
COVID-19 Risk Assessment
Essential to any future return to work from the COVID-19 pandemic will be the adoption of new working practices that minimise risks for the safety of staff, visitors, and clients. And SOA are here to help you do this.
With a vaccine unlikely to be available for some time if ever, the Government has made it clear that businesses need to operate wherever they can using a variety of safety processes including social distancing protocols and working from home where possible. It is essential therefore, that businesses need to start thinking about how they can be Safe to Open (e.g. in retail, leisure and education) or Safe to Work, i.e. COVID-Secure. This is where SOA can help.
The COVID pandemic has caused businesses to either stop working or to change how they work, with varying levels of success. Some organisations have learned that new ways of working have not had the negative effects they imagined, with productivity maintained and staff kept safe. However, there are still many tasks which can only be completed whilst at the workplace, and we are beginning to see businesses slowly reopening and struggling to find safe working methods whilst getting the job done. This danger is likely to increase as more organisations begin to return to normal ways of working. Therefore, a risk assessment (COVID-19 risk assessment) is needed to identify what systems and changes to the work environment are needed to keep people safe. As specialists in this type of assessment, SOA can help you with this. You can find commonly asked questions and a free risk assessment planning questionnaire here which considers key factors other than social distancing.
We are also offering short Virtual Classroom Training sessions using Zoom / Teams to help businesses understand what they need to do, what to consider when completing their own assessment and common mistakes and misperceptions that we have seen people making; hopefully this will help you to avoid making the same mistakes – see our booking page for details of dates.
Risk Assessment – the key to safe working
To properly identify what are the most effective health and safety controls at your own workplace a Safe to Work Risk Assessment (or Safe to Open Assessment) should be completed. There are some good practices already in existence (such as some supermarkets) and some which have good intention but are not effectively implemented; it is not sufficient to simply having a protocol if it is not applied. This is where we can help.
We can either review and advise you on the measures taken from your own assessment to provide reassurance to staff, or complete your Covid-19 risk assessment to identify the management systems and practical measures needed, using our Coronavirus Safe to Work risk assessment package which includes a range of services – you choose which parts you want and need.
See also one of our case studies which demonstrates how we can add value to your business.
How SOA helps with Safe To Work Risk Assessment
We will discuss your current arrangements and how best to approach a phased return or phased opening of your business, considering issues such as:
- Access and egress
- Circulation around the premises
- Shift start and end times
- Use of shared spaces (in multi-tenant occupations) such as lifts
- Access to welfare facilities and control of numbers
- Emergency evacuation (people can’t gather at an assembly point in most workplaces right now!)
- Cleaning / sanitising workbenches, workstations, keyboards
- Hot desking arrangements
- Provision, access to, storage and disposal of PPE
Our team of qualified health and safety practitioners can use their experience, knowledge and qualifications to complete a comprehensive Covid -19 Risk Assessment in all parts of your workplace, and then work with you to implement and monitor it by using simple, practical measures. In addition to their expertise we will ensure that our advice reflects legal requirements for a safe work place as well as the Governments guidelines. We will also reference the joint statement via the HSE, TUC and CBI to ensure a balanced approach to worker safety and productivity.
For those organisations who have a member of staff who is ready to return to work following self-isolation or suffering from the virus, please see our further advice and support, including a FREE DOWNLOAD of a fit for work (also known as return to work) assessment.