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i3 Continues to Evolve in Safety and Solutions
With Covid-19 the landscape continues to change for employers and companies across North America. Restrictions change as governments pivot with Covid-19 as they try to move us forward with solutions designed to protect all of us. At i3 International we anticipated some of these changes and started to build solutions to help employers and employees maintain a safer workplace. After all, the safety of our customers, our vendors and our employees remain in the forefront of everything we do.
With that in mind California OSHA has enacted changes which will impact companies in California. Those changes will be modeled in other places within the US, with many already taking place in Canada.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the standards that are now emerging.
Covid-19 exposure means being within 6 feet of a Covid-19 case for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or greater in any 24-hour period. This was also referenced by the CDC in their guidance issued on October 21, 2020. The link provides more information on Close Contact. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-plan/appendix.html#contact
Close contact defines areas within the work location where people may congregate such as meeting or training rooms, entrances, aisles, elevators, waiting areas and breakrooms.
Employees in California are required to help identify and evaluate possible Covid-19 hazards
Employer Requirements
Employers shall develop and implement a process for screening employees for, and responding to employees with, Covid-19 symptoms. Employers may ask employees to evaluate their own symptoms before reporting to work.
If screenings are done at the workplace, face covers are to be used by employers and employees.
Employers are to conduct workplace specific identification of all interaction areas (as noted above), activities, processes, equipment, and materials that could create potential exposure issues.
Employers are to evaluate potential areas where exposure could occur as well as reviewing means of ingress and egress for:
- Co workers
- Employees of other companies
- Members of the public, customers, or clients
- Independent contractors
Employers will need to evaluate existing Covid-19 controls and will need to conduct periodic inspections of their controls
- Employees are required to social distance where possible unless work requirements dictate that it is not possible
- To utilize floor markers and signs as visual cues, directional arrows etc.
- To stagger work times
- To ensure that face coverings are worn at all times (while inside) and masks are to be provided by the employer
Employers are to develop policies and procedures with added controls to ensure compliance.
Employers are to have an effective procedure to investigate Covid-19 cases and:
- Determine the date and time Covid-19 cases was last present as it relates to date of positive tests and or diagnosis-including when symptoms began
- Conduct contact tracing to determine the activities of the case and what locations were visited within the workplace
- Provide 1-day notice to others who may have been exposed
- Investigate any workplace conditions that could have contributed to the risk of exposure
- Identify and clean high touch surfaces frequently, handwashing facilities etc.
While this is not an all-inclusive list, it does sum up some of the key points and required actions on the part of employers.
i3 Solutions for building a safer and secure workplace.
1. Temperature Control, Facial Recognition and Access Control
i3’s fast reacting and reliable Ax-19 multi-functional device will be able to detect if someone is entering with an elevated temperature (fever) granting or denying access. People entering the premise will receive an audible indication of their current temperature status — whether high or normal.
2. Social Distancing
i3’s video solution (using Ai) helps your managers re-enforce your policy of social distancing in the work environment by providing them with real-time alerts and reports. With this data in hand managers can now take effective action and engage with the employees and customers in managing best practices with social distancing.
3. Health Pass
i3 offers a free COVID-19 screening app. A unique QR code is generated for your facility to be used in conjunction with a mobile-friendly screening questionnaire that can be filled out in seconds. This generates an instant access pass that directs the employees/visitor(s) to enter or refer them to management depending on their answers. This solution can be used for daily employee screening and/or to screen your visitors.
Contact our i3 team today at 1.866.840.0004 or via email at info@i3international.com and we will be more than happy to assist you.