How an Infection Prevention Audit can help you get back to work

You are all set to reopen your business after the pandemic shutdown. Your facility has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected by a reputable commercial disinfecting services provider. You have laid out your space following the CDC’s guidelines, with six-foot physical distancing and hand sanitizer stations sprinkled throughout the facility. You even have masks for those who may have forgotten one. Yet your customers and staff’s enthusiasm about returning remains shrouded by lingering doubt over their safety. 

How can you convince building occupants and visitors that your facility is a clean, safe, healthy environment? You need solid, data-driven proof of an infection-prevention audit and reputable third-party certification. 

What is an Infection-Prevention Audit?

An infection-prevention audit, also referred to by some as a clean and disinfect audit, will tell you where your team is performing well regarding infection prevention and where there may be room for improvement. This audit must be conducted by a reputable third party to be effective for several reasons:

• Objectivity. An accredited third party can impartially audit cleaning and disinfection processes and procedures.
• Benchmarking. Third-party consultants can weigh your facility’s performance against similarly sized entities and industry standards.
• Education. An independent auditor experienced in change management can help you implement new processes and procedures.
• Risk mitigation. A certified professional can help ensure your facility meets or exceeds CDC, EPA, OSHA, and other agency and government guidelines and regulations. This assistance can reduce the potential for noncompliance penalties, accidents, and lawsuits. 
• Validation. The data-driven findings of a reputable third-party consulting company are considered more credible than audits conducted in-house.
• Ongoing monitoring. This is important to show building occupants that their safety is an ongoing priority. Having monthly reports available to all stakeholders can negate this concern.
• Bragging rights. Once the audit is complete and you have made any necessary improvements, you can use the data to promote your facility. A good consultant can also help you get your facility certified to a respected standard (see Get Certified below), which offers promotional advantages.

Get a Professional Infection Control Auditor

With so much at stake, you need to make sure the consultant you hire is certified by reputable entities. Unfortunately, since the dawn of the pandemic, “certified cleaning experts” with little or no experience are popping up everywhere. Don’t be fooled! Be sure to choose a consultant that holds credentials from such respected industry groups as: 

• Accredited Auditing Professionals (AAP) 
• Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) 
• Certified Master of Infection Prevention for Environmental Services Professionals (CMIP) Certified Sustainable Building Advisors (CSBA). 

Get Your Facility Certified

The right third-party consultant can also provide another invaluable service for alleviating concern that you are providing a clean, healthy environment. This service consists of helping your facility earn recognized accreditations, such as the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Green Buildings. Displaying these logos and promoting the fact that your facility is accredited shows the priority you place on your building occupants’ safety and health. 

Contact Us Today for Your Infection-Prevention Audit

You and your team work too hard to have your efforts overshadowed by concern regarding your facility’s cleanliness. An experienced, accredited infection-prevention consultant well-versed in cleaning and disinfecting best practices can help show the world that you mean business when it comes to infection prevention.

 Do you need help reassuring building occupants that your facility is a clean, healthy, and safe environment? Let Allynt Solutions conduct an infection-prevention audit. We will provide the support and proof you need to get back to work. Contact us today.