It is early May, and this is the time that we ordinarily start giving you advice on how to keep your employees safe during the hot weather. In the past month, we have found that we are no longer in ordinary times. COVID-19 has changed everything.

COVID-19 shut down overview

Many businesses including construction have been shut down for a month or more. Many more are coming back to a vastly different workplace. First off, the business offices will be shorter on physical bodies as employees who can, will remain working from home.

What does that mean for employees in jobs that can’t be done from home. This includes construction, manufacturing, farming etc. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that employers lower the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace by:

1. Reducing transmission among employees
2. Maintaining healthy business operations
3. Maintaining a healthy work environment

Reduce transmission among employees

• Encourage sick employees to stay home and in some businesses check the body temperatures of employees before they start work
• Clean AND disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
• Encourage social distancing and proper hand washing in the office.
• Educate employees on COVID-19 symptoms, social distancing and proper hand washing by  communicating and posting safety signs and floor stickers that offer vital information in high traffic areas
• Make face masks, latex gloves and sanitizing cleaning supplies available to employees and encourage their use on the job

Maintaining healthy business operations

• Identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible for COVID-19 issues and their impact at the workplace
• Ensure that sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance
• Maintain flexible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for a sick family member or take care of children due to school and childcare closures.
• Review human resources policies to make sure that policies and practices are consistent with public health recommendations and are consistent with existing state and federal workplace laws
• Connect employees to employee assistance program (EAP) resources (if available) and community resources as needed

Maintaining a healthy work environment

• Provide tissues and no-touch disposal receptacles
• Provide soap and water in the workplace or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol.
• Place hand sanitizers in multiple locations to encourage hand hygiene (for more information about
• Discourage handshaking – encourage the use of other noncontact methods of greeting
• If possible, increase building ventilation rates and increase the percentage of outdoor air that circulates in the system

More on COVID-19 and the workplace

BlackHawk Industrial is committed to ensuring the safety of our workers and customers and to do our part to help contain the virus. Listed below is a list of our Blogs related to helping to prevent workplace exposures to COVID-19:

• Customer Information BlackHawk’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Guidelines for Decontaminating N95 Respirators
• Front Line Defense Against Workplace Illness
• N95 Respirators vs Surgical Masks
• 5 Ideas to Thank a Warehouse Worker
• How to Keep your Employees Safe During the Flu Season

Safety on the job, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic is a combined effort between employers and employees and BlackHawk Industrial is committed to working with our customers to help keep workers safe. Our trained professionals are happy to help you with any of your questions. We welcome you to contact us here:  https://www.bhid.com/ContactUs or call us TOLL FREE at (855) 610-1001.