‘Tis the season … for nasty viruses and infections! Cold and flu season is in full swing and that could mean big delays and impacts on productivity on your job site. Flu alone cost U.S. businesses $11.2 billion a year according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Fortunately, there are ways you can curb the spread of illnesses on your job site. Let’s dive in!
Get Your Crew Vaccinated
Vaccines are one of the easiest and most effective ways to curb the spread (and reduce the impact) of flu and COVID-19 on your site. And it’s not too late. While experts recommend getting vaccinations early in the season (October and November) flu season extends as far as April or even May. Ensuring your full crew gets their vaccinations in a timely manner can be difficult, so it’s best to work with a partner who can come out to your site and provide vaccinations to your whole crew at once.
Educate and Communicate
The second line of defense against illness transmission on your job site is knowledge. This includes having a clear process/protocol for employees who are experiencing symptoms of flu or COVID-19. Have this protocol in a written document and share it with all employees—and be sure to remind employees of it regularly. You may also want to conduct regular screenings—like temperature checks—to ensure employees are healthy when they arrive for work.
Beyond your specific illness protocol, make sure all employees are well-informed about the symptoms and transmission methods of common illnesses, including cold, flu, and COVID-19.
Encourage Good Hygiene
Educate employees about hygiene practices—particularly frequent handwashing—and be sure you have the tools available to allow them to follow suit. This means providing easy access to handwashing stations with soap and water or hand sanitizers. You might also outline a plan for tool sharing; encouraging and providing the materials to frequently sanitize tools that are often shared, for example. Finally, consider providing personal protective equipment (PPE) on site—including face masks.
Employ Physical Distancing
Even post-pandemic, physical distancing is still a tactic you can use at the height of cold and flu season to mitigate the spread of illness. While physical proximity of team members during some construction tasks is unavoidable, efforts should be made to maintain physical distance whenever possible. Plan workspaces to allow for adequate distancing between workers and use staggered shifts or breaks to reduce the number of people in common areas simultaneously. This practice is particularly crucial in enclosed spaces where ventilation may be limited.
Clean and Sanitize
Just as you’ll want to sanitize shared tools, make sure you maintain a clean and sanitized work environment. On a construction site, this will usually be any common areas like break rooms, dining areas, etc. And don’t forget about the interior surfaces of heavy equipment. Provide workers with access to cleaning supplies, such as disinfectant wipes, and encourage them to clean their workstations regularly.
Have a Plan
Even with the best efforts, the occasional outbreak of cold, flu or COVID on your job site is unavoidable. The key in this case is to have a proactive plan ahead of time. Think through and answer the following questions:
- How can you adjust processes when several key employees are out sick?
- Who are the “backups” for certain jobs/responsibilities if someone is sick?
- Do you have access to temporary or contract labor to fill in gaps for sick team members?
- What, if any, wiggle room do you have in timelines should an outbreak of illness impact productivity?
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Construction job sites can be hotspots for the transmission of illnesses, but with strategic planning and a commitment to health and safety, the risks can be significantly mitigated. By educating, communicating, and implementing proactive measures, leadership can create a safer working environment for their teams, ensuring both individual well-being and the successful completion of projects.
For on-the-job health needs, injuries or illnesses, rely on On Site Medical. With services like dispatched, on-site care and vaccinations, dedicated job-site clinics, and off-site urgent care clinics, we’ll help keep your crew healthy—while mitigating costs and liability for your business. Enroll today!