These are the measures that the Government asks companies to resume activities
Taking workers' temperatures, providing them with face masks and other protective equipment, as well as access to antibacterial gel and disinfected work spaces are among the guidelines published by the Government of Mexico.
The Government of Mexico published early this Monday the technical guidelines for health safety in the work environment, so that micro, small, medium-sized and companies can restart activities without compromising the health of workers.
The guidelines will be in force as of their publication this Monday and until the health emergency is declared over, the Government indicated in the document detailing these rules.
As part of these guidelines, companies are provided with lists of health security measures, which they must comply with.
“The checklists of measures summarize the Health Safety Protocol prepared by companies and industries for a safe return to work,” the document reads.
“Likewise, the lists are a tool that helps work centers evaluate their degree of progress and their return actions, as well as to correctly implement and evaluate the measures adopted before and during the restart of work. activities".
He explained that these are prepared so that micro, small, medium and large companies can easily identify the measures that apply to them.
Below are the actions that organizations must comply with to return to their activities.
In work entry and exit areas
Micro, small, medium and large companies
-Count on access protocols with sanitary filter that includes taking the body temperature of workers during entry and exit of the company.
In case of not being possible , determine body temperature upon exit from the facilities before employees finish their shift.
-Have guidelines for the control of visits, suppliers and contractors in terms of hygiene, healthy distance, mandatory use of face masks that must be followed when entering, staying and leaving the place.
All areas of work
Medium and large companies
-They must facilitate teleworking to people who, due to their health conditions, age, pregnancy or breastfeeding, warrant it.
-The Work meetings are preferably carried out by telephone or video conferenceOtherwise, healthy distance, respiratory hygiene, cleaning and disinfection of the place, tables, chairs and objects of common use are taken care of, before and after each meeting.
-They will limit the holding of social events.
-They must have daily cleaning and disinfection protocols of areas, surfaces and objects of contact and common use, which includes washing with soap and water, and disinfecting with a 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution or another certified to eliminate SARS-CoV-2.
-Have supervision or verification mechanisms of the compliance with healthy distance guidelines (technological, visual, documentary, etc.) that workers must follow.
-Monitor that soap and water solutions Do not mix with any other chemical product.
– Monitor that sodium hypochlorite solution It is prepared daily and is not mixed with any other chemical substance; If there are reagent strips for determining the concentration of sodium hypochlorite in ppm, the solution may be stored as long as it is ensured that its concentration does not decrease by more than 10 percent.
-Take care that the gel alcohol dispensers 70 percent have the necessary quantities per work shift.
-Check that the disposable towel dispensers of paper always have that material.
-Have the sufficient number of containers (garbage cans) at various points to throw used or abused face masks.
-Promote and communicate good hygiene respiratory in the workplace, such as covering your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
-Recommend to the worker that prioritize mobility options (travel from home to work and vice versa) that guarantee interpersonal distance, promoting the mandatory use of face masks and eye or facial protection during the journey.
- Avoid wearing jewelry, ties, beard and mustache because they are reservoirs of viruses and other microorganisms (fomites).
-That the workers Do not share cell phones, kitchen utensils, PPE, stationery, pens, etc.
-Establish guidelines so that workers maintain social distance from their colleagues of at least 1.5 meters, and in those places where it is not feasible, the mandatory use of face masks and eye or facial protection must be made.
Medium and large
-If teleworking is not possible, have staggered entry times, modification of shifts, flexible schedules or other action that avoids large concentrations of workers in the facilities at certain times and work spaces.
-In cafeterias or dining rooms, cashier, kitchen and wait staff must have their hair tied up and face masks.
-If there are no physical barriers, staggered schedules are implemented in the dining room, lockers, locker rooms, cafeterias, etc., to avoid crowding of workers.
-If the company has transportation for its workers, measures are considered that minimize the risk of exposure, such as: cleaning and disinfection of the unit before boarding the workers, determination of body temperature before boarding the bus ( If a worker is identified with a temperature equal to or greater than 37.5 °C, they will not be allowed to go up, they will be asked to return home, a record of their data will be taken to communicate it to the company's human resources and medical service area, who will later contact you to give health care instructions), hand sanitizer is given to workers when boarding the transport and the mandatory use of face masks and eye or facial protection during the journey is required.
-The code of ethics will establish Non-Discrimination guidelines for people who have had COVID-19 or have lived with a family member who has or has had it.
-Local or international travel will be restricted, if it is necessary to travel, comply with preventive measures before, during and after the trip.
-Promote through communications (written, digital or printed) frequent hand washing, respiratory hygiene, healthy distance, etc.
Personal protection equipment
Micro, small, medium and large companies
-The worker is provided with personal protective equipment according to the type of exposure risk factor to which he or she is exposed during his or her work day.
-During the time that the worker is not exposed to chemical polluting agents in the work environment, they are provided with face masks and eye and facial protection or a healthy distance of at least 1.5 meters between workers will be maintained.
-All workers will be provided with face masks and eye or facial protection, as permitted by the job. In those areas that are complex due to their size and distribution of equipment, minimum distances of at least 1.5 meters are maintained between workers.
-In the case of workers who have contact with the public, they are provided with face masks and eye or facial protection (the face or eye protector can be omitted if there are physical barriers and a distance of 1.5 meters is maintained between worker and client).
-All workers have access to water, soap, disposable paper towels, as well as 70 percent alcohol or disinfectant gel.
Medium and large
-The eye or facial protection given to the worker will allow wide visibility, preferably with side and top protection, and are anti-fog.
Training
Micro, small, medium and large companies
-They must have a training program for management personnel on actions to prevent and avoid chains of contagion by COVID-19, CLIMSS material can be used. https://climss.imss.gob.mx/.
-The training will be done in person, ensuring a healthy distance between workers, with the use of antibacterial gel upon entry and the mandatory use of face masks throughout the training process.
Medium and large
-The training and information dissemination program must include: healthy habits, lifestyle, family, support for the control of chronic-degenerative diseases to avoid complications due to COVID-19, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, clothing hygiene, healthy distance, do not greet with a kiss, hug or hand, etc.
-If technological resources are available, distance training will be prioritized.
Health promotion
Micro, small, medium and large companies
-Have a physical and mental health program for workers, referring to COVID-19 care that includes: a protocol for handling suspected, contact, confirmed workers and their return to work; as well as promotion, prevention, care and monitoring of health conditions in workers that can generate complications due to COVID-19.
-As well as an instrument to identify symptoms in workers and people with whom they have had contact at work and in the community.
-Have tools that allow identifying workers with risk factors for COVID-19, companies can use the tool in http://www.imss.gob.mx/covid-19/calculadora-complicaciones.
-Have guidelines to identify psychosocial risk factors, such as workplace violence, mental workload, organizational environment, etc.
-Provide facilities so that the worker can seek medical attention outside the company.
-Have an action guide in case a worker shows symptoms of COVID-19, with the purpose of protecting him, as well as the rest of the workers and their family, which will include: guidelines for handling suspected workers, contacts, confirmed workers. and their return to work.
Medium and large
-Carry out periodic medical examinations that allow prevention, care, control of health problems or provide facilities for the worker to seek medical attention outside the company.
-Have an action guide in the event that a worker manifests symptoms of COVID-19, in order to protect them, as well as the rest of the workers and their family, including: guidelines for handling suspected workers, contacts, confirmed workers and their return to work.
-Promote and communicate good respiratory hygiene in the workplace, such as covering the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
Planning and management
Micro, small, medium and large companies
-Have a committee or person responsible for the implementation, monitoring and supervision of the measures for the New Normality within the framework of COVID-19.
-The workplace is among the essential sectors listed in the first article, section II, of the “Agreement establishing extraordinary actions to address the health emergency generated by the SARS-CoV2 virus”, dated March 31, 2020 and the “Agreement establishing a strategy for the reopening of social, educational and economic activities, as well as a traffic light system by region to evaluate weekly the epidemiological risk related to the reopening of activities in each federal entity, as well as how extraordinary actions are established”, dated May 14, 2020.
-Have the health alert criteria identified (red, orange, yellow or green) for the location where the center is located.
-Define the actions to be implemented in the work center, considering the areas and/or departments that the work center has (offices, warehouses, customer service areas and common areas) and identify personnel in situations of vulnerability or greater risk of contagion.
-Have a list of emergency telephone numbers that includes contact information in case of health emergencies.
Big enterprises
-The Business Continuity Plan (BCP) takes into account the risk of health contingencies.
-The risk map of the workplace includes areas, jobs and/or activities with biological risks.
-The diagnosis of safety and health at work includes biological agents capable of modifying the conditions of the work environment that, due to their properties, concentration, level and time of exposure or action, can alter the health of workers, as well as the sources that generate them.
-The company must have an occupational health and safety program or list of preventive and corrective occupational health and safety actions for health contingencies.
-The Specific Civil Protection Program contemplates actions against health risks.
-The workplace must be part of a Mutual Aid Group that provides support in the event of health risks.
-The company's planning must consider health contingencies as a threat in the case of using the SWOT analysis ((Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or some other tool for context analysis.
