small, it cannot be ruled out completely. We therefore recommend always cleaning and disinfecting the devices properly.

What is the best way to clean mobile devices, scanners and printers?

The guidelines for effective cleaning of a device are different for each device. For example, devices for hospitals have a special housing and are designed differently from devices for shops, factories or warehouses.

Often you can find detailed instructions on how to thoroughly disinfect your exact model in the user manual of the device. You will find information on which cleaning agents are safe to use, including purity and formulation levels for each ingredient, as well as a list of cleaning agents that should absolutely not be used. Precautions and practical tips for handling the device during cleaning processes are also detailed here. So always read the enclosed guidelines before cleaning the appliances. Should you have any questions or be unable to find the operating instructions for your appliance, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

General hygiene measures for the use of mobile equipment

To minimise the risk of infection via the devices, we also recommend that you follow the advice of Darrel Hicks. Darrel Hicks, a nationally recognised expert in infection control, provides well-researched guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting mobile devices in his white paper ‘Best Practices for Infection Prevention’. Although written for the healthcare industry, Hicks’ recommendations provide a solid foundation for companies in all industries to take additional precautions to protect the health of employees and customers.

1. Wash your hands regularly

This advice is so simple, but incredibly effective against virus spread. Always wash your hands before and after using a mobile device, scanner or printer!

2. Always clean and disinfect the device before and after your shift

Establish a cleaning protocol as soon as possible using the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) guidelines so that employees routinely clean and disinfect the mobile devices, scanners and printers.

3. Create awareness among your employees

Remind your employees to regularly wash their hands and disinfect their equipment by, for example, putting up cleaning instructions in different places and texts such as ‘Don’t forget to wash your hands’, ‘Shift started? Disinfect your scanner first’ or ‘Finished working? Disinfect your mobile device’.

4. Clean the device before disinfecting it

Disinfection works less well on a dirty surface. Therefore, always start by cleaning a device first. Only do this with a moist microfibre cloth. According to various studies, this already removes 98% of bacteria and 93% of viruses.

5. Disinfect the device according to the instructions

To remove dangerous and long-living bacteria, it is important to disinfect the device after cleaning. In order not to damage the device, it is important that the cleaning agent is approved by the EPA.

• Put some detergent on a damp cloth or use a damp disposable cleaning cloth. Never pour the cleaning agent directly onto the appliance.
• Carefully clean the entire appliance. Do not forget to clean the buttons and the Do not forget to clean the buttons and the space between them.
• After cleaning, immediately dry the display with a soft, non-abrasive cloth to avoid streaks.
• Allow the device to air dry before using it again.

6. Avoid accumulation

Disinfectants often leave a thin layer on the surface that continues to accumulate. Therefore clean the device regularly with isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol/IPA) to remove the remaining layers of detergent.

7. Be extra hygienic with Voice equipment

Do you use voice picking in your warehouse or shop? Then it is important that in addition to the above hygiene measures, each employee has his/her own earpad and microphone.