Countertop Sneeze Guards

Plastic Safety Barriers: What You Need to Know

Although online commerce continues to grow, purchasing items at physical locations remains a necessary buying habit or preference for many customers. This is especially true at businesses offering perishables, emergency supplies, and other essential products. To provide customers and employees with an additional layer of protection during "flu season" and other months with an increased potential to spread colds and other viruses, operators should consider adding clear safety shields to separate employees from customers. Cashier shields are unobtrusive physical barriers designed to block airborne particulates and respiratory droplets that can spread while coughing, sneezing, and talking.

Common Questions About Clear Safety Shields

How big are cashier shields?

Although these are meant to be placed directly in front of the cash register, the size and configuration of cashier setups varies between operations. The manufacturers of these products produce several options to ensure you can find the right one for your business. Barriers are most often square or rectangular, measuring between 24 and 42 inches in width or height. For maximum effectiveness, you should verify the dimensions of your registers and purchase a clear safety shield wide and tall enough to provide a physical barrier between all parties involved for the duration of the checkout process.

What are clear safety shields made of?

These shields are most often made of plastic, such as acrylic or plexiglass, rather than glass. Plastic safety barriers are more resistant to impacts and, in general, more durable in applications that will see heavy use and high traffic, such as registers at grocery stores, convenience stores, or similar locations. Although they may become scratched and show wear and tear over time, plexiglass safety shields provide protection without impeding visibility, enabling employees to maintain eye contact and provide friendly customer service.

How do you install a checkout sneeze guard?

In addition to being manufactured in several sizes, clear safety shields are available in a few different designs, so the installation process will depend on which type you have. A few of these options are outlined below, but you should be sure to double check the product information for your model before making a purchase to ensure your checkout configuration can accommodate it.

• Most cashier counter shields are designed to be installed on the countertop between a customer and cashier. These may be countertop-mounted models secured by mounting holes and screws or freestanding models that do not require any tools for installation. Shields that need to be bolted on are more secure, but those that can simply be placed on top of a surface are great for businesses in need of temporary, portable solutions. These may be mounted in a way that does not impede the exchange of cash payment or coupons and may include a cutout at the bottom for sliding these items through.
• Rather than being installed at the customer and cashier's level, suspended safety guards hang down from the ceiling. They will include chain mounting hardware and specific instructions for correctly and safely adding them to your facility, and they should be mounted so they provide as much physical protection as possible without impeding a cashier's ability to accept payment or coupons.

How should you clean a safety guard?

Plexiglass safety barriers provide those on either side with a measure of physical protection from airborne particulates that may spread through coughing, sneezing, and talking, so they should be frequently cleaned and sanitized to remove any germs that land on them. This can be accomplished with a non-abrasive cleaner capable of removing residue without damaging the product's transparency, although we recommend checking the product's specifications for any cleaning procedures recommended by the manufacturer.