Metra and the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago) conducted the Safe Return to Work Summit on March 11 that brought together more than 1,000 attendees, both in person and virtually, to discuss how to safely bring employees back to the workplace and reignite the economy. Held at Metra’s 49th Street Training Center, the event educated professionals from Chicago area businesses on measures to safeguard employees on public transportation and office spaces.
The summit gained support from participating sponsors including BMO Harris Bank, William Blair and Wintrust Bank and brought in area experts who shared insights and workplace and transit best practices. The jam-packed session addressed COVID-19 concerns as businesses navigate employees’ return.
BMO Financial Group’s U.S. CEO, David R. Casper, discussed the economic imperatives of returning to the office and examined the critical nature of in-person collaboration for companies’ workforces.
“You cannot replace human interaction. Being able to sit around the room and talk with your peers is critical,” said Casper.
Janice R. Thomas, Metra’s Chief of Staff, addressed Metra’s protocols both onboard trains and at stations and provided key data that demonstrate commuter safety.
“We’ve created safe rides for passengers. One example is that our cars replace the air 15 times per hour or every four minutes – which is more often than the 12 times an hour recommended for infectious airborne diseases,” said Thomas. “And, while the fresh air enters the car and circulates inside, it passes through MERV-13 filters, which are hospital grade and may catch potential virus particles that travel on respiratory droplets.
“We’ve thwarted the virus in every possible way we can conceive, but we will continue to tell our story to build confidence in riders as they return to the workplace,” Thomas added.
Riverside Investment and Development’s COO, Anthony Scacco, and JLL’s regional manager of operations, Heather Spearman, presented best practices for businesses as they build out their own building and office return-to-work strategies.
Finally, Dr. Robert Murphy of Northwestern Medicine provided updates on the virus and vaccination efforts, as well as his perspective on the current environment and what steps are needed to reach a safe workplace for employees.
“The good thing that our nation did is that we invested in vaccine research and our production is already going faster than anyone ever imagined,” said Dr. Murphy. “Vaccination works and is currently working much better than we thought.
“I’m optimistic and really excited about what Metra has done. They’ve done a wonderful job cleaning up the train system and making travel safe. And the numbers tell the story – there’s no one who has contracted the virus from the trains. That is enough to demonstrate that it’s safe,” Dr. Murphy added.