Written by ICP Group

Measuring Your Facility Disinfection Plans Successes & Gauging Future Pandemic Paths

Surface Hygiene: Epidemic & Pandemic (S.H.E.P.) Blog – Post 4 of 4

Blog Post 4 of a 4-part series. Click here to view Part 1: Protect Your People and Facilities: Before, During & Post-Pandemic, here to view Part 2: Addressing Hygiene Theatre & Microbial Surface Efficacy, and here to view Part 3: How To Build Your Facility Disinfection Plans

Now that you have a fundamental knowledge of S.H.E.P. and the current pandemic and you’ve built and implemented your facility disinfection plans, how do you know that they are accomplishing the goal of reduction of viral transmission? In a time where COVID-19 is ramping up again in pockets of communities, and the spread of variants as well as other viral pathogens is high, it may seem challenging to determine, understand, and quantify how our S.H.E.P. plans and mitigation efforts have been successful.

Continuing to implement and execute your facility disinfection plans is crucial just as much, if not more, now then when the pandemic first began in 2020. With new variants such as the Omicron, and BA.2 strains being incredibly prevalent as we enter the spring season, the need for ongoing disinfection, health screening, and personal protective equipment is still imperative in mitigating further transmission and community spread.

Stuart Ray, M.D. at Johns Hopkins Medicine stated, “New variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are detected every week. Most come and go — some persist, but don’t become more common; some increase in the population for a while, and then fizzle out. When a change in the infection pattern first pops up, it can be very hard to tell what’s driving the trend — changes to the virus, or changes in human behavior. It is worrisome that similar changes to the spike protein are arising independently on multiple continents.”

The ongoing infections of COVID-19 viruses, as well as typical seasonal influenzas, common colds, Norovirus, Rhinovirus, etc. reminds us that despite our fatigue with “pandemic thinking”, keeping up a regimented cleaning and disinfecting program and measuring its success needs to be a topic that is consistently front of mind.

Ray reaffirms the continued need to maintain a layered mitigation strategy even now. “…We also need to reemphasize basic public health measures. We have tools at hand that enable individuals to manage risk, including wearing high-quality masks or respirators. Those rated FFP2 or FFP3 are more protective than cloth masks, and often easier to wear. Hand-washing and avoiding large indoor gatherings, especially with unmasked people, are other ways to mitigate the risk of infection.” Ray states that “New variants are a reminder that we should be using multiple tools for the safety of ourselves and those for whom we care.”

As mentioned, it may seem challenging to determine, understand, and quantify how the plans and mitigation efforts established have been successful. A main indicator that your S.H.E.P. plans have been successful is a decrease in the number of active cases being reported in your facility. A lower rate of transmission and a smaller number of sick customers and staff, while hard to track, does indicate that your facility’s cleaning and disinfecting efforts have been paying off.

Other key indicators of a successful deployment of S.H.E.P. plans include:

  • layered mitigation happening successfully and implemented by employees, visitors, and customers (masking, hand hygiene, policies, social distancing, etc.)
  • open lines of communication between internal safety team and external organizations
  • staff engagement in regular health and safety training sessions
  • clearly marked instructions for patrons/guests/customers and employees who enter your facility on display and enforced (i.e., social distancing markers, directional arrows for traffic flow, maximum reduced occupancy signage, health screening questions)
  • a plan that is implemented when infection rates or caseloads surge to increase frequency of cleaning and disinfecting, and reduce the number of individuals accessing the facility
  • an increase in online/eCommerce sales, as customers transition to an online versus an in-person dependent shopping experience

Finally, measuring against the key performance indicators you established when building your S.H.E.P. plans will help gauge how successful the implementation has been and will also identify areas of review and improvement.

Unfortunately, whether it is another strain of COVID-19, or another new pathogen, there will always be new viruses to protect our built environments against. Building these plans to be versatile and address all types of pandemics, epidemics, endemics, or outbreak situations, will ensure that our buildings are protected against one of the many potential future global health challenges.

At ICP, we want to help you build your plans. Do you have some plans started but have questions? Not sure if your plan covers all infection control considerations? Not sure how to set key performance indicators or measure them? Our team is here to help you specify products for your facility based on your needs, and work with you to build your comprehensive plans. Reach out to Cole Stanton, our Director of Education and AED Specification for ICP. He can be contacted via specifications@icpgroup.com.

 

Resources

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/a-new-strain-of-coronavirus-what-you-should-know

Written by ICP Group

ICP Achieves Lubrizol Advanced Materials’ FBC™ System Compatibility Certification for Fiberlock IAQ 6000 Mold-Resistant Coatings

Certification provides assurance to contractors that IAQ 6000 is compatible for use with Lubrizol FlowGuard®, BlazeMaster®, Corzan® and TempRite® brands.

Andover, MA – January 27, 2022 – ICP announced today that it has achieved Lubrizol Advanced Materials’ FBC™ System Compatible Program certification for its Fiberlock IAQ 6000 mold-resistant coatings. This designation affirms chemical compatibility with Lubrizol FlowGuard® pipe and fittings, BlazeMaster® fire sprinkler systems, Corzan® plumbing systems and products made with TempRite® technology.

Fiberlock’s IAQ 6000 product is one on a growing list of ICP products to receive Lubrizol’s FBC certification. Others include Fiberlock Recon Ultra odor-sealing technologies and Fiberlock AfterShock fungicidal coatings.

“This designation from Lubrizol Advanced Materials gives contractors peace of mind that our products will work well side by side,” said Sam DeAth, Product Manager, ICP. “We are continuing to test more products through third-party audits and are looking forward to making more announcements like this in the future.”

The Lubrizol FBC System Compatible Program eases the burden of selecting accompanying construction products that will be used together. To qualify, ICP submitted the IAQ 6000 product for third-party testing. The company has also agreed to third-party audits of its manufacturing facilities on an annual basis.

The Lubrizol Advanced Materials FBC program serves the industry with active use in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, 25 European countries, the United Arab Emirates, India and China.

Learn more about ICP at www.ICPGroup.com.

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About ICP
ICP is the foremost supplier of professional products and solutions for building envelope, cementitious and sports surface needs. Comprising dozens of industry-leading brands across numerous industries and applications, ICP offers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios to building professionals all over the globe, all backed by its exclusive Masterworks training and education program. For more information, visit www.icpgroup.com.

 

Written by ICP Group

Connections that Endure: A New Future for ICP and Partners

ICP is proud to unveil a new brand that encompasses the value the company strives to bring to every project and to every person with whom it does business.

Andover, MA – January 18, 2022 – Person to person. Shoulder to shoulder. Project to project. ICP is excited to announce a new brand identity that acts as a guiding principle and promise that encompass who ICP is and what they do: Connections that Endure.

It’s a concept that sits at the heart of all of ICP’s businesses. It’s the essence of the values that inspire everything ICP does. The new tagline also relates to the specific performance of the product or service ICP provides to their customers. Tile to tile. Edge to edge. Corner to corner.

“At ICP, it’s our goal to collaborate with our customers and partners in a similar manner to how our products perform in an application,” said Doug Caffoe, SVP of Marketing, ICP. “We form precise bonds, vital connections that contribute to the greater strength of the whole. Through this rebrand, we want to clearly articulate the relationships our customers can expect and the value our products can bring to every application.”

This brand evolution comes as ICP continues to grow its portfolio that propels customers and the industry forward. ICP is always on the lookout for strong brands to welcome into its family of trusted building and industrial solutions—and with them, like our partners, we seek to form connections that endure.

With the new brand identity comes a new logo for ICP. The mark’s clean design represents a clear vision of ICP’s future and will become the foundation of a strong, unified visual identity across our family of trusted brands.

“Our reestablishment of the ICP identity serves as a means to honor our long history with customers throughout the industry and as a launch point into a future of shared and ongoing success,” said Caffoe. “As always, we’re looking forward to serving the industry to the best of our ability—truly forming connections that endure.”

For more information about ICP go to www.ICPGroup.com.

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About ICP
ICP is the foremost supplier of professional products and solutions for building envelope, cementitious and sports surface needs. Comprising dozens of industry-leading brands across numerous industries and applications, ICP offers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios to building professionals all over the globe, all backed by its exclusive Masterworks training and education program. For more information, visit www.icpgroup.com.

 

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