Page 69 - OHS, July/August 2020

Now there is more reason than ever to provide each worker with his or her own personal fall protection equipment and other safety apparel.
make your policy to clean the equipment after using it each time, ensuring that clean gear is always available to the next worker who needs it.
Shared Equipment Policies
It has always been best for each employee to have his or her own safety equipment, to ensure that each worker has gear that fits properly and is comfortable for the individual to wear. Now there is more reason than ever to provide each worker with his or her own personal fall protection equipment and other safety apparel in order to minimize contact between employees and shared gear.
If workers must share communal equipment, cleaning the gear between each use before passing it on to the next employee is es- sential for safety during the pandemic.
As strange as it may sound, treating low-cost personal safety equipment such as work gloves and safety glasses as disposable items may be another approach to minimizing the spread of germs. These items can be cleaned regularly, of course, but it may prove more cost effective to simply discard inexpensive items at the end of a shift instead of investing the time into sanitizing them after each use. Think about what an employee gets paid per hour and
ask yourself whether it’s worth them spending 15 minutes cleaning a three-dollar item, then build your policy accordingly.
Other Best Practices to Follow
During the Pandemic
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Or- ganization (WHO) have provided general guidelines to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer with an alco- hol content of 60 percent or more.
Whenever possible, maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from other workers, even those who do not appear to be sick. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in set- tings where physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as on jobsites where workers must be in close proximity. These recommendations are especially important in areas of significant community-based transmission of the disease.
The CDC does not recommend using surgical masks or N95 respirators because these are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first respond- ers who are in frequent close contact with sick patients.
David Ivey is a Fall Protection Engineer for Malta Dynamics, where he oversees the engineering and installation of all mobile and custom fall protection systems. For more information or with questions, contact divey@maltadynamics.com.
Monitoring Solutions
Environmental Vibration Noise Air Sampling Dust Monitoring
Bluetooth Connectivity allowing for social distanced monitoring
Providing monitoring solutions for Occupational and Environmental assessments.
415 Lawrence Bell Drive, Unit 4, Buffalo, NY, 14221
T: (800) 366 2966
E: info-us@casellasolutions.com
casellasolutions.com
www.ohsonline.com
JULY/AUGUST 2020 | Occupational Health & Safety 63 4/27/20 6:48 PM
Untitled-1 1
Circle 41 on card.