Aimed at reducing Covid-19 exposure among construction workers, OSHA has created a new webpage with guidance for employers. The website includes a table that describes work tasks and their exposure risk level (from “very high” to “lower”), based on the agency’s occupational risk pyramid for Covid-19.
According to Safety & Health, the website also covers engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, and personal protective equipment. In the “administrative controls” section are screening questions employers should ask before sending workers into “an indoor environment that may be occupied by a homeowner, customer, worker, or other occupant.”
The website also has a section on cloth face coverings. OSHA warns that “cloth face coverings are not PPE. They are not appropriate substitutes for PPE such as respirators (like N95 respirators) or medical face masks (like surgical masks).
- Keep in-person meetings as short as possible, limit the number of workers in attendance and keep everyone at least 6 feet apart during the meetings.
- Make sure shared spaces in home environments have proper airflow.
- Stagger work schedules, such as alternating workdays or extra shifts.