Tuesday 23 February 2021

International recommendations for COVID-19 workplace safety



 

A new ISO standard has been issued, looking at the impact of maintaining business operations in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The reference for the standard is ISO/PAS 45005:2020, and it is titled ‘Occupational health and safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic’.

 

The standard is multi-industry and the focus is with providing guidance to firms for taking effective action to protect workers and other relevant interested parties from the risks related to the novel coronavirus.

 

There are two key principles to the document:

 

Reasonable measures must be undertaken by employers to manage the risks arising from COVID-19 are, or will be, implemented to protect the health and safety of workers and visitors;

 

Workers should not be required to work unless appropriate measures have been implemented.

 

Central to these principles is with protecting the physical and mental health of workers, be they at the workplace facility, on the road, or working remotely at home.

 

Tim Sandle has written a review of the standard, looking at the pertinent points and considering the gaps. The reference is:

 

Sandle, T. (2021) International recommendations for COVID-19 workplace safety, IVT Network, at: https://www.ivtnetwork.com/article/international-recommendations-covid-19-workplace-safety


 

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)

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