COVID-19 – Return to Work: Going from a Skeleton Crew to a Full Site

This is installment #9 of our "Stop the Spread" series.

P&I has successfully supported large industrial contractors during the recent uncertainty. We have supplied hand sanitizer, disinfectant, face masks, and many other emergency products as jobsite and office teams were reduced. Now that ramp-up plans are underway, our customers are looking at replenishment orders and the must-have items as more people arrive on site. Many of the best practices for your jobsite have been outlined by the CDC, and P&I can help make sure you have everything you need.

NOTE: Due to COVID-19, inventory status is rapidly changing.

Replenishment Orders

You covered your essential workers, but what about everyone else returning to work? As more and more workers arrive on site, they will be using soap, hand sanitizer, and PPE faster than ever! Be prepared for the influx of consumption with a restock order of disposable gloves, face masks, face shields, and disinfectant with spray bottles, rags and paper towels before everyone returns.

Must-Have Items

Over the past few months, P&I has offered several options to get hand sanitizer to your essential workers as quickly as possible. Now that you are expanding your workforce, you may need to look at some more robust options. In addition to providing personal hand sanitizer to each person on-site, prepare several refill stations with bulk pump bottles as well as hands-free hand sanitizer stands.

Social Distancing

With more people, there is less space to keep a safe distance. Directing foot traffic with barricade chain, marking tape, and custom signs throughout the site will be important for preventing the spread. Try to limit the number of people congregating in common areas and consider adding partitions where separation is a challenge like office trailers or fabrication shops. Consider creating multiple personal resupply points for PPE and hand sanitizer so workers don’t congregate in a select few areas when trying to follow guidelines.

New Routines

Equipping workers with the appropriate PPE is an important step. However, by applying engineering controls or administrative controls, as recommended by OSHA, you will have a greater chance of preventing contamination by removing it instead of avoiding it. Designating a cleaning crew to regularly disinfect every area on site will limit the hazard. Make sure these crews are fully equipped with the appropriate cleaning supplies, like disinfectant from the EPA’s list N, and know how and where to use them. To minimize the amount of cleaning that the jobsite would require, consider limiting access to certain locations by identifying areas where workers should avoid congregating, and provide health screenings to everyone entering the site, per the CDC recommendation.