Workplace Safety and Health Association

Tool Box Talk – 21 (2020) Released Date: 06.04.2020

#Business Name# Canteen Dining Management Plan During Covid-19 Outbreak

In order to ensure the health of employees during the resumption of work, #Business Name# made the
following provisions to strengthen the prevention and control management of the canteen dining room during
the epidemic:
1. Thoroughly clean and disinfect the canteen, including tea preparation area, dining area and any other
area where before return to work:
a. Table top should be cleaned with 70% IPA while wearing R95 mask (not N95 masks), face shield
and rubber gloves. Cleaning employee should clean the table top, all 4 edges of table and chairs
(top of plastic of the chair). This tables & chairs cleaning should be done after every use of the
table and chair. Dedicated employee should be available for this activity.
b. Floor should be cleaned with teapol/ any other same level of cleaning agent with a mop while
ceiling fans are operated to make sure fast evaporation takes place. Floor cleaning should be done
every two hours interval.
2. Remove any entertainment items like carrom boards, pool tables, table tennis table, newspapers,
magazines, company newsletters etc… from their locations and instruct people to not to utilize those.
3. Strengthen the employee’s management:
a. Check and re-educate canteen staff and cleaning staff through morning meetings. Make sure that
catering service staff thoroughly wash their hands (to meet 20 seconds soap applying and 10
seconds rinsing) before preparing tea/ food, after going to the toilet, and after contacting garbage,
etc. Hand sanitizer is/ should be provided, and staff are reminded to wash hands before eating (to
meet 20 seconds soap applying and 10 seconds rinsing). Masks (3-ply medical mask) must be
changed at least every four hours.
b. Strictly implement the disinfection and cleaning system: ensure that the canteen utensils are used
after cleaning and disinfecting. And disinfect the cleaning facilities and dining places every day.
4. Staff dining:
a. Staff should be encouraged to bring home food rather than depending on food from outside.
b. Meals should not be shared among each other.
c. Encourage staff to bring their own water bottle instead using glasses and other utensils in the
canteen.
d. Meal taking: Instead of the original staff taking each dish, staple food, pasta and other meals by
themselves, the canteen service staff will distribute the meals to each plate and serve each
employee at the dining tables. (Use this point as applicable)
e. Rotating meals: In order to avoid the potential cross-contamination risk of centralized meals, the
factory changed the original daily meals of twice (from 12:00 to 12:30, 12:30 to 13:00) to four times
for each meal and no more than 15 minutes for each time. The specific meal times are as follows:
i. Breakfast: Personnel on duty to arrange meal time

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Tool Box Talk – 21 (2020) Released Date: 06.04.2020

ii. Lunch: Four times (individual business can increase this as per the size of the staff and size
of the dining area/s), each meal 15 minutes, the cleaning service staff will clean and disinfect
the dining place during next 15 minutes:
1. 11:30 ~ 12:00 (including 15 minutes cleaning and disinfection): the first group
2. 12:00 ~ 12:30 (including 15 minutes cleaning and disinfection): the second group
3. 12:30 ~ 13:00 (including 15 minutes cleaning and disinfection): the third group
4. 13:00 ~ 13:30 (including 15 minutes cleaning and disinfection): the fourth group
iii. Dinner: The production staff and the staff on duty arrange their own meal time
f. Scattered meals: Make a good spread position deployment in advance, the spread number should
be controlled not more than 20 people to ensure each worker spread time fixed and the interval
between worker more than 1.5 meters. Each dining position in the canteen is marked with a fixed
number, and each employee shall have meals at the same time and same position every day. Do
not keep additional chairs in the vicinity of the canteen. This will prevent people dragging a chair
and have meal together. Sample of the specific table number and dining area are shown as follows
(table size 2M X 1M):

9 7 5 3 1

10 8 6 4 2

19 17 15 13 11

20 18 16 14 12

Tea making area

Dining area

g. Make sure to maintain 1M/ longer distance while in the canteen/ dining area even at utensils
cleaning wash bays. It is advisory to change these wash bay taps to foot-operated taps/ sensor
taps instead using hand-operated.

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