Manufactured by Contour Heating Products, the health check station provides a designated area for monitoring temperatures, and is ideal for organisations and schools that are implementing voluntary temperature checks as part of their health and safety procedures.
Further easing of lockdown measures – including relaxing the two-metre social distancing rule to ‘one metre plus’ in England – could enable more employees who can’t work from home to return to their places of work, and more pupils and teachers to return to school.
During this transition, businesses and schools will need to put appropriate measures in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and keep people safe. A high temperature is a common symptom of the virus, but it is not as easily identifiable or visible as other symptoms, such as a continuous cough. While there is currently no official requirement for temperature testing in workplaces or schools, it could provide reassurance, and organisations may therefore decide to implement testing regimes.
Ideal for use in entrances to commercial and public sector buildings, Contour’s health check station comprises a partially enclosed cubicle that people stand in front of to receive a temperature reading. Constructed from painted Zintec steel and having a Perspex screen with a small thermometer slot*, it creates an effective shield around the person responsible for taking temperatures. It also includes a counter and document slot, useful for exchanging paperwork.
BioCote’s antimicrobial technology is incorporated into the health check station’s paintwork as standard, providing an additional level of hygiene. It permanently protects the surface of the station by preventing the growth of a wide range of microbes, such as bacteria and some viruses. This makes the station easier to keep hygienically clean, reduces material degradation and decreases the risk of cross-contamination. Regular quality control testing and on-site field studies commissioned by Contour have demonstrated a reduction of up to 99.9 per cent of bacteria within two hours.
Once manufactured into a product, BioCote’s antimicrobial technology acts in minutes and works continuously and permanently for the expected lifetime of the treated product. It is effective against a broad spectrum of bacteria (including E. coli, MRSA, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria), mould, fungi, and the influenza A H1N1 virus. BioCote technology has been tested against a strain of feline coronavirus (strain Munich) – for which it was proven effective, with a reduction of 90 per cent in two hours.
BioCote and Contour have worked in partnership for 17 years, with antimicrobial technology being integrated into the low surface temperature (LST) and anti-ligature radiators and radiator covers that Contour manufactures.
Robin Mansell, commercial director at Contour, said: “As society starts to get back to a ‘new normal’ in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, organisations have a duty of care to their employees to ensure a safe return to work and to create working conditions for staff that reflect government guidelines. Our health check station offers a responsible barrier and safety measure during the pandemic, allowing companies to monitor the health of their employees in order to provide additional assurance for those entering their places of work.
“Contour has a good understanding of safety needs in commercial environments, but also in the public sector, with our existing heating products being used by the NHS and in schools. We have many years of experience manufacturing safe heating solutions – also integrating BioCote’s technology to complement existing cleaning regimes for improved hygiene – and were able to utilise our existing manufacturing facilities and processes to create this new product.”
David Hall, managing director of BioCote, said: “Contour and BioCote have shared a longstanding partnership, and we are proud to be working with such an adaptable and innovative company. We are very impressed with how Contour embraced the current challenges arising from the pandemic by developing a product that offers support to companies that are going above and beyond to ensure a safe return to work for their employees.
“Integrating BioCote antimicrobial technology – especially in high-traffic areas with multiple touchpoints – offers a second line of defence, constantly working in between cleans to control the levels of microbes on surfaces. Adding BioCote protection to the health check station’s paintwork makes perfect sense, as it adds another hygiene feature that hopefully contributes to people’s confidence of returning to work.”
Contour advises that the health check station is used in line with individual risk assessments, and that organisations should invest in a digital thermometer, hand sanitiser, protective gloves and face masks. BioCote technology should be used to complement stringent cleaning regimes and good hand hygiene.
The health check station has a pre-printed design as standard, which includes guidance on best practice to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination. It can also be produced in a plain colour or personalised to match corporate branding or a building’s interior design. The product has a lead time of 10 working days. It is delivered flat-packed to the customer’s site and can be assembled quickly and easily.
BioCote is a leading antimicrobial additives provider. Its antimicrobial additives can be integrated into plastics, paints, coatings and textiles, and are used across a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, education, construction, transportation, food, home and leisure. The BioCote trademark is globally recognised as a sign of antimicrobial quality, and independent testing demonstrates that protected materials carrying this mark are delivering the guaranteed levels of antimicrobial performance.
