Longtime industry veteran Frank Lytle has some new products to safely get everyone back to the office in 2021.
The pandemic is still in full swing in many parts of the world, but as this year comes to an end and a vaccine for this awful disease is in sight, there seems to be hope for our future finally. One of the biggest adjustments companies had to make to help slow the spread of the virus is working from home rather than the office. The shift from a structured “nine-to-five” office day to a work-from-wherever mentality is a societal change that will likely never go back to the way it was.
However, according to most recent surveys on the subject, a large majority of office workers want to get back to the office, at least for a few days a week. Getting them back to the workplace safely has occupied the minds of some of the best thinkers around. There is, however, some universal agreement on what changes need to be accomplished before workers begin to show up in sufficient numbers. Obviously, the introduction of a vaccine will help, but before the country reaches herd immunity, which may not come before late 2022, other solutions are being introduced.
Contract industry veteran Frank Lytle has had a few thoughts on the matter. With help from another industry executive, Dan Miller (Kimball), human-factors consultant Dr. Alan Hedge and David Lutz, President-financial and operative expert, have come up with a product that could entice workers to get back to the office. Their new company, Office Products Concepts, has a complete product line available through reps and dealers today.
The central part of their product line is the P3 personal workspace enclosure. Exhaling, aerosols containing virus particles float up, dissipate, and can last in the office environment for hours. An infected person, even those who are non-symptomatic, can spread the disease for hours and days when working in an office setting. Furthermore, research has found that air droplets still escape when coughing and wearing a mast.
The team at Office Products Concepts (OPC) determined that the popular Plexiglas shields many are using in the workplace today do almost nothing to stop the virus, and most are there to just make employees feel secure.
OPC’s P3 is a different product. Through research and testing, they found that three sides and a ceiling above the occupant’s head are necessary to help capture the air droplets before they spread throughout the office. Once captured and contained, P3’s optional UV air purification system uses a 4 stage air filter including HEPA and a UV lamp to disinfect the air (upwards to 100+ times/hour).
The company reports that almost any existing workstations can be retrofitted to accept a workstation mounted Personal Enclosure with very little work. New spaces can use the floor standing P3 Personal Enclosures that the company also provides.
Lytle, who has been an owner of the full-height movable wall maker TransWall and a product consultant to Kimball for many years, believes his combinations of products will guarantee a safe return to the workplace.
“OPC has used laser and smoke pencil testing at Florida Atlantic University and National Testing Services,” says Lytle. “These empirical laboratory tests prove that sneeze screens and side partitions are ineffective. A ceiling is needed to prevent aerosols from escaping. The air droplets and aerosols are lighter than air. They move out and upward in the office space where the HVAC systems spread the droplets and aerosols throughout the space.”
Before the virus’s arrival, the P3 Personal Enclosure was designed to reduce unwanted acoustical noise and visual distractions that continuously occur in the open office environment.
As it turns out, the patented station’s original design is ideal for capturing pathogens, including COVID-19, in the Enclosure. The air purifier allows the air in the station to be purified and recirculated over 100+ times per hour. Workers can remove their masks when working in the station. However, without additional air purification in the general office, workers will still need to wear masks when moving around the office.
OPC also offers an air purifier that will disinfect the air in the entire office environment. This is accomplished by mounting the P3 GermAwayUV General Area purifier to walls and the ceiling. This purifier filters the air and kills the viruses by going through a UV light chamber that again disrupts the RNA of COVID-19 and the DNA of other viruses and bacteria. The air exchange and purification occur about 21+ times per hour, which means the entire office will have purified air, free of all pathogens, including COVID-19.
The CDC now recognizes that exposure to the virus for 12 to 18 minutes can transmit the disease. The exposure can be accumulative, meaning a combination of separate doses at different points in the day may cause an infection. The P3 Station doesn’t allow this to happen—it captures and kills the pathogens in the station.
OPC is currently working on expanding its distribution to dealers and reps in the contract industry. The company has representatives presently in several states and cities.
Lytle says upgrading workstations will cost approximately $1,000 per employee, which he believes will more than makeup for the lost productivity companies have experienced.
For more information, contact the company at: opconcepts.com