Is your business operating safely during the pandemic? Protect your workforce and be prepared for spot checks by following this advice from Peter Doyle, head of health and safety services at Citation.
In a recent announcement the prime minister clearly stated that engineering and other organisations should continue working safely during the current lockdown.
With the HSE carrying out spot checks and inspections to make sure workplaces are following guidelines on being Covid-secure, I would recommend the following steps for maintaining a safe working environment.
Conduct a Covid risk assessment – involving your staff in the process – and record your findings. There is plenty of guidance available on government websites and from trade bodies, on how to conduct these assessments.
Consider how you prevent individuals with symptoms coming into work in the first place. One step would be to make sure all are aware of the main symptoms (high temperature, continual coughing, loss of sense of taste and smell, for example) and to challenge individuals exhibiting such symptoms.
Temperature verification could be a simple means of checking that everyone entering a workplace is not in the higher risk category. This can be monitored using simple infra-red devices at entrances or clocking-in areas. More sophisticated, automated systems are available using cameras – but often the simpler the better.
Hygiene practices should be reviewed and improved to put hand hygiene is at the front of everyone’s mind, and to make sure they are regularly washing their hands. Also bear in mind controls that are being regularly touched, and make sure they are being sanitised appropriately.
Be sure social distancing is being maintained where possible, which means a 2m distance is kept between individuals. This requires a lot of thought and may require changes to workstations, such as using a V or W formation to increase space be-tween individuals.
Other things to consider are circulation routes – can you introduce a one-way system; can you stagger working patterns to minimise the numbers of people being together at the same time?
Where maintaining 2m of separation is not possible, consider face coverings where proximity working is essential. This is not seen as an alternative to social distancing – however, it should be an exception captured in your risk assessment.
Make all team members aware of the protocols that will be adopted – toolbox talks (adhering to social distancing) are a good way to do this. Posters or information sheets are useful in some organisations to convey messages.
Once all the above steps have been taken, you should monitor behaviour and correct employees immediately where you find shortcomings. If required, update your risk assessment to include changes and communicate this to all.
Tolerance of poor standards will lead to others believing that it does not matter, and it’s important for owners, managers and other senior figures to lead by example.
Be aware of the increased vigilance of enforcement agencies such as the HSE. The HSE is following a regime of verifying that organisations are considering and adhering to the published guidance. At present, these checks are often conducted by telephone, but inspectors have been known to visit locations where they have reason to believe that safety measures are being disregarded.
This can be due to individuals believing that their workplace is not COVID-secure, and making this known under the whistleblowing section of the Equality Act.
From reports published to date the most common failings have been:
• Social distancing not being adhered to (or ignored completely)
• Cleaning regimes not addressing the main risks, or not being followed
• Ignoring the regulator – people wrongly believing that they do not have to pay attention to the inspector
• Staff unaware of the controls that should be in place.
By following all the points above, you will have addressed the principal concerns currently being identified by the HSE and others. This will save you time and effort in addressing any queries or challenges inspectors may have when they contact your organisation.
It’s also important always to remember that in general, good health and safety practices are an effective way of maintaining the viability of your business.
Citation is a health and safety and HR & employment law provider.
www.citation.co.uk