Question: How can my lab hold meetings safely while still maintaining social distancing?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 3. Social distancing at work
3.3 Workplaces and workstations
section_content: Objective: To maintain social-distancing between individuals when they are at
their workstations.
Unlike offices, R&D facilities may need workers to share workstations and
equipment. If they need to be shared, they should be shared by the smallest
possible number of people.
If it is not possible to keep workstations 2m apart then businesses should
consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate
and if so take all mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of
transmission.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Review layouts where possible, accepting the limitation of some lab environments.


Using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help people keep to a 2m distance.


Only where it is not possible to move workstations further apart, using screens to separate people from each other.


Only where it is not possible to move workstations further apart, arranging people to work side-by-side or facing away from each other rather than face-to-face.


Managing occupancy levels, to maintain social distancing in labs with restricted space, for example, by adapting booking systems to limit usage.


Cleaning workstations and shared equipment and machinery, where it is feasible to do so.


Limiting use of high-touch items and shared office equipment, for example, test equipment, apparatus, shared control terminals.


Ensuring appropriate air-handling and filtering systems are installed and maintained in high-risk areas where there is a risk for airborne particles.


*[R&D]: research and development

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
It was a thorough answer. The answer understand the specific situation.
This is a very good response that also gets into shared work stations and how to maintain social distance within them. This seems like it would be highly relevant for a lab

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 3. Social distancing at work
3.2 Moving around buildings and worksites
section_content: Objective: To maintain social-distancing wherever possible, while people
travel through the workplace.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Reducing movement by discouraging non-essential trips within buildings and sites, for example, restricting access to some areas, and encouraging use of radios or telephones, where permitted, and cleaning them between use.


Removing access controls on low category labs so that people do not have to use access cards.


Restricting access between different areas of a building or site, if possible.


Using fixed teams or adjusting booking processes to reduce the number of people in a lab at the same time to avoid overcrowding.


Introducing more one-way flow through buildings, paying particular attention to long corridors which can be more common in laboratory buildings.


Reducing maximum occupancy for lifts, providing hand sanitiser for the operation of lifts and encouraging use of stairs wherever possible.


Making sure that people with disabilities are able to access lifts.


Regulating use of high traffic areas including corridors, lifts, turnstiles and walkways to maintain social-distancing.



Example lift practices.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The answer provided many different things that can help in the workplace.
This response provides a good list of bullet point suggestions that can help limit the spread in the workplace. Some pare pretty novel ideas that could be very useful

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Labs and research facilities
section_headers: 3. Social distancing at work
3.4 Meetings
section_content: Objective: To reduce transmission due to face-to-face meetings and maintain
social-distancing in meetings.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Using remote working tools to avoid in-person meetings.


Only absolutely necessary participants should attend meetings and should maintain 2m separation throughout.


Avoiding transmission during meetings, for example, avoiding sharing pens and other objects.


Providing hand sanitisers in meeting rooms.


Holding meetings outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms whenever possible.


For areas where regular meetings take place, using floor signage to help people maintain social-distancing.



Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The answer provided a number of different things to look into.
This is a pretty good response that talks about how to limit face to face meetings and safety precautions that you can take. This answers the question pretty well

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Acceptable