MUMBAI: One harsh reality that we must adjust to in the post-Covid2019 world is the constant sanitisation drives at homes, workplaces and everywhere else. Nearly three months after lockdown commenced, the Maharashtra government has given the nod to resume TV and film shootings, albeit with conditions.
For producers, the challenge is to maintain hygiene and safety. This includes conducting regular sanitisation, thermal checking and several other measures. In an interaction with indiantelevision.com, Manish Popat, who last worked with Contiloe Pictures says that even though products are available in the market, people are clueless about their usage.
That is when Popat, along with Fidelis Management Consultants director Harish Kale, who is responsible for audits of films, television, OTT and ad films, decided to come up with a solution to help the film and television industry. It led them to meet Tisa Tech Secure CEO Atharva Samant. Tisa Tech Secure is a security systems integration and consultancy company which has been in the business for the past 11 years. The company is currently providing services to BMC and certain Covid2019 hospitals.
Tisa Tech Secure has now teamed up with the duo to bring together their experience in their respective fields to come up with effective Covid2019 response services and solutions. It involves recce of the shooting site, with the intention to identify areas where there are high chances of getting infected.
Samant explains that this entire solution will be monitored by people on the ground and implemented as per government directives.
Pre-shoot sanitisation process will involve disinfection and misting. It will cover the entire set, main floor, vanity vans, makeup rooms, PCR rooms, equipment etc. All the disinfectants are EPA approved. The entry will have a disinfecting tunnel which is loaded with thermal scanning kiosks tools. It will also keep a log of people entering. A team of two or three people will be stationed for temperature screening.
There will be a UV disinfection chamber, which has UV-C technology which disinfects anything in 60 seconds. The chamber will be placed at various units like the makeup department and edit facilities. It will be used to disinfect phones, laptops, clothes, masks, PPE-kits, keys, tools and equipment.
Samant said that most people are using UV tube lights and other products which are dangerous. “UV lights inherently have the tendency to do the danger if filaments are not correctly used as it leaves out carcinogenic fumes. Hence, it needs to be a closed UV chamber. So, we put a lot of thought into products which we are using,” he shares.
The process of sanitisation is also technical. A sodium hypochlorite solution should have a ratio of 10 ml in 1 litre of water. Anything more can turn acidic.
Samant suggests that the sanitisation process should at least happen thrice a day. Additionally, health and safety officers need to be hired now. Companies that haven’t yet positioned CCTVs at entry and exit points should do so now. Another way of ensuring minimal movement is colour-coded wristbands that provide entry in select areas. It also proposes a daily sanitisation process which will involve fogging and misting of the entire set.
There will be an emergency action plan in case of any potential positive symptoms. The checklist includes isolating the person to the isolation chamber, coordinating with an on-site medic for checking various parameters, check oxygen level with an oximeter and log the results, immediately create a log of all the people who came into contact with the person and equipment, contact the nearest healthcare sector for an immediate Covid2019 test and much more.
Producers can pick services that fit their needs on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. They also have the option to rent or buy equipment. A team of 55 is making the service available only in Mumbai for now. However, in the near future, it might be extended to Hyderabad and Telangana.
What makes them stand apart is their understanding of the industry coupled with trust.
