14 Apr SK Collaborative COVID-19 Update and Response
The safety of our employees, clients, and project teams are our top priorities. As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, we are taking every precaution to ensure the continued health of our team and those we serve.
SK Collaborative has developed a set of guidelines that go above the minimum protective measures recommended for preventing COVID-19 exposure. Below are the key steps we are taking to minimize our risk of transmission and exposure in order to maintain the safest possible workplace environment as we continue to provide essential services.
Employee Safety
While there are currently no confirmed COVID-19 cases among our staff, we are actively encouraging employees to prioritize personal health and wellness both within and outside of work. Our expanded sick leave policy, which incorporates COVID-19 federal standards, will allow affected employees to self-quarantine without any loss of income.
Sick employees are strictly prohibited from engaging in any on-site work. Healthy employees that do engage in physical site inspections are fully equipped with protective gear, including reusable respiratory equipment. Most other company operations now occur remotely to prevent employee contact while assuring continuity of business operations.
On-Site Inspections
[Updated 6/29/2020]
For occupied apartments or homes, we have adopted the following policy in an effort to keep both employees and residents safe:
- Property management/GC will confirm that residents of units to be tested are not experiencing any COVID–19 systems (fever, cough, etc.) nor have been recently positively diagnosed.
- Occupied units will be vacated between 8:30 AM and 5 PM on testing days.
- At 8:30 AM, the property management team will enter the units to make sure they have been vacated and will open windows, turn on exhaust ventilation fans, and make sure the HVAC system is operating.
- SK Collaborative will test units between 12:30 PM and 5 PM.
For new construction, all contractors must share their COVID-19 safety policies with SK Collaborative for review before future inspections are scheduled. As part of this review, we are requiring that contractors and subcontractors adhere to the following procedures:
- Maintain minimum 6’ distance from SK Collaborative team members during meetings and inspections.
- Avoid all physical contact including fist bumps, elbow bumps, and handshakes.
- Prohibit any workers in inspected areas during walkthroughs.
- Provide adequate lighting in all areas to be inspected.
- Limit any site meetings to fewer than 10 people, held in open, well ventilated areas with adequate area to maintain 6’ social distance between attendees.
In addition, we have implemented a Respiratory Protection and Exposure Prevention Program, which includes OSHA recommended steps for staff safety practices. We have secured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all of our staff and have provided respirator face masks for site inspections. As a part of this program, employees are required to participate in a medical exam, as well as training in proper use of respirators, gloves, and other equipment.
Remote Inspections
We have developed a remote video inspection process that we will use on a limited basis on projects where we have completed successful field inspections. These inspections will require a project team member to use FaceTime or Google Duo to share real-time video with SK Collaborative. SK Collaborative’s verifier will guide the onsite personnel through all areas requiring inspection.
Note that we are not able to guarantee that a project will pass a remote inspection and be approved to proceed with cover up.
Communications
Considering the dynamic nature of COVID-19, we want to maintain open communications with all our projects so that we can manage our workload effectively. We are regularly monitoring the situation and are ready to adjust to changing circumstances. Our clients will continue to be updated on any changes in our availability as we work diligently to avoid any delays.
We appreciate your support in our collective efforts to promote safety across all projects. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these policy updates, please do not hesitate to reach out to us or another member of our team.
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