At United Drywall and United Home Interiors the health and well-being of our staff and clients is of utmost concern. We as a group of companies have enacted rigid standards to maintain the safety of our workers and by extension our business partners and community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protocols, which include prevention, detection, and response measures are designed to minimize the impacts of the crisis. The protocols established are specifically intended to:
- Prioritize the health and safety of workers and by extension, the construction sites;
- Apply recommendations and best practices from federal, provincial and municipal Public Health
- Authorities to construction site procedures;
- Establish and maintain a common COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan across our companies; and
- Foster open communication amongst stakeholders and ensure a respectful work environment.
Therefore, all workers have been trained to exercise the following recommended practices for reducing the risk of transmission as identified by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Health Canada, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;
- When coughing or sneezing:
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand;
- Dispose of any tissues you have used as soon as possible in a lined waste basket and wash your hands afterwards;
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces, including all reusable PPE;
- Do not share personal items or supplies such as phones, pens, notebooks, PPE, etc.;
- Avoid common physical greetings, such as handshakes;
- Maintain a minimum physical distance of two metres from others, when situations arise that require working less than 2 meters from others, PPE must be used; and
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the washroom, when preparing food, and after blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If hands are not visibly soiled, and soap and water are unavailable, alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used.
- Workers feeling under the weather or displaying any signs of cold or flu must stay home and self-isolate until the cause of their illness is determined. If COVID-19 is diagnosed appropriate AHS measures to apply.
Additionally, United Drywall and its subsidiaries will be tracking employee’s whereabouts and health status’ very closely to ensure continued peace of mind for clients. Measure to ensure this include:
- Detailed tracking of worker’s status on-site and off-site are maintained at all time (e.g., fit to work, sick, offwork for family caring duties, etc.). A list of all quarantined workers is updated daily, with their privacy maintained.
- Wherever possible, workers travel to site using individual modes of transportation (e.g., personal vehicle or bicycle). Additional parking arrangements are made as required.
- All non-essential individuals are not permitted access to the site.
As the situation related to COVID-19 is can change rapidly. This protocol will be updated on an as required basis to reflect the latest universally adopted measures.