More than ever, design has an important role to play in tackling the issues thrown up by coronavirus and COVID-19. Designers have stepped up to assist in the design and rapid manufacturing of ventilators and other medical equipment and now they need to engage with creating safe working spaces ready for the return to work of millions around the globe.

Working alongside leading health and occupational health & safety bodies such as the Institute for Occupational Medicine, the Chartered Society for Worker Health and Protection, the Society of Occupational Medicine and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, CSD has been closely engaged with the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors in preparing a series of guides and publications to support best practice for designers and policy makers.

The latest of these is ‘Creating-a-Safe-Workplace’.

The guide sets out 7 Key Steps to help leaders and managers in businesses and organisations make their office workspaces safe for staff to return to work and reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

Accompanying the guide is an interactive version of the 7 key steps. The full range of publications can be seen here https://covid19.ergonomics.org.uk/

CSD President Chris Ramsden PCSD, was recently elected as President Elect of The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and is Co-lead for Healthcare and a member of their ‘Gold Team’ expert panel. In addition, CSD members working at Stocks Taylor Benson have also been involved in the graphic design and accompanying animation to support a key ventilator design guide.

Chris, who is also a Registered Ergonomist, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, has been involved in the creation of these publications and has provided direct assistance to ventilator and PPE designers and manufacturers, along with other human factors consultants, scientists and clinicians. He sits on several high level advisory panels addressing COVID-19 and wider healthcare challenges championing the role that Design and Professional Designers can play in meeting current and future healthcare challenges.

This latest guide is an important development and, along with the other guides and advisories, is being globally circulated and widely adopted.

Chris commented:
“It is important that the professions collaborate, now even more than ever in the current circumstances. This tremendous collaboration bodes well for the future engagement of designers across a wide spectrum of activities and has demonstrated the value of design thinking in addressing healthcare challenges”.

More guides, publications and presentations are being produced and CSD is a key partner in future collaborative activities and senior committee engagement.

CSD would like to hear from members who have also been involved in addressing COVID-19 challenges and who are working in health and social care and share experiences.