The ANSI Federation and standardization community are stepping up with guidance, resources, and initiatives to support public health, safety, and infrastructure during the COVID-19 outbreak. ANSI is monitoring, sharing, and promoting appropriate news to highlight these efforts. Suggestions for news items may be submitted to [email protected]. All submissions are published at ANSI's discretion.
National Restaurant Association Issues Latest COVID-19 Safe Operating Guidance
To help restaurants operate safely as they re-open and shift operational procedures, the National Restaurant Association in October published its "COVID-19 Safe Operating Guidance," formerly known as its "Restaurant Reopening Guidance." The document includes recommendations concerning cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting; personal hygiene; mask use; health monitoring; social distancing; what to do if an employee tests positive; and tips for optimizing indoor air quality.
The guidance, available to download via https://go.restaurant.org/covid19-reopening-guide, builds on the original document and incorporates the latest information and best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Airlines Reporting Corporation Tracks the Pulse of Travel Recovery in Virtual Series
In a follow-up to its June episode of a TravelConnect Virtual Series, focused on travel recovery trends to watch, the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) provides an update on travel industry recovery based on data from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s Travel Recovery Insights Portal (TRIP), featuring data from ARC and 3Victors. The video provides industry recovery insights from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the latest consumer sentiment data, travel search and purchasing trends, and more.
In May, ARC announced that it had contributed data to BCG's TRIP, an industry dashboard that sheds light on travel search and ticketing trends in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform combines "high-level, aggregated ARC ticketing data with extensive GDS search data," sourced from 3Victors and consumer sentiment analysis conducted by BCG, as well as publicly available data from Johns Hopkins University, Oxford University and other sources related to COVID-19.
Access the latest virtual series episode, Travel Recovery Trends to Watch in Fall 2020 or access another related recent episode on How Travel Systems are Adapting to COVID-19.
AWWA and IAPMO Release Guidance for Building Managers to Address Water System Stagnation
As many buildings remain at low or no occupancy during the pandemic, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) have issued a guide to help building managers address water system stagnation.
Entitled "Responding to Stagnation in Buildings with Reduced or No Water Use," the guide provides a decision-making framework for building managers as they face stagnation within building water systems, which could pose a health concern. According to IAPMO, stagnation occurs when water does not move through the system, and water quality issues may arise at an outlet, a group of outlets, or throughout an entire building water system, causing potential health risks.
“As buildings reopen across the country, it will be critically important for building owners and facility managers to actively address water quality concerns in plumbing systems due to stagnation,” said Peter DeMarco, executive vice president of advocacy and research at the IAPMO Group. “We appreciated the opportunity to work with Dr. Rhoads (a co-author of the guide and a post-doctoral researcher at Virginia Tech) and the other authors on the development of this important guidance document.”
See more ANSI member efforts in the ANSI COVID-19 Resource Webpage Highlighting Standardization Community Response.