In these times of Covid-19, maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for everyone presents even more challenges than normal. While it’s always a priority to have a workplace that meets health and safety regulations, during an ongoing pandemic such as the one that the world is currently experiencing, not only does your workplace have to maintain regular standards of health and safety, but you also need to adopt practices to help in the fight against Covid.

If you want to know some basic steps businesses can take to ensure the workplace is about about safety and security against this current disease, and diseases and viruses in general.

Perform a Hazard Assessment

This is like having a risk management plan in place, except it’s specifically targeting Covid-related issues. What needs to be assessed and worked out are potential Covid hazard areas in your particular work environment and things you can put in place to reduce the likelihood of people contracting or spreading the disease.

Your hazard assessment will also want to take into account any current advice from authorities and health professionals advising on the latest protocols for Covid safety and prevention. From your hazard assessment, you can start formulating a plan and put strategies into place, such as clear and concise signage for handwashing, mask-wearing, or social distancing, for example (this site has good information with regard to appropriate signage), to ensure that staff and visitors at your business are kept as safe and secure as possible.

Ensure Social Distancing for Employees

Social distancing has long been one of the main factors implemented in the fight against the spread of not only Covid, but any form of disease or virus.  No matter what type of industry your business operates in, you’ll need to do your very best to ensure there is social distancing between your employees.

If your business is a customer-centric operation like a restaurant or a store, you’ll also need to implement social distancing measures for visitors to the premises as well. This is not only essential for customer safety, but also to remain compliant with regulations so your business can remain open.

Should Masks and Gloves Be Worn?

This point could depend on current advice in place for businesses and the population in general, as well as the nature of your business. If your workers are handling things like food, chances are, something like wearing gloves would already have been a prerequisite, even in normal times.
Having everyone who works in the business wear a mask while at work can help to prevent the spread of Covid as well as ensuring your operation is in line with regulations and recommendations for operating a business during these Covid times. Customers will also feel a lot safer frequenting your business if they see the staff doing everything possible to ensure everyone’s safety and hygiene.

Have Hand Sanitiser Available Everywhere

Hand sanitiser is relatively cheap and is an effective way of preventing the spread of germs, bacteria and viruses. In fact, having hand sanitiser available at any time can be a positive step to take, even without Covid around.

With the pandemic still ongoing, hand sanitiser or alcohol should be readily available at key locations throughout the workplace, in particular at entry points, in kitchens and bathrooms and at regular intervals throughout the workplace. This way, the presence of hand sanitiser will be there as a constant reminder to use it and help prevent the spread of disease and illnesses.

Keep the Premises Clean

Another way to make your business even more COVID-compliant is to ensure that it is cleaned more regularly than it would be during normal times. A clean, thoroughly disinfected workplace can minimize the spread of germs, keeping both your staff and your customers healthy. You can clean the premises yourself, or you can, instead, hire a professional cleaning company to do this for you. Opting for the latter will not only save you time, but it will also mean that you can be certain that no tile will be left unscrubbed and no surface left unwiped. Furthermore, if you choose to hire commercial carpet cleaning services in Atlanta, GA (or wherever else) to clean your flooring, you can be sure that any lurking germs or bacteria will be eradicated.

Perform Temperature Checks

Checking the temperature of staff members and customers before they enter the premises gives an indication of whether a person might be unwell. If a higher than normal temperature is recorded, it’s advisable that the employee or customer not be allowed to enter and should either isolate at home or present themselves to a Covid testing facility, just to be on the safe side.

Software for General Workplace Health and Safety

Workplace health and safety is an ongoing concern for every business owner, whether there is a pandemic or not. One tool you can purchase to help your business remain compliant with the laws that govern it and to ensure a work environment that’s safe and hygienic, is workplace health and safety software.

The software helps you to keep an eye on business operations, as well as making it easy to report any incidents that occur in the workplace. Software is an invaluable tool when it comes to providing the safest work environment possible for everyone.

The Takeaway

With the right steps in place, your business can become a safer place during these pandemic times. Follow the latest advice and be sure to implement everything that’s advised.