Practical Ideas to make your

Business COVID Secure

Speakers

Pamela BrownHead of Health and Safety at Allied Bakeries

David ChaplinGroup SHES Manager at Quorn Foods

Alison WrightHead of HSE Meals Division at Samworth Brothers

Content

• Introduction and a Legal Perspective

• Protecting your Site – First Line of Defence

• Moving around your Site

• Social Distancing

• Cleaning and Hygiene

• Dealing with Emergencies

• Behavioural Change and Communication

• PPE

• Questions

Introduction

Key Guidance for Employers

25th February 2020 - PHE: COVID-19: guidance for employees,

employers and businesses

7th April - PHE: Social distancing in the workplace during

coronavirus (COVID-19): sector guidance

11th May – PHE: Working safely during COVID-19 in factories,

plants and warehouses Guidance for employers, employees and

the self-employed

Legal Duties

• Risk Assessment - a requirement of the MHSWRs

• Assessing and managing the risks of COVID-19 is no different from other workplace risks.

Therefore same principles apply:

• Reducing risk ALARP

• Hierarchy of Control

First Line of Protection -The Site Boundary

First Question 1 .. who is "essential"?

• Essential staff.....need to be on site to work.

• Are alternative work methods available to enable remote working

• Split/staggered shifts/separation of groups

• Special cases

Minimise the number of unnecessary visits to sites

• Allow only essential contractors

• Visitors - keep lists of visitors

• Deliveries – 2 metre rule

Protecting your Site – at the Door

• Screen those who come in

• Pre arrival health questionnaire

• Pre-visit induction

• Temperature checking?

• Protect security / reception staff

• Screens

• No handing of pens

• Clear signage e.g. symptoms, site controls

Contractors - Follow the 5 steps to “Covid-Secure”

Carry out a Covid 19 Risk Assessment - Method Statements/Risk Assessments

to include Covid risks and controls.

Develop cleaning, hygiene and hand wash procedures

Who needs to be on site - Who is essential? Statutory checks, making plant

safe, essential services.

Maintain 2 metre social distancing

Where 2 metres not possible manage transmission risk

Travel to Work

Travel to site alone using their own transport

If workers have no option but to share transport: same individuals and with the minimum number/good ventilation/cleaning

Moving around your Site

• Encouraging employees to cycle or walk to work

• Arriving – control at turnstile

• Control at clocking in station –staggering start times

• Foot operation only – doors, sanitisers, bins

Moving around your Site

• Social distancing on corridors

• Keeping doors open – or use of

acoustic door closers on fire doors

• Minimising contact points -

devices for opening doors

• Self sanitising door handles

Social Distancing in Common Areas

Smoking Shelters

• Limit numbers

• Extending space

• Relaxing rules to allow smoking

outside of shelter

Social Distancing in Common Areas

Canteens

• Screens at servery

• One person per table

• External overspill

• One way systems

Social Distancing in Common Areas

Toilets

• Use of signage to restrict the number of people that are able to enter at any one time

• Distance markers on the floor

• Closure of some urinals and sinks

Social Distancing – Common Areas

Information Provision and Checking

• Clear reminders / signage

• Regular checks of facilities and behaviours

• Common areas – most likely places for standards to “slip”?

Social Distancing in

the Factory

If the work should continue, staff should work

side by side or facing away from each other

rather than face to face if possible.

Ideas for social distancing:-

Staff assigned to same shift cohort.

Slow lines to lessen number of persons on lines

Run alternate lines

Bubble staff from different lines / areas

Where screens are required consider moveable screens where product ranges do not allow for fixed screens.

Include agency colleagues in any initiatives

Factory Further

Screening Options

Factory Screening Options

Consider segregating sinks to

allow greater social distancing

at factory entrances.

Stagger breaks

Limit persons passing through

pinch point areas

Bagging & name labelling of

overalls during breaks to

prevent persons picking up ,

another persons coat.

Personal lockers for coats &

PPE at break times.

Office Controls

Wherever possible persons to continue working from home

Number of persons in offices limited by balance of home working & rotation

Rotating shifts for persons in same department (bubble groups)

Isolation of certain desks to give social distancing between persons

Office Controls

• Office maximum occupancy protocols / use of

virtual meetings

• Clean desk policy start & end of day, cleaning

materials readily available

• Regular briefings & updates on changes via

notices, tv or verbal briefing

• Suggestion none touch sanitiser units on entry

Covid-19

Controls in

Logistics

• Driver contact to be limited

• Clear timing between driver

unstrapping and operative

approaching

• Driver waiting area or in cab

away from operators

• Review handing over of keys /

key control

• Electronic document transfers

• Reference Document FTA /

CILT Good practice guidance

for logistics & FTA MHE

cleaning methods

Cleaning and Hygiene

Think about common shared touch points such as:

• Doors

• Handrails

• Work equipment e.g. pallet trucks

• Scanning guns

• Canteen vending machines

• Use of stylus rather than hands

Dealing with Emergencies

• Isolation of individuals

• Allocated private room where person can be isolated

• PPE and procedures to protect others that have to

interact with the affected party.

• Decontamination

• Clear process for decontamination

• Strict rules around persons carrying out decontamination

• Role of First Aiders

• Carrying out CPR

• Other Emergencies

Behavioural Change

• Leading from the Top

• Make sure everyone understands why the

behaviour is important

• Provide clear instruction on how to work safely

• Nudge their behaviour through social distancing

cues, hand sanitisers being readily available

• Provide simple clear communication

• Notice Boards

• TV Screens

• Video from CEO

• Posters

• Face to face briefs

Communications

• Consider location of signage

• Do they just pass through area e.g. corridor

• Do they dwell in area e.g. toilet

• Consider opportunities for placement of most

behaviourally appropriate materials

• Handwashing posters in toilets

• Maximum capacity on meeting room doors

• What are Symptoms at Entrances / Clocking in

• Ensure information is regularly checked for any

wear and tear and changed in-line with changes in

Government advice

• Remember persons returning to work following

isolation / furlough will not know new procedures -

consider day 1 induction / awareness booklets

Personal Protective Equipment

• Where social distancing can’t be achieved

• For two man tasks – manual handling, engineering task

• For use by First Aiders

• Hygiene Teams

• For customer facing roles

Reference Documents

• HM Government Working safely during COVID-19 in factories, plants and warehouses

Guidance for employers, employees and the self-employed May 2020

• HSE Working safely during the coronavirus outbreak - a short guide May 2020

• HSE Talking with your workers about working safely during the coronavirus outbreak May 2020

• Freight Transport

Association / CILT

COVID-19 Good Practice Guide for Logistics Operations May 2020 • V1

• Food Standards

ScotlandCOVID- 19 Guidance for food business operators and their employees

• NI Food Industry Northern Ireland Food Industry Guidance : Best Practice Covid-19

• Construction

Leadership Council

Protecting Your Workforce During Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Questions