Factory Resilience Guidelines - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Reassurance Network
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Factory Resilience Guidelines PURPOSE A factory that is re-opening after a period of quarantine will need to carefully manage the risk of infection to protect its employees and remain open. These guidelines set out the measures that need to be considered and managed. The guideline may also be used as a best-practice voluntary protocol for factories to demonstrate to employees and customers that they are adequately managing risk. Note that this document should be applied alongside any additional requirements issued by governments for factories to re-open and operate. © The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 1
1 COVID-19
TRANSMISSION
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is transmitted through droplets that are generated
when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes heavily or speaks. If you are near
an infected person, you may breathe in these droplets and catch the virus. You can
be infected if you are within 1 metre of a person who has COVID-19, even if they
have no symptoms. To be safe, you should stay 2m apart.
Droplets also fall on floors and other surfaces where the virus can remain for several
days. You can be infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your
eyes, nose or mouth. To avoid infection, you should wash your hands often, use hand
sanitiser, avoid touching your face and clean surfaces regularly.
2 STAYING SAFE
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Clean your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water and use a hand
sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol (see Appendix 2 for WHO Guidelines).
Avoid close contact with other people, staying at least 2m apart.
Wear a facemask to prevent water droplets from your mouth and nose landing on
surfaces or being breathed in by others.
Regularly clean surfaces with soap and water or disinfectant.
Try to avoid touching your face.
At home, don’t wear the same clothes and shoes you wore outside the house.
When entering the house, change your clothes at the door and wash them at high
temperature. The soles of your shoes can be disinfected or left outside the house.
Wash and sanitise your hands before entering the house.
3 PREVENTING FACTORY INFECTION
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Minimise or prevent close contact between people, at work and during commuting.
Wear masks to minimise transmission of droplets.
Train people how to wash hands frequently and use hand sanitiser.
Regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that people may touch.
Arrange training on the precautions to be taken to protect against COVID-19.
Manage visitors and contractors.
Prevent people with symptoms from coming to work.
Quickly identify and isolate people with symptoms.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 24 COVID-19 MANAGEMENT
IN THE FACTORY
The factory shall form a team of properly trained managers and employee
representatives that shall be responsible for developing and communicating measures
to prevent infection. The key tasks for this team are shown in appendix 1.
For larger factories, the team shall be supported by COVID-19 coordinators in each
section/department to communicate best practice to all areas of the factory on a day-
to-day basis.
The team shall meet regularly, at least once per week, and shall keep detailed
minutes of decisions made and actions agreed.
5 PREVENTING FACTORY INFECTION
BEFORE RE-OPENING
Ensure that all measures required for a safe system of work are in place
before the factory reopens.
a) Communication and risk assessment
Prepare communication materials in all languages spoken in the factory, paying
particular attention to migrant workers.
Consider which staff it is appropriate to bring back first and which can work from
home.
Contact all employees before they return to work to ascertain their availability,
fitness and willingness to return.
Require anyone who has symptoms (see Appendix 3), or who has been living with
somebody who has symptoms, not to come back to work for 14 days.
Send a briefing document to all employees, explaining the measures the factory is
taking to keep them safe and how to protect themselves and their colleagues.
Contact all potential visitors and agencies (security, catering, labour providers,
deliveries) and ask them to ensure that checks are carried out on all people visiting
the factory before the visit. Ask them to quarantine as per employees.
Identify employees who may be at a higher risk due to their age (>60 years),
medical history or the medical history of family members. Carry out a risk
assessment for these groups and implement measures to keep them safe.
Consider paying them to self-isolate (paid isolation) if suitable protection cannot be
provided.
Consider whether working from home (part time or fully) or flexible working is
effective and appropriate for any staff, to minimise numbers on site.
Contact your local authority (if required) to notify them of your intention to re-
open and to gain authorisation where needed.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 3b) Protective equipment and cleaning materials
Obtain essential protective equipment (masks, infrared thermometers, foam hand
sanitiser, hand gel)
Locate alcohol-based foam hand sanitisers at factory entrances and exits, in toilets
and in reception areas. If foam hand sanitisers are not available, issue each
employee with hand sanitising gel and make gels available in the above areas.
Note that hand gel is only effective if it contains more than 60% alcohol.
Locate mats soaked in disinfectant at factory entrances and exits, that everyone
can use when entering/exiting the factory. This decreases the risk of getting the
virus on the factory floors.
Thoroughly clean the factory using an effective disinfectant prior to opening. Pay
particular attention to surfaces that are regularly touched e.g. door handles,
keypads, production equipment.
c) Factory layout and organisation
Establish who will be carrying out temperature checks and infection risk interviews
when workers return. Consider briefing/training factory nurses, doctors and first
aiders on their role. Provide healthcare support staff with adequate PPE.
Consider establishing an area outside the factory where temperature checks can be
carried out every day when employees come to work.
Organise the factory layout to maintain a safe distance between workers, minimum
2m. This may require a reduction in the number of workstations or workers.
Risk assess the factory to identify areas where people may come into close contact
(washrooms, factory entrance, queues for the canteen).
Risk assess and eliminate any activity that may blow virus particles into the air
from contaminated surfaces e.g. the use of compressed air.
Take measures to maintain social distancing. Consider marking the floor with lines
2m apart where people need to queue. Consider staggering the start and end of
shifts to minimise the number of people arriving/leaving at the same time.
Consider employees not being required to clock in/clock out.
d) Safe disposal of waste
Set up systems for the safe collection and disposal of waste, including cleaning
materials and masks.
e) Quarantine and medical support
Understand the local/national procedures for reporting symptoms, self-isolating
and seeking medical treatment.
Establish procedures and train key staff (first aiders/supervisors/management) in
the steps to be taken if someone reports symptoms.
Consider contacting the local medical centre to discuss how to provide medical
assistance for people with symptoms.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 46 PREVENTING FACTORY INFECTION
IMMEDIATELY AFTER OPENING
The following tasks should be completed during the first day of opening.
a) Check the risk of returning employees
Check the infection risk of all people returning to work through an interview.
Establish whether they have had the virus, and whether they have been in recent
contact with anyone displaying symptoms.
Take the temperature of each person.
Checks should ideally be carried out by a suitably qualified nurse, medic, first
aider.
Refuse entry to the factory if anyone is high risk.
For anyone who has a high temperature, COVID-19 symptoms or has been living
with somebody who has had COVID-19, a 14-day quarantine period is needed
before they can return to work. They should be classified as sick and paid sick
leave.
Screen all visitors in the same way as employees and issue with visitor cards to be
worn inside the factory. Visitors must be accompanied by a supervisor or member
of management when on site.
b) Issue and wear masks
Ensure that everyone is wearing a mask and is aware of how to put a mask on and
take it off safely and how often to change it. This may not protect the individual
from catching the virus, but it does reduce the possibility of COVID-19 being
spread from someone who is infected.
A new mask must be issued to employees before they enter the factory; all PPE
should be free of charge. If surgical masks are not available, consider using cotton
masks (which can also be made at home) to cover the nose and mouth.
Risk assess the need for gloves and provide where appropriate e.g. when handling
waste or other high-risk activities.
c) Provide training on the first day of opening
Provide training so all employees understand the factory's epidemic prevention
requirements. Ensure this is clear and in all languages spoken in the factory.
Provide the same training for visitors/contractors.
Also train employees on how to keep themselves and their families safe outside
work.
d) Issue identity cards
Set up a system for checking all visitors for high temperature and other symptoms
and issuing visitor cards.
Consider issuing visible identity cards to people who are high risk because of their
age, medical history or the medical history of family members. Train people to
maintain social distancing from high risk colleagues.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 57 PREVENTING FACTORY INFECTION
DURING PRODUCTION
a) Minimise close contact between people, at work and during commuting
Encourage employees to practice social distancing at work, avoiding direct contact
and maintaining a safe distance from each other wherever possible.
Line up to clock into work 2m apart, or dispense with queuing/clocking in.
Elevators are a high-risk area for infection if people are in close proximity. It is
recommended that employees avoid using lifts and use the stairs wherever
possible and that the number of people in a lift is restricted.
Assign areas where masks can be removed e.g. smoking, drinking, eating areas.
Employees must maintain a distance of at least 2m when not wearing masks.
Encourage employees to walk, cycle or drive to work by themselves and to avoid
using public transportation as much as possible.
If you provide transport to work, ensure people are protected, i.e. ensure social
distancing by reducing/managing loading. Introduce a strict cleaning regime on
such transport.
b) Wear masks to minimise transmission of droplets
Make wearing masks compulsory throughout the factory to minimise the spread of
the virus.
A new mask is issued each day. Ideally a new mask will be issued every 4 hours.
Consider converting a production line to manufacture enough masks for the factory
and for employees' families.
Minimise droplets in the air by increasing ventilation in working environments.
Open windows and set the air conditioning system so it is not recycling air.
Discard used masks and any other PPE in a clearly marked bin or bag at the exit.
The bin should be located outside. Wear gloves when handling the bin which
should be tied and placed outside at the end of each day for safe disposal. Wash
hands thoroughly after handling waste.
c) Wash hands frequently
Regularly check that hand sanitiser dispensers are working, that there are refills in
stock and that all hand wash stations are clean and correctly stocked with soap.
Check that driers work. Set up a checklist and routine monitoring.
Review the number and location of handwash and sanitizer stations to ensure
everyone has convenient and regular access.
Hand sanitiser should be supplied at the entrance to all lifts.
d) Regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that people may touch
Clean and disinfect surfaces that people may touch e.g. doors and door
handles/buttons, furniture, toilets, elevator panels, clocking machines, computers
and printers, production machines etc. This should be done continually throughout
the day. Consider dedicating one or more people to this task.
Discard cleaning waste in a dedicated bin or bag and remove from the factory each
day. Wash hands thoroughly after handling waste.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 6e) Educate factory personnel on how to stay safe and how to protect others
Allocate at least one person to regularly research government/scientific advice and
to update communications as the situation changes.
Strengthen training by displaying educational messages about COVID-19 in the
factory e.g. TV screens in production areas, canteens, posters, messages on
entrances, leaflets that employees can take home to families.
Consider daily briefings where employees can ask questions.
There are many resources available on the internet. Research and adapt these as
needed.
f) Prevent people with symptoms from coming to work
Conduct body temperature monitoring for all personnel entering and leaving the
factory.
Communicate COVID-19 symptoms regularly so people understand when they may
be infected.
Strengthen messages that people displaying symptoms must not come to work,
and that they will be paid.
g) Quickly identify and isolate people with symptoms
Conduct body temperature monitoring for all personnel entering and leaving the
factory, using a reliable infra-red thermometer.
Isolate anyone who has an abnormal body temperature (37.8C or higher).
Employees with a high temperature should be immediately asked to leave, to
isolate at home, to contact a doctor and not to return to work for a minimum of 14
days.
Employees displaying symptoms should be paid sick leave.
h) Manage visitors and contractors
Locate someone at the entrance of the site to check visitors and contractors.
Provide this person with masks, goggles, a hand wash station and hand sanitiser.
Check the body temperature and interview all people entering. Deny access to
people with symptoms.
Make sure that visitors and contractors are accompanied on site and follow the
factory procedures.
Brief contract companies (e.g. catering, deliveries, security) to follow the factory
procedures.
Minimise visitors where possible.
8 CATERING
Where there is on-site catering, additional measures need to be taken to
keep people safe.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 7 Employees need to wash their hands before entering the canteen and again on leaving
Regulate the dining time; arrange employees to have meals in batches to minimise
contact.
Avoid queuing and make sure that people without masks keep at least 2m apart.
People preparing and serving food and working on tills/payment stations need to
wear masks. They also need access to a handwash station
Ideally, arrange seating in one direction to prevent people breathing on colleagues
while eating.
9 MENTAL HEALTH CARE
People may be under intense stress during this period and may require extra
support.
Set up a mental health support person/team, whose duty is to pay attention to the
mental health of employees during the epidemic period and communicate this
provision to the workforce. This can be an external provider.
Consider setting up a dedicated mobile phone number so anyone can speak
anonymously to a third party or in-house support person.
In case of any employee who reports anxiety or other mental health problems, a
mental health support person shall provide counselling, inquire about the recent
situation of the employee, and provide appropriate relief and support.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 8APPENDIX 1
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COVID-19 MANAGEMENT TEAM
This team needs to include people who can make decisions and also those who are in
daily contact with each part of the factory, including contractors. The team should
meet at least once per week. A smaller management team must meet daily to review
the evolving situation.
Duties include:
Reviewing the guidance and adapting it to suit the evolving situation.
Ensuring there is enough essential protective equipment.
Ensuring the necessary hygiene is kept in the factory to protect employees and visitors.
Communicating and monitoring best practices to employees and contractors.
Making decisions about whether it is safe for workers who have self-isolated to return to
work; also which workers can work from home.
Approving the ongoing “open for business” status of the factory daily.
Researching the current community status and communicating with local government,
authorities and medical support.
In the event of any emergency, be responsible for connecting with the local authority,
government and the hospital.
NOTE: at least one person of the COVID-19 Management Team should be trained on COVID-19
prevention/precautions.
© The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 9APPENDIX 2 WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION ADVICE - WASHING HANDS Clean your hands regularly. Wash your hands with soap and water and dry them thoroughly. Use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if you don’t have immediate access to soap and water. © The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 10
APPENDIX 3 WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION ADVICE - COVID-19 SYMPTOMS The COVID-19 virus affects different people in different ways. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment. People who have underlying medical conditions and those over 60 years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and death. Common symptoms include: fever tiredness dry cough. Other symptoms include: shortness of breath aches and pains sore throat and very few people will report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose. People with mild symptoms who are otherwise healthy should self-isolate and contact their medical provider or a COVID-19 information line for advice on testing and referral. NOTE: People with fever, cough or difficulty breathing should call their doctor and seek medical attention. © The Reassurance Network 2020 | COVID-19 Factory Resilience Guidelines 11
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