Tips For Creating A COVID-19 Response Plan For Contractors

Just like everyone else, contractors have deeply felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On top of their legitimate concerns about their contractors insurance policies, contractors have also had to deal with fewer jobs, as the fear of contracting the coronavirus forced people to shelve any plans of getting their roofs fixed, their plumbing inspected, or their homes remodeled.

However, the last few months have seen the reopening of the economy. People are now becoming more open to hiring contractors to do home repairs or construction work. Home professionals have even seen a 58 percent increase in U.S. project leads despite an ongoing pandemic.

The contracting business may be doing well considering the situation, but contractors still need to develop a COVID-19 response plan.

If you’re a contractor and you don’t have a COVID-19 response plan just yet, here are some tips that will help you create one.

What A COVID-19 Response Plan Does

Whatever a contractor’s coronavirus-related concerns, a COVID-19 response plan will spell out the company’s policy when it comes to addressing them.

Such a document makes clear how a company will comply with federal and state guidelines covering COVID-19, ascertain the risk level of their workers, assuage any exposure concerns, and make sure their workplace is sanitized, among other things.

What Your COVID-19 Response Plan Should Contain

The primary goal of every COVID-19 response plan for contractors is to provide actionable guidance to all staff for the following concerns:

• Workplace cleaning and sanitation

• Wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs)

• Implementation of social distancing measures

• Hand washing and sanitation stations

• Response procedures when an employee is sick or symptomatic

• Quarantine protocols

• Timeline and requirements for returning to work

• Policy when dealing with clients

• Operating hours

• Communication protocols

• Work schedules

• Strict enforcement of COVID-19-related policies

Follow OSHA Guidelines

Major health agencies and organizations have all issued COVID-19 guidelines for everyone to follow.

However, when creating a COVID-19 response plan for contractors, it would be prudent to refer closely to the guidelines provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). After all, their guidelines are more specific to workplace safety measures in the time of COVID-19.

Once you and your team have drafted guidelines, policies, and actions specific to the work you do, condense everything into a single document, have management approve it, and distribute it to your staff.

With a response plan for everyone in your contracting company to follow, your business can operate more smoothly even while the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging.

More importantly, clients will also have more confidence in hiring you once you present to them the measures that your company takes to show that you’re concerned not only about the safety of your workers, but theirs as well.

If only COVID-19 goes away as the Spanish Flu did, we could breathe more easily and relax. However, while the coronavirus is still infecting people left and right, there is simply no substitute for strictly following guidelines, particularly ones that are outlined in your COVID-19 response plan.