Cal/OSHA COVID ETS. How can Employers manage and keep track of the new CLOSE CONTACT requirements to maintain compliance?

CalOSHA

Managing CAL/OSHA compliance for any organization in the state of California will be tricky and time-consuming with some of the latest changes inCOVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards. Specifically, the Close Contact Notification requirement to send out to everyone immediately will be very challenging. 

Thankfully, MyLobby solution can streamline the process with one CLOSE CONTACT button. MyLobby CLOSE CONTACT feature will send an email notification to any potentially exposed individuals to let them know they have been in CLOSE CONTACT with an individual with a confirmed case of Covid. Your email messages Will consist of Corrective action they need to take for these tags individuals to return to the facility.  

How does the California department of public health (CDPH) define CLOSE CONTACT? 

The Public health website they are defining close contact as the following: 

“a shared indoor airspace may be analyzed in several ways. Smaller spaces contained within a large indoor space that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls are not part of the same indoor airspace as the large indoor space. These smaller spaces may include suites, rooms, waiting areas, bathrooms, or break or eating areas. In these settings, an employer would determine close contacts by evaluating which employees shared that smaller space with a COVID-19 case for 15 minutes or more over 24 hours. 

Close contact challenge? 

So, if you’re not tracking people coming into your facility, how are you supposed to notify individuals that there’s been a confirmed case of Covid? Now organizations have a paper and pen logbook at the front reception. The problem with that is it’s very time-consuming to go through a logbook and contact everyone. 

 

Other organizations are leveraging their access card entry System. Not a bad idea; however, these systems are not tied with their contact information. Do you want me to go to HR and explore the phone numbers and emails from a different application and try to match them with your access card system? This approach could also take a very long time to execute a timely CLOSE CONTACT NOTIFICATION. Furthermore, this will leave a gap for all contractors and visitors who come into the facility. 

How does the CLOSE CONTACT Notification work? 

MyLobby has a tablet at the entryway that will capture all of your employees, contractors, and visitors that come into the building. Also, a screening questionnaire can be added in the workflow to ensure compliance with each individual entering your facility. Some of our clients like Nikon and GE incorporate their Covid questionnaires and also use it for contractors’ health and safety screening questions. 

It also has a contactless entry feature to expedite the process by enabling individuals to respond to those screening questions right on their own mobile phones. If they still need to take a temperature or print a visitor badge, all lady to do is scan their QR code on the actual tablet kiosk in the lobby.  

All entries are captured on the MyLobby backend dashboard. This is where we located the CLOSE CONTACT button. Pressing this button enables the MyLobby intelligent algorithm to kicks-in into gear the gather the individuals that entered the building within 24 hours as per California Health Department Requirements. 

Close Contact

Once the list is gathered on the dashboard, it Will sends an email notification to those individuals. An example of that email looks like the image below: 

Close Contact MyLobby Email

This whole process will take your HR or compliance team no more than 3 minutes. The CLOSE CONTACT process will take your HR or compliance team no more than 3 minutes to complete  

Cal OSHA is taking compliance very seriously. Any organization that does not comply or at the risk of significant fines over $14,000 per violation. More importantly, an organization with the capability of a rabbit close contact notification and minimizing Covid outbreaks keep their team members safe and productive.   

As of mid-July 2022 hospitalizations are on the rise in the state of California. The B5 variant seems to be causing breakthrough infections for individuals that have been fully vaccinated. 

To learn more about the MyLobby visitor and employee management system, click here to schedule a call with one of our specialists. 

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