The introduction of coronavirus protection measures is a matter of urgency. After all, if work must or should continue, the health of employees is the top priority. At the same time, the introduction and safeguarding of new rules and processes are essential in order to maintain operations and productivity in the future. The consistent involvement of employees is crucial to the success of the measures.

1. schools, remember, ensure

New findings on the coronavirus emerge almost daily. As a result, standard operating procedures (SOPs) are changing faster than ever before. Not only is there not enough time for traditional face-to-face training, there are also two other reasons why it is not possible: Firstly, it is important to avoid gatherings of people, and secondly, the new regulations and instructions need to be embedded in employees' behavior very quickly.

A simple example is the precautionary measures recommended to employers by the Federal Center for Health Education. In addition to regular thorough hand washing with soap, surfaces that you come into contact with at work must be thoroughly disinfected and cleaned when you start work. This can also include levers, buttons and keyboards. At the same time, it is important to maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters from other people and - if possible - to ventilate frequently.

A traditional way of reminding people to comply with these hygiene and behavioral measures is to post simple notices in production halls and warehouses, changing rooms or sanitary facilities. However, modern mobile applications perform this task far more effectively and efficiently: For example, they repeatedly instruct an employee in person to take precautionary measures. Embedded videos explain the correct procedure. Compliance with rules is confirmed via interactive checklists. In this way, the digital SOPs provide continuous, consistent safety training in the workplace and reinforce the safe behavior of each individual employee. The result is a proactive coronavirus safety management system for the entire company.

2. report incidents to the EHS team as quickly as possible

Many safety-related incidents, especially minor ones, have so far been poorly documented or not documented at all. If they are documented at all, they are often reported to those responsible for environment, health and safety (EHS) long after the event. This is no longer justifiable in times of a pandemic. Those who do not immediately investigate suspected cases and thus fail to quickly identify potentially infected persons are not only risking the health of their workforce. If the virus spreads throughout the company, staffing levels could fall below the required minimum. In the worst case scenario, the entire business comes to a standstill.

An important focus is therefore on the admission control of suppliers and other visitors. Checklists can be used to minimize the risk of an acute Covid-19 infection: Has the visitor been in a risk area in recent weeks? Have they had contact with sick people? Do they show symptoms themselves, such as blue lips? - In case of suspicion, the responsible security employee must contact EHS immediately. This can be done more quickly, discreetly and reliably if the admission check is completed directly on the tablet. If an answer raises doubts, EHS officers receive a text message in real time. They can take action without delay and initiate the necessary measures. Another important feature is that the digital system documents all communication relating to the incident in full. This allows companies to prove that they have fulfilled their duty of care in case of doubt.

3. consistently check hazards

Risk assessments - or job safety analyses (JSAs) - are just as essential for flawless coronavirus protection as they are for good safety management in general. This involves examining the hazards associated with a particular activity. Completely new sources of risk are now coming into focus. In times of social distancing, for example, personal handovers at shift changes are suddenly considered potentially dangerous. Not only must the JSA be updated accordingly, its results must also be passed on to employees. This is the only way to create awareness of the new security risks in the company.

The problem is that most analyses are still based on paper. This fulfills the requirement for a systematic review and documentation of each individual step. Nevertheless, the benefits remain limited, as the mostly freely formulated answers offer great scope for interpretation. This makes it difficult to bundle observations into categories and translate them into instructions for action. Possible risks remain unrecognized.

Modern digital tools can help to standardize the assessment process: Companies use them to provide their employees with interactive forms with clear parameters for observations and input. This gives both plant managers and EHS management a more consistent, accurate picture of the hazards.

In the event of a shift change, digital tools provide the solution to the safety problem at the same time. The handover can be arranged contact-free via smartphone: The exchange takes place via cell phone, with checklists, voice messages, chat, photo or video available for documentation. For example, if there were problems with a certain machine part during the first shift, this information is available to the colleague on the next shift as a photo or video on their mobile device.

Important for globally active companies: As with occupational health and safety in general, the regulations for dealing with the virus differ from country to country. Mobile platforms such as Parsable can also provide support here. They make it easier to adapt technical, organizational and personal protective measures regionally and establish them in real time at all production sites worldwide.

Conclusion

The direct networking of workers with digital instructions on mobile devices is making a significant contribution to occupational safety during the coronavirus pandemic. This is because it enables employees to record data in real time. They are in direct communication with those responsible. EHS and operations managers thus create an environment in which the best safety practices are integrated in such a way that they are consistently followed. In addition, it is easy to dynamically adapt them to the latest developments and scientific findings at any time, thus ensuring a consistently high level of occupational safety.

In order to put a stop to the pandemic, one thing above all is important at the moment: to be faster than the virus.

Lawrence Whittle, CEO, Parsable, San Francisco