COVID 19 – How industry will work
‘A well-controlled, supervised and disciplined workplace is probably the safest place you can be right now’ Who said that? (it was me).
Do your Risk Assessment, considering the different ways that a viral infection can spread:
Biological: cross contamination through direct respiratory fluid exchange
o Biological precautions would include 2m physical distancing and, when that is impractical, wear a face covering (of a recommended design by NHS Inform)
Environmental: cross contamination through fluid exchange on surfaces
o Environmental precautions would include additional surface cleaning with anti-bacterial wipes/cleaners, staff, and visitors to use hand sanitizers throughout the day and practice good hand washing techniques (find an NHS video on YouTube)
Organisational: cross contamination through close proximity of potential carriers
o Organisational precautions would include looking at existing standards and processes then identifying which already provide suitable protection and which would need to be modified e.g. can people work back-to-back, can some/all work from home, would staggered start times/ break times be feasible?
Get staff onboard from the start, remind them that these processes will protect them, protect their extended family, and ensure that the business will continue to trade.
Leadership: Get plans in place for every eventuality, it is unfair to expect staff to think these up on the spur of the moment.
If you then get a staff member or visitor testing positive for Covid 19, business can continue as before because the precautions they’ve all been following will ensure that no cross contamination has occurred and, important to your business reputation, the source of the contamination won’t lead back to your door.
