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COVID-19: Managing Risk of Exposure

The article provides construction contractors with essential COVID-19 information, emphasizing understanding virus transmission and symptoms, implementing basic protections like hand hygiene and mask-wearing, and developing comprehensive plans including pre-screening, social distancing, and employee education to maintain safe, compliant job sites amid pandemic challenges.

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, new resources, regulations, and recommendations for construction contractors continue to change and stack upon one another. For contractors, the pressure to maintain a safe working environment is higher than ever.

In this article, you’ll find critical resources from around the web that will enable your construction crews to stay safe, stay compliant, and keep building.

COVID-19 basics

To start, contractors must understand what COVID-19 is, its symptoms, and how it spreads.

The virus is known to spread from person to person through close contact: when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the respiratory droplets carry the virus to nearby people and surfaces.

Basic protection

  • Frequent and thorough washing of hands and/or use of a hand sanitizer with a high concentration of alcohol (60% or more) is essential.
  • Mouth covers/masks are highly recommended and must completely cover the person’s nose and mouth.

Contractors need a plan

The impacts of COVID-19 on a job site can be tremendous with substantial absenteeism and delayed/postponed projects. Contractors need to have a plan in place to prepare, prevent, and respond to exposure. The CDC Pandemic Flu Checklist for Administrators encourages employers to follow up after a pandemic to improve safety measures in the workplace.

An effective plan will include, but is not limited to, pre-screening, best practices, social distancing, employee education, and enablement.

Pre-screening for COVID-19 on job sites

  • Ensure staff, crews, and visitors are checking for symptoms regularly.
  • Discourage working if sick. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides a safety net while limiting the risk of spreading illness.
  • Use a questionnaire from Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) for anyone visiting a job site to fill out prior to entering.

Best practices & social distancing

Everyone within your business needs to participate in safety and prevention methods, from administrative staff to field crews.

Basic infection prevention

  1. 1.Wash hands thoroughly and frequently.
  2. 2.Use mouth covers.
  3. 3.Provide information, instruction, and training on the safe use, decontamination, maintenance, and disposal of any PPE provided, including washing hands before and after using PPE.
  4. 4.Encourage employees to cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
  5. 5.Encourage employees to stay home if they are sick.
  6. 6.Educate employees on how to disinfect at home.
  7. 7.Isolate employees that may be at risk to prevent further infection.
  8. 8.Understand how to stay safe when social distancing is not possible.

Social distancing

Contractors can implement social distancing (staying 6 feet apart) by:

  1. 1.Splitting up crews into smaller groups.
  2. 2.Reducing or eliminating in-person meetings as much as possible.
  3. 3.Minimizing contact during exchanges/pickups/deliveries.
  4. 4.Limiting room capacities.

Shared tools, plant, equipment, and work areas

  • Avoid sharing tools and equipment whenever possible.
  • If sharing is necessary:
    1. 1.Provide cleaning products and make them available as tools, plant, and equipment move around site.
    2. 2.Ensure all operators wash their hands thoroughly before and after use.
    3. 3.Ensure all parts of tools, plant, and equipment are wiped down before use.
    4. 4.Regularly disinfect phones, desks, offices, and computers. Shared use between these items should be avoided.

Enabling best practices

  • Make it as easy as possible for employees to follow guidelines and best practices.
  • Provide hand sanitizer to crews or install a DIY hand-washing station on site.
  • The National Utility Contractors of America (NUCA) has outlined a resource for contractors to use during this time, including:
    1. 1.Banning ride-sharing/carpooling.
    2. 2.Running training and orientations on COVID-19 on a weekly basis.
    3. 3.Establishing a touchless temperature scan protocol.
    4. 4.Keeping a daily log of all workers and visitors to a site.
  • Find more recommendations from OSHA here.

COVID-19 is a recordable illness

Contractors are responsible for minimizing risk to staff and crews. If a contractor is reported for poor practices, OSHA may investigate.

COVID-19 is a recordable illness, but it can be difficult to determine if an employee contracted the illness at work. OSHA is enforcing record-keeping when:

“There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related. This could include, for example, a number of cases developing among workers who work closely together without an alternative explanation; and

The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. For purposes of this memorandum, examples of reasonably available evidence include information given to the employer by employees, as well as information that an employer learns regarding its employees’ health and safety in the ordinary course of managing its business and employees.”

Upon receiving complaints, OSHA will assess the possibility of off-site investigations on a case-by-case basis. OSHA recognizes that meeting compliance requirements may be challenging with limited resources. During an inspection, OSHA will assess an employer’s attempts at meeting these requirements, which will play a role in the final citation.

If COVID-19 breaks out on a job site, contractors could face considerable financial and reputational damage. With enforcement in a gray area, the risk is higher than ever for the industry.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Contractors should be aware of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), in effect through the rest of 2020. The Act prioritizes the well-being of families impacted by the pandemic and places additional responsibilities on employers.

  • Employers must provide at least two weeks of fully paid leave to employees impacted by COVID-19.
  • Employees may qualify for paid leave for reasons including falling ill themselves or caring for a family member.
  • Employers must notify employees of their rights under the Act. This poster by the Department of Labor covers the details of paid leave under the Act.

With more regulations and policies in place, it may be time to look for a solution to help keep you organized. Require crews to fill out searchable safety forms and requests on a daily basis with Assignar Forms.

Stay safe. Stay compliant. And keep building.

View OSHA’s full guidance and recommendations resource here.

The digital solution

Assignar is the operations platform built for sub and self-perform contractors. As a cloud-based platform, your office workers can work remotely to enable physical distancing. Your staff can remotely access all training, certifications, schedules, safety forms, and timesheets.

The mobile app enables contractors to abide by the recommendations laid out by OSHA. Workers can submit their timesheets and safety forms through their smartphones. Each submission includes the time-stamp and geo-location.

Communicating job details, new procedures, and expectations are paramount in running your business smoothly throughout this time. Receive and share all of the important information in real time with Assignar.

Learn how other sub and self-perform contractors are using Assignar to tackle COVID-19.

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