Have you noticed how easy it is to pick up germs in your office? Whether they’re brought in from home or public transport, work is a great place for sharing bacteria and viruses.

Germs spread quickly from one person to the next, from stomach-churning food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Staphylococcus aureus to viruses like norovirus, colds and flu.

Micro-organisms like these don’t normally multiply on your desk or chair without help. They don’t move around unless we do. So, we’re all responsible for transferring germs from one person to the next.

To fight back, beat the germs and take control of your health in the workplace, you need to tackle the most touched areas in the office – these 5 office germ hotspots:

1. Desk
2. Fridge
3. Keyboard and mouse
4. Mug
5. Photocopier

1. Desk

A study has found that on average phones are the most contaminated item in the office. They found over 25,000 organisms per surface.

Comparisons with other surveys reveal that some typical desk items could be around seven times more contaminated than traditionally ‘dirty’ items such as toilet seats, which often get more attention for cleaning.

So, if you share desk equipment and hot desk, you’ll have more chance of being infected by other people’s germs.

You won’t drop dead by using the phone, but you should think about how dirty your hands may be after picking up the receiver. If you chew pens – and many of us do – think about where they have been before!

Top tips:

• If you are hot-desking and using a phone that others have used, have a pack of antimicrobial wipes handy to banish bacteria and cold and flu viruses. Time taken to clean your phone could mean fewer days off work.
• If you’re eating at your desk, wash your hands before touching food or use a hand sanitiser.
• Move the keyboard away so it doesn’t collect crumbs.
• Use anti-microbial hand gel if you can’t be sure your hands are clean when using the phone.
• Bin your packaging rather than leaving it on the desk. Leaving food or mess around could encourage pests – another source of germs!
• Pen-chewers – try to break the habit. If you don’t know where a pen has been, you could be ingesting bacteria or viruses left by someone else. It could have been in someone else’s mouth, gathering dust under the desk or dropped on the loo floor.
• Give borrowed pens a clean with an anti-bacterial wipe.

2. Fridge

You could pick up bacteria and viruses from touching fridges after colleagues have put their germs on them, but there are also dangers in keeping food past its use-by date, especially in a fridge that is not working very well.

Take particular care over ready-to-eat foods such as sandwiches and salads. Eat them in date, and keep below 5°C.

Do you keep your shopping in the office fridge before going home? Raw meat and vegetables can be contaminated with bacteria such as Campylobacter or E. coli. These can even be found on the outer packaging.

Respect other people’s food left in the fridge and make sure you don’t put their ready-to-eat food at risk of contamination by putting raw meat next to their sandwiches.

Top tips:

• If you share a work fridge, ask for a thermometer – they are very cheap (less than £5), and you can buy them from any supermarket. Check the temperature.
• Remove any out-of-date food (before it walks out on its own)!
• Start a policy to clear the fridge out at the end of the week and clean it.
• Protect your own food by placing it in plastic lidded containers.
• Keep ready-to-eat foods at the top of the fridge away from raw foods. Once you have opened a pack it will go off quicker than its original use-by date – follow the instructions on the pack.

3. Keyboard and mouse

One study found more than 3,000 micro-organisms per square inch on keyboards and over 1,600 bacteria per square inch on a computer mouse. Similar numbers were found in another carried out by Gerber.

You might worry less if these are your own bacteria, but if you are hot-desking, then other people’s germs could be transferring onto your hands.

Top tips:

• If you’re hot-desking, clean your desk using an anti-microbial wipe – you or previous users could have a cold and this helps to stop the spread.
• Use anti-microbial hand gel if you can’t be sure your hands are clean.
• Always use it before eating at your desk or rubbing your eyes.
• Wash your hands before you eat at your shared desk.
• If you’re eating at your desk, wash your hands before touching food or use a hand sanitiser.
• Move the keyboard away to remove crumbs – and clean up afterwards!
• Dispose of tissues after use – don’t leave them on the desk. The best place is in the bin or in the loo.
• If you have to cough or sneeze and don’t have a tissue, do it into the crook of your elbow. It keeps your hands keep clean and stops you passing the germs on to someone else.

4. Mug

Offices mugs can look unsavoury very quickly, particularly if you don’t have a dishwasher. How about that mould growing on the coffee dregs in a long-abandoned mug?

Simple rinsing may not remove a colleague’s germs. And the outside surface of the mug could become contaminated by their hands. If they had a cold, you could get their germs.

Top tips:

• Use the office dishwasher if you have one. If not, use your own mug.
• Wash up your dedicated work mug in the evening.
• Leave it on your desk ready for your use only the next day (don’t share it).
• Get a mug and bottle for hot drinks on the go, with smooth surfaces so they’re easy to wash (preferably in the dishwasher).
• Wash wash bottles at least once a day because water is not sterile, and bacteria will build up over time. Don’t let anyone else use them.

5. Photocopier

Everyone uses the buttons of the photocopier, so you can pick up whatever germs are on their hands, meaning that a cold or flu virus can be transferred from your hands to your eyes.

If everyone works a bit harder to make their hands cleaner, the office will be a healthier place.

Top tips:

• Don’t eat a sandwich or rub your eye after using the photocopier or other shared office machinery.
• The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to wash your hands before eating.
• Use a sanitiser gel at your desk.
• The cleaners should be disinfecting hand-contact surfaces every evening.

Call us on 021 4277841 to stock up on all your cleaning supplies or email sales@ronniemoore.ie

Office partitions and screens for any office environment goes beyond aesthetics and design when it comes to choosing the correct office product. Despite adding a trendy modern look to the overall design of any mundane looking open plan office, office partitions can save space or create more privacy, streamline your office layout and get staff working more productively.

 

Although the modern office is all about open plan layouts to encourage collaboration and team-work, companies are slowly realising that this kind of configuration may not be as beneficial as it seemed and can actually impact employee productivity if the design and layout is not carefully considered.

 

Not surprisingly open plan layouts create noise, disrupt employees and minimise privacy.

Thus, incorporating office partitions and screens into an open plan office can offer an excellent solution for companies reconsidering their office design and believe it or not there are many other functional benefits office screens provide than you may of previously thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Utilising Space, Reduce cost

 

Adding partitions and room dividers to the office space offers you the flexibility and convenience to transform any space without modifying existing building structures thus saving money.

Simply adding dividers into existing areas can cleverly transform any office space giving you the option to alter and change fit-outs over time.

 

Our Standard Screens create an effective Visual Privacy Barrier, in both seated and standing positions, and can match the Aesthetics of your office.

 

 

 

 

 

Privacy and Productivity

 

Whether it’s a freestanding screen, mobile and portable screen or desk based screen, office dividers immediately create a secure and private environment for employees allowing them to feel comfortable and less distracted.

In addition, creating a space for employees offers them autonomy, which makes them feel valued by the company. Creating these individual hubs by implementing these partitions gives employees the option to collaborate but still provides privacy when needed.

Furthermore, creating these private areas can in fact boost productivity as dividers block out distractions and visual stimuli. Thus employees are encouraged to focus more on the task at hand void from external stimulations.

 

 

 

 

Reduce Noise

 

Often the case in most open plan offices is noise, especially in those new trendy renovated warehouse offices.

Hard surfaces are not the best when it comes to retaining any noise as they do a poor job absorbing sounds.

Thus bringing in a carpet or an office partition made of material can help block and reduce noise whether it is occurring inside or outside the office environment.

 

 

Our Acoustic Screens provide a Flexible And Effective way of delimiting individual work spaces. Thanks to a wide selection of finishes and trims, these partitions will seamlessly fit in with all your furnishings.

 

 

 

Pro Tip!!

 

If your worried partitions and screens will block out light and make your office more dark we also offer Altuglas Screens that create a Diaphanous desktop privacy barrier and still help establish Individual Work Spaces, but the screens have Light Diffusing Properties which ensure a soft and gentle Lighting Effect.

 

 

 

All photos are linked to our website and you can call us on 021 4277841 to discuss some of the products featured or leave a comment below.

 

Printers are a great thing and an irreplaceable office asset, until they start presenting a maddening range of problems for their users.

They run through ink, output quality may be flawed and sometimes they just refuse to print at all, which is infuriating.

While working in a busy office, diagnosing printer problems can end up on the back burner. Luckily, these situations are resolvable.

Listed below are some of the most common printer problems and, better yet, some solution tips.

 

 

1 – PAPER JAMS

 

The paper jam is the most common copy machine error encountered.

There are many reasons for paper jams, a few of the most common, and quick fixes, are:

 

Humidity and old paper – paper sitting in the tray for long periods of time can absorb moisture from the air and become “sticky” Remove old paper and fan the edges. If that doesn’t work, replace the paper.

 

Wrong paper size – use the right size for the print job at hand

 

Wrong paper settings – adjust your copier settings when using different paper stocks

 

Drawer alignment – be sure the drawer guides are tight against the edges of the paper

 

Torn edges, dog-eared corners, and forgotten staples can all create jams. It’s often faster to copy torn pages one at a time rather than trying through the paper feeder

 

Right side up – ever noticed the arrow on a ream of paper? It’s there for a reason. To load new paper:Find the arrow on the end of the ream of paper’s packaging

 

Add the paper to the copier with the top of the paper in the same direction as the arrow

 

Worn rollers – these help move paper through the machine. As they wear, the paper can “slip” and cause jams. Call your copier repair partner – don’t try to fix yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

2 – LINES ON PAPER

 

When you copy a piece of paper with simple text and/or images, but your finished copy contains streaks, lines or other deformities in the reproduction, you become frustrated.

There are multiple sources for this potential copy machine problem and they include:

 

Foreign substances on the scanner glass or mirrors

 

Drum or developer unit malfunction (only applies to multi-component copier systems)

 

Drum blade malfunction resulting in large lines vertically down the page

 

Issue with fusers

 

 

The first issue is resolved through removing interferences and cleaning the scanner glass and mirrors (see your user’s manual for proper cleaning instructions).

The remaining issues should be remedied by replacing the unit causing the issue; most often these should be addressed by contacting your service provider.

 

 

 

3 – WRINKLED PAGES

 

There is nothing professional about copy pages that come out of the machine crinkled.

Rather than looking like a consummate business professional, your employees show up for meetings or submit paperwork for reports that look like they were dug out of a student’s backpack.

Wrinkled pages are often the result of worn out feed and exit rollers that cause sticking or jamming. But, worn out paper trays, moisture caused by humidity and fuser assemblies can also lead to wrinkled pages.

If paper is noticeably damaged for any reason, do not use it.

For issues with paper trays, you can purchase replacements.

However, fixing the fuser assembly and feed rollers requires the assistance of a technician.

 

 

5 – COPIES ARE TOO LIGHT OR TOO DARK

 

The majority of the time, issues with light and dark on copy pages is going to be the result of an imbalance in the density controls on the copier.

Someone may have inadvertently altered the settings previously, making subsequent images copied too light or too dark. In this case, resetting the density levels is the best solution.

It is also possible however that the drum could be reaching the end of its work life or that the toner in the machine is bad. Some aftermarket toners are not up to manufacturer codes and can result in light density issues.

Replacements should be purchased and installed.

 

 

 

6 – SPOTS ON THE PAGE

 

Spots (called speckling) on the copied pages can be a result of smudges, dust, or grime on the copy mirror or the platen glass. That’s an easy fix – clean it (you should clean the glass on your copier at least once per month).

Spots on scanned pages can be automatically removed with imaging software, most packages have an automatic “despeckle” feature.

Spots from laser printers can be caused by a damaged photoconducter unit.

Remove and inspect for damage. If damaged, replace.

If only dirty, gently clean with a lint-free cloth. DO NOT touch the roller assembly when removing the unit.

 

 

 

Best Solutions: 

 

In addition to the solutions mentioned above, there are a few steps that you can take in your office to make sure your common machine problems are reduced.

First and foremost, make sure your Office is using the best quality and right sized machine for the amount its being used.

Here at Ronnie Moore we supply award winning RICOH photocopiers, that come in a range of sizes to accommodate your office needs.

 

Secondly patience is a virtue with these machines.

Never be forceful when it comes to loading and unloading paper from the machine. Second, make sure not to just put a Band-Aid on the machine.

Pay attention to the replacement timeline for vital parts and fixtures on the copy/printer machine to avoid even bigger problems in the future.

Third and final, have the machine cleaned professionally every once and a while.

 

 

 

Last photo linked to our website and you can call us on 021 4277841 if you would like more information on our award winning RICOH Photocopiers or leave a comment below.

You’ve been putting off that paper shredder purchase for a while now, even though the one you have might be jamming, noisy, or filling up just too fast.

Here are few reasons to consider upgrading your current shredder!!

 

 

 

 

 

1. Current Paper Shredder Needs to Cool Down Too Often

 

When you’re shredding and you see that red light, you know your paper shredder needs a break. You may need to wait awhile until the machine cools down and is ready to shred again. If you’re using an office shredder, this can take a lot of time out of your work day.

 

 

 

 

2. Current Paper Shredder Fills Up Too Quickly

 

When you first bought it, the paper shredder bin capacity was probably okay for your needs. Now you may notice that you are shredding more and more often. It seems like you do nothing but empty that bin. It may be time to get a paper shredder with larger bin capacity, just more room for more shreds like the HSM B32 below.

 

 

 

 

3. Current Paper Shredder Jams

 

You may put up with paper jams, for awhile. Eventually tearing half-shredded sheets out of the cutters tries your patience. Select a personal shredder with 100% Jam Proof technology and say goodbye to paper jams.

 

 

 

4. Current Paper Shredder is Just Too Loud

If you shred a little, a noisy shredder is a nuisance. If you shred a lot, then it becomes an aggravation. End that endless whirring and grinding that drives everybody at home or in the office crazy. Get an office shredder or a personal shredder with quiet performance features.

 

 

 

5. Your Shredder only shreds paper!

 

In this modern society not all personal information is on paper. CD/DVDS are still used to keep lots of personal and business information.

You shouldn’t just throw these in the bin when finished with them as the information is easily accessed. Our HSM shredders come with a particle Cut And Separate CD cutting Unit for you to to dispose of these securely.

 

 

 

 

 

All photos are linked to our website and you can call us on 021 4277841 to discuss some of the products featured or leave a comment below.

Our whole lives we’ve heard, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” Use less paper, buy reusable grocery bags, and recycle plastic bottles. Those are obvious, well-known ways to help our planet, but what are other ways to keep our life-long home safe and clean, especially in the workplace.

 

 

Power Saver:

This one sounds pretty obvious. Put your computer on auto sleep mode so if you are away long enough then your computer won’t be wasting excess energy. When you go to lunch, you can put your computer to sleep, but it saves much more energy if you shut down your computer. If the purchasing department of the company allows it, get LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs. They last much longer and are well-known energy savers.

 

 

AC/Heater:

In the middle of the summer, it can be hard to turn down the AC. Having it on high is a very bad energy waster, though. It’s okay to have it on to a certain temperature, but it’s much more energy efficient to give employees small desk fans as they need them. As for the winter, you can also have some heat on so no one gets hypothermia , but keep it a little lower and tell workers to bundle up if needed.

 

Carpool:

Some may think this is an awkward conversation to have with coworkers, but you’d be surprised how many people who live nearby would be willing to help save the environment (and money) by carpooling. Cars use many fuels that are harmful to the environment and even toxic to humans, animals, and plants. Decrease the amount of harm we place on our home by simply tag teaming with a few buddies.

 

 

Less Paper:

Computers may not be great energy savers themselves, but the sheer amount of paper used on a daily basis in the office is drastically worse. Many documents could be emailed and saved on a hard drive rather than printed out and stuffed in a filing cabinet. Plus, it can be a lot easier to sort and search for those documents digitally than by hand. As for to-do’s that we often put on sticky notes or paper pads, use a white board instead. Then you can simply erase it instead of throwing away many notes per day.

 

Spread the Word:

Many people have heard all of these suggestions, but they simply aren’t motivated to do something about it. When one person announces they are going to try and make a difference, it can spark a desire in others to do so as well. It’s a great way to find carpool buddies and an accountability partner or two. One person can make a difference in many lives, and in saving the world.

 

 

Call us on 021 4277841 to discuss some of the products featured or leave a comment below.

When it’s too hot and humid, it’s easy to lose focus and become sluggish or irritable which can make work very challenging. In worst case scenarios, people can become ill or worse. So keep cool by being proactive about taking care of yourself amidst the hotter weather. The obvious answer to keeping cool indoors in a warmer climate is to get air conditioning, but maybe you work someplace where that just isn’t an option, or maybe air conditioning is already installed, but it doesn’t work as well as you would like. Or maybe you have a home office, and prefer not to use air conditioning. There can be many reasons for not turning on the air.

 

The good news is that you really can survive the heat without AC

Electric fans definitely help with beating the heat. A desk fan that rests easily on your desktop will keep your face and upper body nice and cool. While tall standing fans can help with reducing the temperature in the room.

 

Proper, healthy nourishment

Eating whole, natural foods are best. In the hot weather, it becomes more difficult to metabolize certain foods such as fattier meats and foods that are highly processed. So instead of that ½ pound burger at lunch, opt for a delicious, spicy salad; perhaps with chick peas and kale if protein is what you’re looking for. This way, you’re still getting plenty of nutrients, but via food that is easier for your body to process—and you can eat it cold!

 

 

Drinking plenty of water

Hydrate often and limit your caffeine consumption, as caffeine will dehydrate you. Pure, clean water is best, and when it’s very warm, you might find that you need more than usual. On average, a person should consume about eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Listen to your body. Making sure your office has a water cooler is also important.

 

 

Dressing in clothes made from natural, lightweight materials

Knit or woven cotton, linen or silk clothing are great for the summer months. White and light-colored clothes are best if you happen to be outdoors.

 

 

Other cool thoughts

Additionally; a nice, ergonomic, mesh task chair for working at your desk is a lighter, cooler option for warm days. Frankly, a good mesh task chair is outstandingly comfortable year-round. Last but not least, turn off the lights if possible, and close the blinds to keep the sun out—this will help tremendously.

 

 

Call us on 021 4277841 to discuss some of the products featured or leave a comment below.