Digital hygiene management enables safe return to offices
As the COVID-19 incidence rates decline, more and more employees are returning to their offices. A functioning and compliant hygiene concept is crucial for their protection. With an app-supported hygiene management system and the staysafe® hygiene label, TÜV SÜD and ShareYourSpace have developed the right solution for operators and providers of offices and workspaces.
Effective protection against health risks is the prerequisite for ensuring that the return to office environments and workplaces is successful and does not lead to new setbacks. To this end, TÜV SÜD has developed a process-controlled and app-supported hygiene management system and, together with Munich-based PropTech ShareYourSpace, has adapted it to the special requirements of office properties. The digital platform of the same name enables the short-term rental and letting of a wide variety of workspaces based on the Airbnb principle by networking space owners and space seekers.
With the help of the app and a dashboard, providers and operators of offices and workspaces can check the hygiene protection concept they have defined themselves, identify possible weak points and minimize the risk of infection for users of their office space. "We support landlords or operators in complying with legal and official requirements and implementing appropriate protective measures in a practical manner on their office space and office properties," says Sabine Watzlowik, project manager at TÜV SÜD Advimo GmbH. The basis for this is a comprehensive digital checklist that takes into account the requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) as well as the applicable guidelines and regulations.
"New requirements are entered centrally into the system if we consider it necessary and appropriate," explains Thorsten Steinhübel, Managing Director of TÜV SÜD Food Safety Institute GmbH, which co-developed the hygiene app and the staysafe® hygiene label. "This applies in particular to requirements that apply nationwide or generally." In this way, operators can implement necessary measures without delay. Data security is guaranteed by strict access management. The security standards include password-protected access and secure lines for data transmission.
Proof of the staysafe® hygiene label
After the self-check, operators and providers of offices and workspaces can prove the successful implementation of their hygiene concept using the staysafe® hygiene label. At ShareYourSpace, the label is awarded directly via the platform www.shareyourspace.com and is indicated accordingly in the space advertisement. "For our customers, this is a strong added-value service," emphasizes Dr. Tobias Wagner, CEO of ShareYourSpace. "Because health care as a differentiating criterion for spaces and space operators is an important competitive advantage in marketing that will become even more important in the future."
The staysafe® hygiene label is available in two levels: in a basic version as a pure self-assessment by the operator or as a premium service with additional testing and validation by independent TÜV SÜD auditors and the additional note "monitored by TÜV SÜD".