Health and Safety

Newsletter/Blog 3/10/2020 - by John Fierick, Joffie Inc.

Being Owners, Managers, Team members, and Members of IWCA, Safety is always our number one concern. We hold safety meetings, Tuesday toolbox talks, and have our team members certified with the IWCA. We conduct safety check lists and even issue consequences for not following safety protocols. I often say to our teams “we want you to go home in the same condition that you arrived” except maybe a little more tired.

We focus so strongly on the safety of our teams, but how much are we focusing on their health? With the onset and speedy progression of the Corona virus (COVID-19), We have to broaden our safety mindset to health and safety. We are always concerned with our employees’ health. If a team member is sick we do not want them to come in and get anyone else sick. We need to take a much deeper approach as the reality of the Coronavirus is larger than most of us originally thought. To date there are at least 747 cases in 36 states with at least 26 being fatal. We owe it to our staff and our customers to not allow any kind of illness to pass through our companies or be the cause of it introduced into a building.

There are already buildings in my city that are implementing remote working programs as no non- essential individuals are allowed in many buildings. Other areas of the country have shut down complete buildings, several events have been canceled, and people are asked to not go out in public.

For those of you that focus more on residential, you may be experiencing this same sort of effect. Customers canceling service because of the fear of the virus being brought into their homes.

What does that mean for us? Potential loss of revenue

• Finding areas of work outside of your original scope with limited human-to-human interaction, keeping our employees working, and the company generating income.

Potential decrease of Staff

• If anyone is feeling ill, they should not be allowed to work.
• If an employee is infected or has been in contact with someone that is infected they should not be allowed to work for two weeks.

We do not want this for our businesses, or our staff.

Our company services commercial buildings only, no residential. Most organizations have business continuity plans in place for responding to natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, arson and terrorism. However, COVID-19 presents unique challenges, and many organizations are implementing or accelerating remote working programs to provide social isolation and limit exposure of human-to- human transmission of the infection.

Some ideas to help avoid contracting the corona virus, as well as many other illnesses

• Wash your hands often
• Use hand sanitizer often
• Disinfect frequently touched surfaces
• Avoid human-to-human contact if possible (shaking hands, large crowds of people, etc.)
• Avoid anyone that is already sick
• When crews return for the day have them wipe down their vehicle with disinfectant wipes and sprays
• Do not let anyone who is ill come to work. A sick employee needs time to rest and recover so that they do not infect other people.