Workspace safety

How we’re making our workspace safe and healthy for all members, staff and visitors

Plexal has always been a champion for collaboration and coming together – and that’s not changed. But the safety of our members is our top priority.

Our community events are being held both online and in person to enable members to share their ideas and experiences. And as we welcome more members back to work, we’re putting a number of measures in place to keep our space clean and make sure we’re complying with the government’s advice.

Below is a summary of our practices and policies so you have all the information you need to feel comfortable about your decision to work from Plexal, or allow your team to return to work from our centre.

KEEPING OUR MEMBERS AND STAFF SAFE

 

Enabling social distancing

 

Stepping up our cleaning

 

Signage to make sure everyone follows best practice

TRAVELLING TO PLEXAL AND OPENING TIMES

The Here East shuttle is currently running from Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm. The timetable varies throughout the day:

  • 7.30am to 11am every 7 minutes
  • 11am to 2pm every 15 minutes
  • 2pm to 6.30pm every 7 minutes

Please wear a face covering while travelling. Members can tap in using their membership card, if you’re a visitor just let the driver know.

We’re a 10-minute walk from Hackney Wick train station and the number 388 bus also stops just next to the campus. It runs every 10 minutes and you can catch it from Stratford Bus Station outside Westfield on Montfichet Road.

There are 28 Santander bikes outside Stratford station as well as two 28-bike docking stations at Here East.

Members can also pay for space in the carpark on Eastway next to Here East. If you’re interested in buying a monthly parking space, just email our community team.

Plexal’s open 5am-midnight, Monday-Friday and 10am-6pm on weekends.

CLEANING AND GOOD HYGIENE

We’ve significantly increased both the frequency and intensity of our cleaning regimes. These measures include:

  • having cleaning staff dedicated to different parts of Plexal so a cleaner is always on hand
  • introducing new CAFT (common areas frequently touched) cleaning staff during peak hours to concentrate on cleaning areas that are frequently used like as door handles and railings
  • introducing a compulsory 15-minute break between meeting room bookings so we can clean them between meetings
  • providing antiviral wipes in all meeting rooms and throughout Plexal for members to use
  • introducing a new deep clean every three weeks. This involves a fogging process using a virucidal product that leaves an anti-viral residue on hard and soft surfaces, giving some protection against viruses for one month
  • using increased strength viricidal cleaning products for every day cleaning that leave a residue that continues to kill viruses for a period of time after a surface is cleaned
  • encouraging a clean desk policy throughout Plexal so our evening clean can be as thorough as possible

 

We’re also:

  • providing hand sanitiser throughout Plexal, both on the ground floor and on the mezzanines
  • ensuring our sinks have plenty of kitchen roll and hand wash
  • providing disposable gloves behind our reception desk, should members ask for a pair
  • encouraging members to wash their hands and practice good hygiene through signage placed around the centre
  • providing new pedal bins in each kitchen to ensure touch-free disposal facilities
  • providing a new PPE disposal bin so that disposable masks, gloves and other protective wear can be safely disposed of on arrival

HOT DESKING

We’ve removed a significant number of chairs in communal areas to enable members to stay a safe distance apart and have arranged the chairs in such a way that members don’t need to sit opposite each other either. We’ll mark these safe distances with stickers on desks to so members know where to sit.

Everyone, including fixed desk and private office members, can sit in a hot desk area and we’ve unlocked space for additional hot desks in some unused parts of Plexal. Members are being encouraged to use the same hot desk throughout the day and can use the stickers provided to keep their desk reserved just for them.

Cleaning products such as antiviral wipes will be placed in every hot desking area.

MEETING ROOMS, COMMUNAL AREAS AND BREAKOUT SPACES

We’ll only have a maximum of two Plexal staff members behind our reception desk at any point.

Floor stickers will show members what a safe distance looks like to encourage social distancing and we’ll have plenty of signs to reinforce this message. Floor stickers will also encourage members to walk in certain directions to minimise contact between members.

We’ll prop our doors open as much as possible to minimise how much members have to touch the handles.

Meeting rooms can only be booked with a 15-minute gap between meetings so the rooms will be cleaned between pre-booked meetings and breakout spaces will be cleaned regularly throughout the day. Cleaning products and hand sanitiser will be made available inside each meeting room and booth.

EATING AND DRINKING

We aren’t currently hosting our usual indoor street food vendors but our vending machines are available and all canalside restaurants including MOTHER, Randy’s Wing Bar, The Breakfast Club and Gotto are now open.

We’ve placed floor stickers at the tea points to encourage social distancing and limited numbers in kitchens at any one time. Queuing points will be marked on floors outside the kitchens to make sure people keep a safe distance.

VISITORS

We’re welcoming visitors but please book your guests in through the Plexal Portal at least 24 hours in advance (if a guest isn’t pre-registered they may not be able to enter the centre).

We’re also asking that you limit groups of visitors to five people. Please share this page with them before they arrive so they know what to expect and how to play their part in keeping everyone at Plexal safe.

WHAT HERE EAST IS DOING

Steps being taken to keep you safe on campus include:

  • cleaning the campus according to Level 3 pandemic outbreak standards as defined by the World Health Organization
  • making hand sanitiser widely available on campus
  • installing perspex protective screens in reception areas
  • social distancing signage and floor stickers
  • receptions operating with a one-way entry and exit system
  • directional distancing signage on entrances and exits, speed lanes, stairwells and lifts

STAFF POLICIES FOR THE PLEXAL TEAM

As more members of the Plexal team return to work in line with government advice, we’ll use a rota system. We designed the rota so that staff members will come to work in small groups to minimise the number of people they interact with.

Only staff members who are fit and able to return to work (and feel comfortable doing so) will appear on the rota. For example, if schools are closed parents may prefer to continue working from home.

Starting with groups of six, we’ll gradually increase the number of people in a group and can rapidly scale the rota down if necessary.

The Plexal team have been given washable/reusable masks to wear on their commute to work or in the office if they want to. When they’ve been used for the recommended number of times, we’ll replace them. All staff will have access to hand sanitiser and antiviral wipes to help them clean their phones, desks and laptops. Each team member has also been given individual supplies of hand sanitiser and wipes to keep on their person for their journey to and from work.

ANY QUESTIONS?

If you’ve got any questions at all, you can reach our community team on community@plexal.com or our chief operating officer Kate Pearman on kate.pearman@plexal.com