It is my hope that you and your team are doing well in these times of uncertainty, and I extend my thoughts and prayers to those who have been impacted by the pandemic. Hopefully your local government is now allowing you to get back to business and service your customers. Now how do we ensure workers in the office, technicians in the field and clients in their homes remain safe and healthy? The answer lies in a 2020 playbook for your business. 

Now, more than ever, your company needs strict set procedures for working in the office, on job sites and in customers’ homes. The goals are obvious: keep everyone — workers and customers — safe and healthy, and continue to deliver quality installations and service. 

Your 2020 playbook should contain specific steps to be followed. Here is a sample playbook to get you started: 

 

Recommended Playbook for Companies With Technicians Working in the Field

The Well-Being of Employees

  • Confirm employees feel healthy with a questionnaire they complete and sign.
  • Consider temperature scanning to verify availability to work.
  • Promote handwashing often with soap and water for 20+ seconds.
  • Employees must wash hands when arriving to work, prior to getting in the vehicle and after returning to the shop.
  • Avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth.
  • Recommend employees change and wash clothing immediately when they get home.
  • Establish protocol for when an employee has a concern about working on-site.
  • Outline how a technician can exit gracefully from a job site and document the situation.

 

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

  • Provide 60%+ alcohol hand sanitizer; surface/equipment disinfectant supplies; masks and disposable gloves for every technician and vehicle.
  • Provide optional one-time covering of clothing with disposable gowns and booties.
  • All employees must wear mask when arriving at work and in the shop.
  • Technicians must put on the mask prior to leaving the vehicle.
  • Mask must be worn correctly: over the nose and mouth.
  • Wash hands well (20+ seconds) or use hand sanitizer prior to putting on gloves.
  • Once gloves are on, everything touched requires disinfecting (tools, laptop, phone, etc.)
  • Adhere to one-time use; dispose of directly in trash container or plastic bag when done.
  • Wash hands or use hand sanitizer immediately after removing gloves. 

 

Social Distancing 

  • Communicate via email or phone with clients in advance of a site visit. 
  • Wear PPE whenever on site and limit physical proximity to customers.
  • Practice social distancing, and try to keep a minimum of 6 feet of separation from others.
  • Cover mouth with elbow when sneezing or coughing.

 

Sanitizing & Decontamination

  • Wipe down door handles and counters with CDC-approved disinfectant before and after touching them.
  • Wipe down all equipment before and after working on it.
  • Disinfect and wipe down all tools before taking them on the job site and before returning them to the vehicle. 
  • After decontamination of tools, wipe down vehicle door handles and then remove gloves directly to trash container or plastic bag in truck.  
  • Use hand sanitizer prior to entering driver side of the vehicle. 

 

Attitude With Customers

  • Share with customer the safety practices being followed. 
  • Establish eye contact and ‘smile’ with your eyes. 
  • Announce departure and outline steps taken to sanitize equipment and customer’s property.