The COVID‐19 pandemic has companies setting up many new policies and procedures. Many of these are to create a safe, yet comfortable working environment for their employees. Most of these initiatives follow two main factors: operator distancing and more frequent and accurate cleaning of workstations and equipment.

Some companies use their consumer grade cell phones and tablets for reading barcodes and managing equipment, some use industrial android devices with hardened cases and devices are also now available with DRH (disinfectant ready housings) sometimes also called antimicrobial plastic which are specifically made to be cleaned and disinfected repeatedly without the case degrading. These devices are not the same so how do you effectively clean each type and keep employees safe? Here is what you need to know.

Consumer grade devices – Includes Smartphones/Tablets Lysol wipes are still one of the best out of the box solutions to use for cleaning, but you can also use Lysol spray.

1. First power the phone down and remove it from its case if it has one.
2. Wipe the entire phone down avoiding the ports and let dry for 5 minutes. When spraying the device down let the spray sit for 5-10 minutes if possible.
3. Then wipe dry. Use microfiber towels for the wipe down as they do the best job dislodging dirt and grime.
4. If it has a case, wipe the case down using the same procedure or let soak in soap and water and then wipe dry.

Commercial grade devices – These types of devices and hardware manufactured by companies like Datalogic, Honeywell and Zebra. First here is a list of approved cleaning solutions from Honeywell but always check you each manufacturers care guide first to verify.