Your COVID-19 plan should be the recipe for success.
I have performed third party environmental, health & safety audits around the world. I’ve also provided consultative services. In today’s world of COVID-19, the same rules still apply for success. It all boils down to having a recipe and following it. I often find it frustrating when I see instances where I know a company has a “recipe” for addressing COVID-19, but a management team is not following that “recipe.”
First off, an organization should have a written plan, or “recipe.” Think of your plan as the recipe for a favorite dish. This plan will include protocols for health screenings for employees, visitors and guests, along with cleaning & sanitizing protocols, physical distancing, contact with local health officials, contact notification, etc. The plan describes what you’re going to do, how, where, etc.
Secondly, an organization must follow the plan. If you do not follow the recipe, the dish probably won’t turn out as you had wished, especially if you leave something out. In the world of EHS and COVID-19, if your recipe is not being followed, someone could get sick or badly hurt. In cooking, a soup may not have enough flavo,r or the bread may not rise if the recipe is not followed.
Thirdly, you should validate your plan. Does it have all of the pieces? A cook or chef will probably double check the recipe to make sure nothing has been left out, and that a new recipe tastes “right” before serving it to guests or putting it onto a menu. A third-party review of your plan will be helpful. My mother used to get the magazine Better Homes & Gardens. You’d better believe they tested every recipe in an issues several times before it was published!
Finally, you should check to see everything is as it should be. In cooking, a chef would probably do a quick taste test, but sometimes the appearance of a dish will suffice. For an EHS or COVID-19 plan, it should be checked. Are managers making sure employees are following the plan? Are managers in far-flung locations following the plan? That is why I was conducting third-party audits around the world–to help my client’s corporate management teams confirm their locations were following the plan, the “recipe,” if you will.
There’s a reason a McDonald’s burger in Peoria tastes the same as one in Paris. It does not happen by chance. They follow the recipe. Do you?
We can help you with things like your recipe for COVID-19 safety. We can also help you with Best Practices Assessments. Click on this link for additional information, or email us directly at info@qp3ergosystems.com.
