On January 29, 2021, OSHA released “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.” Within this guidance, OSHA provides 16 points of consideration for employers and workers seeking to understand and prevent COVID-19 as they return to work.
Here, we discuss the ways that LiveSafe and other Vector Solutions tools can help your organization remain in compliance with each point of this guidance. Below find OSHA’s 16 elements, in a shortened format, and how Vector Solutions can help you address them.
Once you choose a COVID-19 workplace coordinator, use LiveSafe’s broadcast message functionality to inform all employees. Then, add the coordinator’s role description and contact information to LiveSafe Resources for employees to easily access, with or without internet connection.
2. Identify where and how workers might get exposed to COVID at workEmployees can submit LiveSafe tips about COVID-related hazards in the workplace, such as coworkers congregating without masks. This helps organizational leadership identify how the workforce may be exposed and develop corresponding prevention strategies.
In addition, Vector Solutions’s safety management software, IndustrySafe, enables organizations to proactively improve safety and achieve regulatory compliance. Using IndustrySafe, organizations can create Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) checklists, conduct risk assessments, and mitigate and manage risk through company-wide policies.
3. Identify a combination of measures to help control the spread of COVID using the hierarchy of controlsUse employee-submitted LiveSafe tips to identify appropriate COVID-19 safety measures and communicate them using LiveSafe Broadcast and Resources. Convergence Training, Vector Solutions’s Learning Management System (LMS), can also be used to educate employees on COVID-related safety measures.
Enable employees to share policy recommendations using LiveSafe Tip Submit. Once policies have been developed, upload information and guidance into the customizable LiveSafe Resources.
5. Establish a system for communicating effectively with workers about COVID-19 issues in a language the workers can understand
LiveSafe is the industry-leading risk management communications tool. With Broadcast capabilities, Tip Submit, and two-way chat, organizations can easily and effectively communicate with employees in a variety of formats. Additionally, the Vector Solutions Coronavirus Resource Center features several complimentary COVID-19 courses and Convergence Training offers extensive online training for workers in a variety of industries.
Include workplace safety and quarantine policies in LiveSafe Resources. Employees can use LiveSafe Emergency Options to communicate with emergency services and find nearby health resources on the Safety Map. Convergence Training‘s online training can also be used to educate employees about COVID-19 best practices.
Isolation and quarantine policies can be included in LiveSafe Resources and frequently communicated using LiveSafe Broadcast functionality. Health and safety locations near your organization may be added to the LiveSafe Safety Map for easy access.
8. Implement policies, procedures, and other actions to support workers who are isolating/quarantiningUse LiveSafe to share mental health resources and organizational points of contact. The LiveSafe platform can also be used to engage in two-way conversations with employees who may be struggling.
Use LiveSafe to communicate policies for workplace isolation. For further information on when and how to isolate workers, refer to the Convergence Training online learning library.
Use Convergence Training online learning and Vector Solutions coronavirus courses to share disinfecting procedures with your workforce. You can also use IndustrySafe to create virtual safety data sheet (SDS) collections for your COVID-19 cleaning and disinfection products.
Upload testing and vaccination locations to the LiveSafe Safety Map for easy access and share relevant updates through Broadcast. LiveSafe also offers customizable surveys that employees can use to self-report COVID-19 symptoms, vaccination status, and potential exposures.
12. Record and report work-related COVID-19 infections and deathsLiveSafe daily health surveys can be customized and deployed to help your organization assess whether employees have had COVID-19 exposure, are experiencing symptoms, or have received a vaccination. Additionally, IndustrySafe facilitates work-related COVID-19 reporting and record-keeping.
LiveSafe was purpose-built for two-way risk management communications. Employees can submit reports, anonymously if desired, using LiveSafe Tip Submit and can communicate about them using two-way chat.
Once your organization has made vaccines available to employees, upload vaccination policies to LiveSafe Resources and add relevant locations to the Safety Map. Use LiveSafe Broadcast to communicate relevant updates to your workforce.
Use LiveSafe Broadcasts to remind employees that vaccination status does not alter workplace health and safety policies.
In addition to following this 16-point guidance, be sure to follow all other relevant OSHA standards. Examples include:
As your organization plans for a safe return to work amid COVID-19, OSHA’s 16-point guidance is a valuable reference point. LiveSafe, along with other Vector Solutions offerings, can help you comply with this guidance and keep workforce safe and healthy.
In addition to deploying LiveSafe, continue using our free COVID Return-to-Work Checklist to help implement OSHA’s 16-point guidance into your workplace COVID-19 prevention strategy.
