COVID-19 Safety Support

Even though the pandemic is finally receding, COVID-19 (as well as colds and flu) are still with us and likely to remain. We must learn to live and work with the viruses  rather than hide from them. You will probably find that some adapted ways that you work have been surprisingly effective, and you will continue with them. Others have been inconvenient, but necessary. Moving forwards, what COVID-19 controls do you still want or need to manage health risks at work?

Please also see our Living with Covid guidance which can be found here.

Government Guidance

The Government Guidance continues to be updated frequently, and we continue to monitor this on behalf of everyone we support to save them the hard work of keeping up with the never-ending changes.  Easy access to the government website can be found here

Our COVID-19 Safety Support services include a range of remote and on-site services. We can help you to maintain compliance and reduce risk using flexible ways of working.

COVID-19 Safety Toolkit

We produced a Coronavirus Tooklit to give you free  COVID-19  Safety Support. This will help you plan and implement changes to your work patterns and return to normal working.  It is a free download and includes a number of simple checklists, including a COVID-19 Risk Assessment template.   Other ways we can help you include:

Remote Health and Safety Audit

Whilst most locations now allow non-essential people onto their premises,  you may prefer to limit who you invite in. There are sometimes cost and time savings by completing your safety audit remotely via Teams or Zoom.  This adaptive method to be surprisingly effective.  We interview people via camera link, share and review documentation. We may even ask you to walk around your workplace so we can inspect and observe using simple technology such as video.

Health and Safety Policies / Procedures

These are key documents which  explain your objectives and commitments; your organisational arrangements (i.e. who is responsible for specific objectives and commitments; and the corporate arrangements (i.e. procedures and processes) for ensuring health and safety is met.

Hybrid working

If you have changed or are planning on changing your work arrangements to a more hybrid format you will need a policy. The policy will explain your approach, your terms for working in a hybrid way and what is expected from your teams.  It should also specify if and what equipment and other resources you will be offering.  Hybrid working will require you to monitor production rather than presenteeism and this will need new performance measures. You might need to be more proactive in communication to ensure you all stay in touch. Regular meetings, 1-1 sessions and Team meetings will help achieve this.  Having completed several dozen of these policies, we will guide you through the process, or write the policy for you.

Remote Classroom Training

Remote classroom training became popular during the pandemic, and is likely to continue to some extent. It reduces travel time and cost, and enables teams to join from further afield when this may not have been cost effective before.  All your staff need is suitable internet connection, a PC/laptop with camera and a quiet room.  Our training is very interactive, using Applied Learning techniques which we are well known for delivering.

Sometimes, your teams will listen to an expert more than they would to an internal member of your team. If this helps to relay your safety messages effectively, then it can only be a good thing. All you need to do is share your processes and safety requirements, and we can put an engaging session together, including delivering it for you. A real bonus here is if a team member asks a particularly technical or awkward question – we respond accurately and clearly on your behalf.

COVID-19 Health Assessment / Fit to Work Assessment

The need for people who are extremely vulnerable or vulnerable to self-isolate no longer applies. However,  some employees are still anxious about mingling amongst large groups of people and naturally have concerns about their health and welfare.  Some employees will continue to be more vulnerable if they contract COVID (or any other virus).We guide you through reasonable adjustments and assessment of individual needs and we complete these on your behalf as well. We also have provided free guidance including a Health Questionnaire which you can download – this can be accessed by clicking here .

Vulnerable workers often come within the remit of the Equality Act , which requires reasonable adjustments to be considered. A personalised fit to work assessment helps to determine what measures are reasonable. See here for more information and a free health questionnaire download if you feel you can do this assessment for yourself. Remember though, we are here to help if you require additional assistance or would prefer to have it completed by experts.

Hygiene and Cleanliness Monitoring – An Essential Component to a Virus-Free Workplace

How clean is clean?   And how do you know that your cleaning schedule is effective?.  There is no specific test to identify the presence of virus spores on a worksurface. However, a good indicator as to whether your workplace is clean  is to test the surfaces of common touchpoints using bioscanning. This measures your worksurfaces and common touch-points and gives you an immediate reading. It can be used to enhance training for cleaners or to remind staff  about standards of personal hygiene. This service is provided by our sister company (Inhouse Safety Limited) 

Bioscanning – a quick and effective way to monitor hygiene standards

Good hygiene standards help to reduce spread of a wide range of germs and infections, including influenza. Infection Prevention & Control Policies have been part of the DNA of healthcare providers for years. This is now transferring into wider occupational spaces as organisations become more concerned about infection spread.  Effective cleaning and disinfection of surface touchpoints in a workplace can help to reduce transmission of a host of infections.

BIOSCANNING hygiene monitoring is a simple and practical way of checking your cleaning standards. Let us be clear. It won’t tell you if there’s a virus on the surface, but it will tell you if it’s properly clean. . The system is quick, the service is inexpensive and it can provide a number of benefits including:

• Testing the effectiveness of your cleaning regime
• Monitoring your cleaning contractors’ performance, and
• Providing reassurance to your staff that the workplace is clean as they return to work.

Professional Help at Sensible Cost