The Integral Role of Tapes and Adhesives in Fighting COVID-19
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COVID-19 has necessitated implementing defensive strategies to keep not only ourselves but also others as safe as possible. One of the most essential preventive tactics is social distancing. Reducing airborne contamination is one of the keys to stopping the spread of coronavirus. However, it can be hard to visually judge safe distances and learn new habits without guidance.
Directional flow tapes are one way to help the public learn safe distances to prevent the spread of infection. Social distancing decals for COVID-19 can be used to mark spots to wait in lines and indicate entry and exit points. They are meant to be easily seen when placed on floors and allow safe, unimpeded movement with appropriate distancing.
How Tapes and Adhesives Have Helped During COVID-19
As the world tries to contain the spread of the virus, manufacturers have rallied to shift production to meet the emerging needs. Several innovative tape and adhesive products have been developed, which give retailers and essential businesses a way to provide goods and services while protecting their customers.
Social Distancing Tapes
Low-profile, brightly colored social distancing tape offers much-needed guidance when measured proximity is critical. It allows customers to see where the traffic pattern should flow as well as where to wait to maintain the recommended six-foot distances between others. The colors are eye-catching, and hazard stripes are a universal warning sign that doesn’t require wording to be understood. Businesses can customize the messaging to give more instruction for safe distancing.
Packaging/Shipping Products During COVID-19
There have been many shortages during the pandemic due to illness, stay-at-home orders, and the redistribution of materials used in critical personal protective equipment and medical supplies, including acrylic packing supplies. Shipping is more critical than ever for everything from household products to food to medical supplies. Hot melt tapes are helping to bridge the gap to make sure that packages stay sealed for sanitation and safety.
PPE/Construction Assembly
Many frontline workers and first responders are working without adequate protection, and specialty tapes and adhesives are needed to help supply the desperate PPE need. Unbroken seals must be maintained for protective devices to effectively prevent contamination and infection from entering between the soft materials and hard plastic. Tapes and adhesives are used to create clear face shields that prevent droplets from entering the eyes and mucous membranes. Depending on the type of material, they can also be used for other types of protective masks to provide a secure and comfortable fit.
Key Benefits to Using Tapes and Adhesives to Fight COVID-19
Keeping essential workers and the rest of the population safe in public settings while preventing the further spread of the pandemic is top of mind in every industry. From warehouses to production facilities, gas stations to supermarkets, and government offices to medical facilities, the need for guidance, education, and messaging is urgent where people must be in the same space. There are many advantages of using tapes and adhesives in the fight against coronavirus:
- They do not impede movement like physical barriers, yet the bright colors and markings are noticeable.
- Low profile means low risk of tripping or falling while still providing explicit instruction for maintaining a safe distance.
- They are an inexpensive way to provide signage and distancing guidance.
- They are removable when needs change.
- The messaging is customizable.
- Keeping people reminded of a safe six-foot social distance reduces the likelihood of transmission and eases the strain on the healthcare system.
Tapes and Adhesives From NADCO
NADCO is an industry-leading specialist in the design, manufacture, and delivery of custom pressure-sensitive tapes and labels. We create our tapes using both liner and over-lamination products to stand up to heat, high traffic, and harsh conditions. Our directional flow arrow tape meets all OSHA/ANSI requirements. We can customize any of our products to meet your specifications.
Let Us Help You With Your COVID-19 Tape and Adhesive Supplies
It is going to take diligence, commitment, and constant education to eradicate the risk of infection from COVID-19. When people have no choice but to be around others, they must have clear messaging and guidance for maintaining safe distances while traversing retail stores, medical offices, and workplaces. NADCO is committed to helping you by providing a cost-efficient, high-visibility way to guide pedestrian traffic in your facility.
We want to help make your workplace safer for you, your employees, and your customers. For more information about our products, contact us today.
Key Tips to Ensure Your Business is Social Distance Friendly
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Businesses have always understood the importance of ensuring a safe environment for customers and employees, but in light of the pandemic, companies in all industries have new considerations when it comes to safety. Many have ramped up cleaning protocols and are doing their best to enforce social distancing, so they can continue to operate safely.
When it comes to social distancing for businesses, a simple way to help your customers and employees stay at least six feet apart is to mark the floor with tapes and adhesives and install instructional signage. You can outline the areas that are safe, highlight where to stand, indicate traffic flow directions, and more. In the age of COVID-19, adhesives are playing a big role in creating safe spaces.
Use Ground Marking Tapes for Social Distancing
Placing adhesives six feet apart on the ground where people tend to line up or congregate is a clear way to indicate where people should stand to maintain their distance. You’ll see these marks in retail stores, bank lines, gym floors, outdoor recreational areas, and more. Don’t leave it up to someone’s best guess about what it means to follow social distancing.
These ground-marking tapes are inexpensive and incredibly easy to apply. By choosing high-quality tapes with adequate resistance, you can expect your marks to last for months. 3M™ 471 vinyl strips are an excellent choice for many reasons, such as:
- They offer strong adhesion on many surfaces, including irregular surfaces.
- They’re resistant to water and abrasion for long-lasting use.
- They can be applied quickly and easily.
- They’re available in a wide range of colors to suit your space and application.
- They don’t leave residue when they’re removed.
Implement Directional Flow Tapes in Your Establishment
Without guidance, people are bound to cross or bump into each other at some point. Directional flow tapes allow you to establish traffic flow so everyone’s walking in the same direction, making it easier to maintain six feet of distance from the person in front of you.
You can use these arrows to indicate entrances and exits, the flow of traffic through the aisles, which stairs to take up and which to take down, and how to approach and leave a desk or counter.
Create Displays Using Tapes and Adhesives
Educational displays, like sandwich boards and freestanding signs and banners, can be created with tapes and adhesives and positioned at your business entrance, the service counter, or the restrooms. They’re ideal in any area where you’d like to remind people of social distancing guidelines or any special instructions that might be important at your facility. That could include information about capacity limits, foot traffic directions, hygiene guidelines, temperature-taking and health questionnaire protocols, and more.
You can offer the same information with adhesive signs on doors, walls, and windows. Whether you use standing displays, adhesive signs, or both may depend upon the layout of your building/room, how many people go through your building each day, and more.
Provide Protective Windows and Screens at Checkout
Many businesses are using transparent barriers as physical protection between customers and employees or between coworkers. This allows them to be as close as they need to be for financial exchanges or discussions and team projects without putting each other at risk.
These protective windows have to be assembled and carefully secured before use, and adhesives can help. Instead of using screws, clamps, or rivets, which are unsightly, take longer to install, and may make a mess, 3M VHB adhesives were created for this purpose. They’re strong enough to uphold these partitions. The viscoelastic acrylic adhesive is durable and temperature resistant; it’s designed to last, making it an ideal choice for permanent projects.
For over three decades, NADCO has been offering custom-printed tapes and labels for businesses all over the country. Our creative team can help you with product design as you order the adhesive solutions you need to maintain social distancing for businesses.
Contact us to learn more about our adhesive tape and label products and how we can serve your business.
