[ti:Offices Redesign: Touchless Coffee and Social Distancing] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Many people in the United States [00:03.72]are returning to changed workplaces after months of lockdowns. [00:09.68]New social distancing and cleaning requirements [00:14.00]are being put into effect in some places. [00:18.44]One big difference is in break rooms, [00:22.12]where workers used to drink coffee and talk. [00:26.08]Food companies, such as Keurig Dr. Pepper, Lavazza and Nestle [00:33.44]have released new technology for these rooms [00:37.44]in the time of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. [00:43.76]Nestle said it has worked with manufacturers to change its coffeemakers. [00:50.72]The machines let users choose their drinks [00:54.52]by holding a finger over a screen. [00:57.92]But they do not touch it. [01:01.00]Lavazza recently released a new coffeemaker [01:05.32]that works with a mobile application, or app. [01:10.20]It can make cappuccinos and lattes—special kinds of coffee drinks [01:16.64]—without people having to touch the machine. [01:20.72]U.S. coffee machine manufacturer Bunn has a different idea. [01:26.56]It has added a QR code, a special kind of code, to its current machines. [01:34.04]The new code lets users order drinks through a web site. [01:39.64]Supplying offices with coffee beans and coffee makers [01:44.44]is a big business in the United States. [01:47.92]Last year, the business research company Packaged Facts [01:53.36]said that the market was valued at $5.7 billion. [01:59.36]These coffee companies have had sales fall during coronavirus lockdowns. [02:05.52]But, they hope to improve business by making changes. [02:10.52]The goal is to reduce workers' and employers' concerns. [02:16.64]Some studies suggest offices will fill up very slowly. [02:22.12]Offices might never return to the same number of workers [02:26.88]that they had before the coronavirus health crisis. [02:31.64]GoodFirms is a research company based in Washington D.C. [02:37.20]The company said recently that its international study of 168 businesses [02:45.20]showed that nearly one third of workers had returned to their offices. [02:51.72]Nearly 60 percent wanted to do so; [02:56.04]but, more than half remained concerned about their safety. [03:02.04]Alicia LeBeouf is a marketing and sales official at food service company Canteen. [03:09.40]She said changes to office food services [03:13.36]were important for dealing with such concerns. [03:16.84]Cooks who prepare meals have been replaced by food stations at large companies [03:23.48]such as Verizon and UnitedHealth Group Inc. [03:28.40]Microsoft Corporation has begun using touchless coffee machines. [03:34.32]At Mohawk Industries, refrigerators have special, foot-operated doors. [03:41.32]At a FedEx building, Canteen has replaced credit card payment [03:47.20]with Canteen's "Connect & Pay" app, which also shows nutritional information. [03:54.36]Offices need to change, said Tom Vecchione. [03:59.00]He helps plan workplaces at the architecture services company Vocon in New York City. [04:06.60]The company is taking down doors and removing screens in offices. [04:13.24]The goal is to create larger common areas that make social distancing easier. [04:20.36]The company also is replacing chairs with stools [04:24.88]to discourage people from staying in one place for too long. [04:30.44]Canteen's LeBeouf said employers are planning for the return of workers. [04:36.64]But, those workers would not be returning to the same office that they left [04:42.84]before the coronavirus health crisis. [04:46.44]"We've had to...rethink everything," LeBeouf said. [04:51.72]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM