Establishing COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols can help keep your workers safe, as well as ensuring your business continues regular operations. In addition to the following recommendations, evaluate specific job hazards and CDC recommendations to determine the most appropriate actions to take.
Require Sick/Exposed Workers to Stay Home: Prohibit workers from coming to work while they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or if there is a chance they were exposed to the virus.
Maintain Distance: The CDC advises avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people and maintaining a 6’ distance between people. Dispatch should use radio-based communication to relay information. Avoid the sharing of any materials.
Daily Screenings: Daily, supervisors should ask all workers and visitors the following questions:
- Have you or anyone in your family been in contact with someone who has tested positive or is in the process of being tested for COVID-19?
- Have you or anyone in your family traveled outside of the U.S. within the past 2 weeks?
- Have you or any family member been directed to self-quarantine due to possible exposure to COVID-19?
- Have you had any illness symptoms in the past 48 hours?
Is the answer is yes to any of these questions, do not allow a worker or visitor on-site.
Stagger Shifts/Breaks: Consider staggering crews and keeping the teams isolated from each other. By doing this, if an outbreak occurred, your business can run with unaffected crews.
Disinfecting: Properly disinfect vehicles during pre and post trip inspections. Refer to the list of registered products for use against COVID-19. Have technicians sanitize all commonly touched items before servicing. Provide cleaning products in trucks so that interiors and high-touch spots can be disinfected while trucks are on routes.
Hand Washing: Encourage workers to properly wash and/or disinfect their hands multiple times a day and avoid touching their faces. Provide hand sanitizer to crews so they have it while on the road.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE): Do not share any PPE. Utilize the recommended PPE outlined by the CDC. Depending on the type of waste being handling, additional PPE precautions are needed.
Communication: Post signage and continuously remind all workers of key CDC recommendations on protection, what to do if sick, and proper hygiene.