HOW TO RESTART THE ENGINE AFTER THE LOCKDOWN

As India is
slowly MOVES towards a step by step removal of national lockdown imposed due to
the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been wide-ranging discussions in government
circles on what should be India’s strategy for an exit scenario. The Ministry
of Home Affairs from time to time has issued various guidelines for managing
with the Covid 19 impacts; Aarogya Setu App, state guidelines,mandatory wearing
of mask, social distancing amongst other 
elements in the fight against Covid-19.

With the
restarting of economy and life on the governments’ agenda,  various guidelines on ‘restarting’ India and
among these the most important one is to create Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs) to ensure that preventive measures are executed  in a systematic manner post–lockdown;  the other guiding principles are as follows:

• Guidance
  from Central Government, State Government 
  and WHO

• Protection
  of personnel and visitors

• Social
  distancing in travel to and from workplace and during interaction with
  suppliers and those in the distribution chain

• Business
  protection and continuity

• Implementing
  best practices for safety and prevention

• Introducing
  audit procedures to monitor and ensure that safe practices are implemented and

• Action
  plan in the event of persons feeling unwell at the workplace.

PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
OF SOPS

• The
  organisation should begin with forming an internal team of Covid-19 fighters

The Covid-19
team should comprise of a factory / warehouse / shop / office in-charge, human
resource manager, business supervisor or head of business, administration /
utility in charge, medical expert on site (or identify the nearest medical
expert and security personnel). In case of local market or mandi
operators, the same can be managed by the market / trade association or local mandi
operator.

• Prepare
  the SOP and plan for its deployment

Ground Zero: Online involvement of staff, if possible online training, to fight the
disease and restrict / minimal onsite interactions

Week 1: Framing the SOP; the company should get the SOP verified by the local
authorities or an internal / external expert

Week 2: Start operation as per government regulations; however, only staff who
have observed clear 14 days’ quarantine should attend the office; and only
necessary staff should attend in person, the support staff can operate from
home

Week 3: Organisations in manufacturing / trading or service should try and
achieve minimum capacity utilisation

Week 4: Entering this stage, and if all things go well and no additional
positive patients are identified in the organisation, then the capacity
utilisation can be increased by 20% per week moving forward, subject to
government guidelines.

The broader
framework of the SOP should cover at least the following:

1.   Identify the risk area

a.  Entrance

b.  Office meeting room

c.  Change room

d.  Canteen

e.  Shopfloor

f.   Restrooms

g.  Warehouse / storage areas, etc.

2.   Identify / implement the
mitigating measures

3.  Define the processes to be
implemented to prevent / report for Covid-19 occurrences based on severity

a.  If the locality is Covid-free,
then business as usual

b.  If the locality is in the
vicinity of an impacted locality, then business as usual with close monitoring

c.  Locality impacted and declared as
hotspot: severe impact

d.  Locality declared as containment
zone: highly severe impact

4.  Identify the person responsible for
implementation of measures

5.  Reporting to local health authorities /
municipal corporation or others

6.  Mandatory checklist for business continuity
plan post-lockdown to be implemented

7.  Regular monitoring, review and update of the
protocols.

(* Sector-specific
SOPs are recommended)

SUGGESTED ELEMENTS OF SOPS FOR SERVICE INDUSTRY

Client-facing
operations such as banking, insurance, other professional services, etc. should
consider continuing online / mobile servicing of clients where possible. Office
workers to include bare minimum staff required to run back-end operations. As
the risk and rate of infection drops in an area, officer attendance can slowly
be increased.

(A) Delivery of office supplies

• All
  office supplies should be properly sanitised for each material movement (in /
  out / transport)

(B) Labour / employee

• Social
  distancing norms to be defined and maintained

• Mandatory
  wearing of face masks at all times

• Disposable
  facemasks not to be  re-used, cloth masks
  to be encouraged

• All
  washrooms to be sanitised, at least twice daily

• Each
  employee’s temperature to be checked on entry

• Staff
  showing any symptoms, even a mild cough or low-grade fever, to stay at home

• Employees
  should maintain hygiene during transport from home to workspace / client’s
  place

• Avoid
  in-person meetings to the extent possible.

(C) Office setup

• Reduce
  staff movements onsite

• Work
  From Home options to be made available to staff

• Regular
  sanitisation of entire facility, including meeting rooms, offices, canteens,
  equipment, washrooms, machine touch points, operating panels, tissue boxes,
  hand sanitizers, seats and covers requiring human touch to be sanitized twice a
  shift

• Social
  distancing during lunch break, batch-wise option or similar

• Display
  posters promoting and instructing about respiratory hygiene

• Workshop
  / guidance on maintaining occupational health and safety

• Arrange
  seats so that employees / participants are at least one  metre apart

• Maintain
  log of names and contact details of all participants of meetings for at least
  one month

• Identify
  a room or area where someone who is feeling unwell or has symptoms can be
  safely isolated

• Create
  follow-up protocol for a situation where a meeting participant / staff member /
  service provider tests positive for Covid-19 during or just after the meeting
  in conjunction with partner healthcare provider or local health department.

(D) Travel / business trip

• Each
  employee to be tested before business trips

• Avoid
  sending employees who may be at higher risk of serious illness or where
  Covid-19 is spreading

• Employees
  should comply with any local restrictions on travel, movement or large
  gatherings

• Employees
  who have returned from an area where Covid-19 is spreading should monitor their
  temperature and other symptoms for 14 days.

(E) Dealing with clients and partners

• Social
  distancing norms to be followed

• Promote
  video meetings as much as possible

• Carry
  / ensure sufficient hygiene equipment such as hand sanitizer for all meeting
  participants

• Visit
  only those client offices who have complied with the necessary requirements of
  Covid-19 prevention measures

• Self-declaration
  at the gate and maintaining traceability and screening of persons entering the
  office premises.

(F) Dealing with bank / financial
institutions

• Make
  effective use of online banking options

(G)
Infrastructure for safety of staff / labour

• Surfaces
  (e.g. desks and tables) and objects (telephones, keyboards) need to be wiped
  with disinfectant regularly

• Hygiene
  and social distancing to be encouraged for canteens and accommodation usage

• Refrain
  from usage of ACs as much as possible.

The above is
an illustrative list and not exhaustive; additionally, industry / sector-wise
specific SOPs are recommended.

IMPLEMENT, REVIEW
AND IMPROVE