OTTAWA -- A local glass company that has pivoted its business to make plexiglass sneeze guards for front-line employees is looking towards the new normal.

What was once an uncommon sight, and may have been viewed as odd in the past, is now becoming commonplace. Plexiglass barriers are in nearly every shop that still open.

Centennial Glass in Ottawa saw steep declines in business as many of their commercial and residential construction projects were shut.

They found a new revenue stream and now it’s nearly 80 percent of their business, building more than 30 plexiglass sneeze guards and barriers and shipping them across the province.

The shields are health and safety measures for businesses that are still open like grocery stores restaurants and medical offices, protecting staff and customers.

At the back of the store, only one employee is in the shop, Charles, working in safety gear, is cutting the plexiglass to size. The transparent plastic has become more difficult to obtain.

Tom Zoobkoff, vice-president of sales and operations, heads back to the shop, baring his mask, to check-in and make sure Charles and the fabrications are in good health.

While business is booming for the temporary, emergency barriers, Zoobkoff has been getting calls from companies looking towards a future in which these barriers may become permanent fixtures.

“They're very prevalent everyone wants to be safe there has to be social distancing these are really helping us with that,” he says. “Sometimes glass solutions are far better they have a wider range of what could be done, how it can be placed and where you can place it and sometimes they work a little bit better.”

At Merivale Medical Imaging, a diagnostic center, a full glass barrier was recently installed. Before, it was only a counter. Operations Manager Christina Michelli had planned to install the barrier, just not so soon.

“It was always the intent for patient confidentiality but with the Covid it just accelerated our process,” she says. “It helps with the social distancing and the barrier for our staff to protect them from anything that's coming into the clinic.”

Zoobkoff sees this as next step in safety, and the calls he’s receiving shows that business are looking to the future.

“We have that ability to do that and some of these companies are looking to have a solution that's both cost effective and lasts a long time.”