As we are quickly approaching two years of this pandemic, I think most of us would agree that we can now call this an endemic. We have witnessed the novel coronavirus evolve from March 2020 to multiple variations from Delta and now the latest called Omicron. Throughout this evolution, employee health screening evolved from the daily screening process, which consisted of handheld temperature checks and paper CDC questionnaires health screening. As the pandemic peaked, we started to see more sophisticated automatic temperature screening scanners and health screening apps. And all of this outfitting was to ensure that visitors and employees stay compliant.
Through the ups and down waves of this health crisis and plans for a safe return to work, the risk is still lurking; from variance that we cannot control to the turmoil of politics, people are still dying in highly developed nations. The question is, how do we fight the ever-changing coronavirus virus?
Flightpath Correction
Before takeoff, a plane has a flight plan, although pilots often need to quickly adjust the flight path for other factors that they cannot control, such as weather, wind, jetstreams, and tails winds. Back to work or return to work policies have changed significantly, making life difficult for HR and Health and Safety professionals all over the globe. Unlike pilots, workplace professionals didn’t have the buttons or instruments and the experience to change policies or directions quickly or easily as tailwinds of the coronavirus are still spinning.
COVID 19 Employee Health Screenings - Evolution
In Asia, they were not new to pandemics; countries like Taiwan struggled with the SARS outbreak IN 2003 and managed the risk of doing temperature screening in public places. America and the rest of the world soon followed suit when they started battling the coronavirus. Temperature screening quickly evolved into creating doing CDC daily screening questionnaires. These Covid 19 attestation screening processes were adopted rapidly in public locations and the workplace and kept on file for contact tracing capabilities in an outbreak.
As different hotspots were developing throughout the US, Organizations were quickly changing their paper and pen screening questionnaires to ask if they were travelling from one of those hotspots to assess the potential risk of that employee visitor or contractor.
We also saw policy changes very quickly from the federal government; at first, Dr. Fauci said we don’t need to wear a mask and then soon after, we were given instructions to wear a mask. More recently, the Biden administration is urging OSHA’s Temporary Emergency Standard (ETS ) some of the daily and weekly compliance monitoring for unvaccinated employees are going require additional resources for tasks such as:
- WEAR A MASK EVERY DAY AT WORK
- PROVIDE A NEGATIVE COVID TEST WEEKLY
Some of these new change’s present additional challenges for HR, health and safety professionals as to:
- Who will these compliance standards will be maintained?
- Who will ensure these individuals are coming into the office wearing a mask properly?
- Who is going to validate and manage employees’ damaging Covid results documents?
The facts are, the coronavirus is evolving, and so are the Health and safety policies that need constant updating. An intelligent Central hub like MyLobby devices at the employee entrance can act as non-compliant security radar issue alarms with email and text message notifications. Moreover, it will ensure a tool automatically updates these ever-changing policies. Much like the display boards in airports, quickly change the gate number of your flight. MYLOBBY smart compliance hubs or screening apps can update automatically.
Some of these new change’s present additional challenges for HR, health and safety professionals as to how these compliance standards are going to be maintained? Who is going to ensure these individuals are coming into the office wearing a mask properly? Who is going to validate and manage employees’ negative Covid results documents?
The facts are, the coronavirus is evolving and so are the Health and safety policies that need constant updating. Having a Central smart hub like MyLobby devices at the employee entrance can act as non-compliant security radar issue alarms with email and text message notifications. Moreover, it will ensure a tool that automatically updates with these ever-changing policies. Much like the display boards in airports quickly change the gate number of your flight. MYLOBBY smart compliance hubs or screening apps can update automatically.
Technology Automation = COVID 19 Health Screening App have evolved
Early on in this pandemic, most organizations were doing temperature screenings. During that time, we saw the demand for temperature scanners. Additionally, the market grew to have integration health screening app. Initially, MyLobby offered a temperature scanner that integrated with answering the CDC COVID 19 attestation questions all in one tablet. Eventually, this evolved to a Health Screening App right on you’re on mobile device. And if you still need to take a temperature, you can integrate your own mobile device by pairing it with a QR code.
The most significant value that a Health screening App like MyLobby can offer is the ability to change Covid screening questions quickly and dynamically. The endemic will require health screening questions to change at a moment’s notice, and when you have an intelligent device integrated with the CDC or local health screening protocols, you have technology this ensures compliance.
Before we first heard about the new Omicron variant, there were concerns about other surges spiking up throughout Europe. Therefore, if your screening questions were not updated from the travel advisory destination list, your screening system could have made your facility vulnerable to these emerging Covid threats.
CDC ‘S TRAVEL COVID 19 RECOMMENDATION LIST to these countries to assess the risk your workplace or other facilities need to know and have the ability to evaluate risk within a moment’s notice. Having a Health Screening App like MyLobby that is synchronized to this dynamic list from the CDC is like having the weather app on your phone that’s always updated at a moment’s notice. Your compliance team does need to update your COVID 19 attestation manually.
Tension Trigger = "Please wear your Mask"
A new phenomenon we’re seeing is the altercations triggered when individuals are requested to wear their masks. The tension is personal, political and ego-driven. There are plenty of videos online where you see individuals on planes, airports, and the workplace when they ask to comply with to wearing their masks. Today, some states still require everyone to wear their masks, and this policy has been reinstated as new threats arise.
Instead of having your staff being the MASK PATROL telling employees and visitors to wear their masks all day long, the MyLobby Compliance Hub makes it less personal and, more importantly, less confrontational. Your compliance team can turn on/offer the Mask detection feature if in your establishment masks are required.
In addition, AI Mask Detection well read out the command ” please wear your mask” or recognize if the mask is not fully covering your mouth and nose ” please wear a mask properly
Staying compliant - OSHA Audit
Ultimately all employers want to create a healthy and safe work environment. However, it’s not going to be an easy task when the demands from OSHA, especially the most recent ETS requirements, need to be implemented by January 4, 2022. The biggest challenge will be managing unvaccinated employees, which represent approximately 30% of adults in America today. OSHA recognizes this is a personal choice and allows organizations to maintain their positions as long as they:
- Provide a weekly negative Covid test to their employer
- Wear a mask every day at work
- Maintain social distancing
Managing the requirements of this list sounds reasonable, but it’ll be tough. Hopefully, you have time to do them every day and on weekends because keeping up-to-date with all these steps is not easy! If your workplace isn’t compliant, though? Then fines could reach $14000 per violation or more if they’re willful/repeated violations.
Imagine that OSHA discovered a violation and informed you of their findings. You could not prove that all compliance measures put in place are up-to-date with current regulations, so now what? Leveraging technology like the MyLobby platform can help fill this gap to stay compliant!
How does the COVID-19 Mylobby Employee Health Screening App Work?
Before entering the workplace to Screen, Employees and visitors will have a few different options to sign in. They can either sign in directly on the tablet or from their mobile. They will go through the daily health checks – Covid 19 attestation right on the health screening app. If they are unvaccinated, they can upload their proof of negative Covid test. Suppose they completed the screening process on their mobile device. In that case, they will be given QR codes that will allow them to pair with the MyLobby Tablet located in the employee entrance or main lobby to complete the Health screening process to validate mask compliance and temperature if required. If they are not compliant, it will send an email notification to their Host or to the compliance department.
All of the data health screenings entries are stored in real time on an encrypted server. It will display, the type of individual; visitor, employee or contractor. If that feature is enabled, it will also display the time they visited and a picture of an individual. If that individual is not compliant, it will also show the symptoms. Employers will also have the ability to report all of the entries. In addition, the add temperature checks are shown as a PASS/FAIL or the actual temperature on the backend of the Myobby system.
Finally, imagine your daily screening and employee for mask detection or a temperature check. If that employee is not compliant, a notification will be sent directly to the individual’s boss and the compliance person simultaneously.