Members of the Sudbury business community were given step-by-step instructions July 7 on how to get themselves and their workers back on the job in a safe and healthy manner. The event was a webinar hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce entitled Safety Insights for Getting Back to Business during COVID19.
Businesses were told this will include adapting to a whole new regimen of health and safety procedures along with getting used to working in a cleaner and disinfected environment.
Speakers included health and safety consultants, a labour ministry inspector and a representative of the WSIB commenting on what to expect with regard to COVID-19 compensation claims.
Ayden Robertson, a health and safety representative with Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, said employers need to recognize the COVID-19 hazard and understand the risk it presents of causing respiratory sickness to employees.
He said the virus is being spread primarily through respiratory droplets or by people touching infected surfaces and then their own mouth, nose and eyes. He said employers will need to assess how workers might come into contact with the virus in their workplace and then assess the risk of infection, the risk of credibility for any business that ignores the threat the virus poses, as well as the risk of how it might affect the financial viability of one's business.
“If you’re not taking these appropriate measures that affect your workers and the community, as a business that does absolutely present a risk to the financial and long-term viability of your business,” said Robertson. “So it is in your best interest to take appropriate measures.”
Along with that Robertson said employers will be responsible to follow a hierarchy of controls.
He said this would include:
- Eliminating the hazard;
- Replacing the hazard;
- Isolate people from the hazard;
- Change the way people do their work, and;
- Use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to protect the worker.
Robertson said employers will also have to set up training meetings to update their health and safety procedures to adapt to the COVID crisis.
He said this would include training their workers on how to keep frequently touched equipment and surfaces clean, how to properly wear and maintain PPE and how to better communicate the new safety protocols to customers.
The Ontario government has additional PPE information on a dedicated website.
Robertson said businesses could also reduce risk by eliminating employee exposure to the virus by using electronic orders and payment procedures, by using curbside pickup, by screening employers and customers for any COVID exposure risks and implementing barriers such as plexiglass or face masks.
Another easy fix Robertson suggested is the well-known warning to avoid handling cash as much as possible.
Pamela Patry, another WSPS consultant, spoke of the need for employers to bring administrative controls up to date. She said workplaces will need to update their in-house health and safety policies for such things as safe working procedures, making social distancing a company policy, limiting the number of people in company vehicles, having cleaning procedures for company cell phones and two-way radios and even having a policy for the wearing of face masks in the workplace.
She added that in-house first-aid and emergency response teams would need to be brought up to date on new policies and procedures, and those workers would need to be comfortable with the changes, considering that extra risk might be involved.
Workplace harassment was another issue Patry identified and said workplace policies will have to be updated to take this into account. She said a person, even a customer, who continually ignores the rule to wear a face mask in close proximity to others could be the cause of a harassment complaint.
“Making sure that your policies and procedures and your staff are trained and comfortable in turning those customers away,” said Patry.
Another consideration, she said, is that some essential workers may be needed to work in isolation and so special isolation areas might have to be created.
“For example if someone does test positive or comes into contact with someone with symptoms, what are you as a business going to do?”
She said employers might want to improve ventilation in the workplace by having more windows open. She said employers might decide to have "a walking meeting" outdoors instead of having a group of people sitting in the boardroom.
Patry also advised that extra cleaning and sanitizing will be required and that such efforts will need to be documented.
Additional advice and comments came from Elizabeth Husk, an occupational health and safety inspector with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD). She said future inspections will have to take into account COVID-19 concerns and the provision of new information and instructions to workers and members of the in-house joint health and safety committee.
She said workplaces will be responsible for setting up physical distancing, cleaning and disinfecting procedures, proper hand washing procedures and new forms of PPE.
Husk said inspections would also look into screening practices for workers and whether the screeners are properly trained and properly outfitted in PPE. Along with updated training, workplaces will require new signs advising of new policies and changes.
Husk said inspections will also look into the methods and procedures for cleaning and sanitizing work stations, tools and equipment.
Husk added that despite the pandemic, employers and workplaces would still be expected to adhere to all other provincial acts and regulations with respect to health and safety in the workplace.
Also speaking to the webinar was Lisa Dupuis representing WSIB Ontario, the agency that administers workers compensation in Ontario.
Dupuis said WSIB is working to help businesses get back in the game through a newly developed “health and safety excellence program.”
She said the new program is a combination of the best elements of previous WSIB safety programs in recent years. Dupuis said there are 36 health and safety topics that can be used to build a new program suited to your business. She said almost all of the options are what she called “pandemic ready.”
She said WSIB has created a COVID recovery roadmap, with flexible options for businesses along with a safety rebate program. She said as companies develop health and safety initiatives specific to their business, they can qualify for financial rebates, something that Dupuis said would be attractive to a lot of businesses struggling to get back to work.
Dupuis also advised staying attuned to the agency website for updated information on how to deal with COVID-19 issues and even compensation claims involving coronavirus.
The webinar group was also advised that businesses that need additional advice for getting back to work can contact a WSPS duty consultant who would be available five days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
That person can be contacted at [email protected] or by telephone at 1-877 494-9777 (WSPS).
