Coronavirus and Cleaning your Devices for Mobile Workers

With the US Government and the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we have all been told that washing our hands is key to our health. But what about the things we hold in our hands like cell phones and mobile computers used in our work?

They also should be cleaned, particularly when mobile devices are shared by multiple workers. This applies to printers, bar code scanners and any other devices touched by workers, they all should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. This is essential to be done:

1. When devices are in a pool shared by a group of workers
2. When a device is used by different individuals in single and multi-shift operations
3. A device is coming back from service by the vendor or has been services on-site

Cleaning/and disinfecting instructions can generally be found in the manufacture’s product manuals. Once you have located the manual, simply search the document for "clean" to locate cleaning instructions. The websites to download the user manuals commonly provided by RedLine Solutions can be found at:

• Zebra (Locate the product type, then the product page and scroll down to the Manuals section)
• Honeywell (Locate the product type, then the product page and it will be in the Documents tab)
• Omron (Locate the product and click the MAN button)

If your device is not made by one of these manufactures, go to their website and search for User or Product Manuals.

One good practice is to assign specific devices to be used by specific individuals. This way you limit the number of users touching the device and if there are any issues with the device you know which team members use it.

Zebra recently published a whitepaper “Best Practices for Infection Prevention” written by Darrel Hicks, a nationally recognized expert in infection control. While this paper was written for the healthcare industry, the recommendations here provide a solid foundation for companies in all industries when taking additional precautions to protect the health of staff and customers.

Additional Zebra Device Cleaning Instructions:

• Cleaning Vehicle Computers, Mobile Computers and Accessories in Food Processing Environments
• Cleaning Guidelines for Zebra Vehicle Mount Computers

About the author Todd Baggett:

Todd is the President and CEO of RedLine Solutions; a company that provides produce  traceability and inventory solutions. He is the author of “Produce Traceability for Dummies”, and has served as the Co-Chair of the PTI Technical Working Group since 2011.

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