COVID 19: Sanitization of Work environment
September, 2020
By PATRICIA ANGOUNOU MEVA
QHSE MANAGER KADJI HOLDING
Continuous improvement of Infrastructure and Work Environment is one of the pillars in the strategic plan of UCB. The objective is to ensure the protection of every stakeholder in the business. In light of this, quality of the work environment is a priority and has always been getting topmost attention. In line with best practices, high level of hygiene is being maintained for personnel, surfaces and manufacturing infrastructure.
SARSCOV 2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a biological hazard. The spread has evolved from detection in 2019, through the level of pandemic and currently at community transmission in our country.
The exposure to this biological hazard is associated with some health risk. The probability of exposure and infection varies with the extent of interaction with people at work or, out of work. The gravity of infection also varies from a mild sickness to a fatality.
We have added it to the inventory of risks and prevention steps worked out, to protect customers, contractors and employees.
Transmission of this virus happens through droplets produced when an infected person talks, cough or sneezes. A healthy person can get this droplets and virus:
i. Directly by close contact with infected person. UCB has made a lot of communication on this on social distancing of at least 1 meter and the use of face masks.
ii. Indirectly, by picking this virus from contaminated surface. The solution here is sanitation. The target of the sanitation is the hand and the surfaces. The hands do more contacts than any other part of the body.
Hand Sanitation Protocols Involve:
1. For every arrival, there is compulsory use of hand sanitizer at the entrance gates before touching anything in the factory. Footwear is also sanitized at every point of entrance to the factory.
2. At the entrance to all the process areas and service points, hand washing and sanitization is compulsory.
3. The sales teams that handle cash and other materials were provided with hand gloves and hand sanitizers to sanitize the hands after each handling of materials.
Surface Sanitization Protocols involves:
1. Door handles, access control devices, Tables, computers and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) are cleaned with disinfectants frequently, with respect to traffic around the device.
2. On continuous basis, the cleaning and decontamination of floors, taps and sanitary facilities.
3. Total decontamination of offices and facilities is scheduled for week Sundays.
In spite of total lock downs and diligent prevention activities, another spike in the rates of infection is being observed in some countries. The WHO has warned that the worst scenario is still ahead. Also, more studies are being conducted on the possibilities of transmission of the virus. A complete knowledge on this subject, will influence prevention practices and afford good control of the spread.