The role of an occupational health and safety professional is evolving. The emergence of the novel coronavirus has catapulted illness prevention into the daily discussions of every American household and workplace. EHS leaders are now no longer seen as “safety cops” or rule enforcers, but they are seen as leaders who hold the keys to information to stop the spread of COVID-19. The value of the profession is realized.
Outgoing President Diana Stegall discusses how the American Society of Safety Professionals is viewing this unprecedented time. Deborah Roy, ASSP’s incoming president, also spoke with EHS Today about continued efforts to ensure safety professionals have the best information available throughout the next year and 2021 to ensure workers feel safe at work and at home.
DIANA STEGALL
You have a background in risk management. You previously mentioned how safety professionals need to start thinking about risk and not just the hazard. Over your past year with ASSP, how have you seen that played out, especially with the pandemic?
Stegall: I think that with the pandemic, it’s an indication that this is an area that we need to be involved with because it is about taking a look at risk. I think it’s meant more of our members have had to look at risk than some had been doing in the past. I’m sure it’s been challenging for some, but we’re trying to be sure that we have information out there to help them as they’re going through the process. I still am a firm believer that risk assessment is the way we need to go. I think that’s very important now with some of what we’re seeing with the pandemic.
When you’re looking at the hierarchy of controls, it’s kind of interesting the way different outlets are talking about the hierarchy of controls, but not always in the right way. They don’t always get it right. But at least there’s a better understanding of it.
The thing that concerns me is that people will start to think that facial coverings are the same as personal protective equipment (PPE), and of course they’re not.
And even then personal protective equipment is lowest on the hierarchy of controls. You want to be doing the other things first—the elimination, the substitution, the engineering controls, the administrative controls and then you get into the PPE. It’s kind of interesting watching how that is all been evolving throughout the year.
What advice would you have for a safety professional regarding proper training in regards to facial masks in the workplace?
Stegall: I think the big thing there is recognizing what face masks are for—what they are and what they aren’t. They’re not to protect the wearer. They are to protect the people around you. If you’re symptomatic, hopefully you’re staying home. But if you’re asymptomatic, you could still be spreading the disease, through coughs, or just naturally even clearing your throat, or just different bodily functions that we have that can create air droplets. If we’re asymptomatic, we don’t know that we’re spreading the disease. And that’s something that we need to be sure that as safety professionals we’re communicating as people are coming into the workplace.
Let’s talk pre-COVID-19. If you do a hazard assessment and you determine that there is not a hazard from airborne particles in the workplace, but you have employees who say, “Because of the environment, or because of the dust or the coloring, I want to wear something.” There are guidance documents that are out there if people choose to wear masks.
You need to be sure that if [workers] are wearing them all day, that there’s a mechanism for cleaning them on a regular basis.
Because if someone is sneezing or coughing, that’s probably not good and things are getting caught in [the mask]. You can just provide that same guidance that you would provide if you had people who were choosing to wear some type of covering when you had done a hazard assessment and determined there was no need for respiratory protection in that particular area. The other thing is going to be reminding them that, again, this is not personal protective equipment.
The other thing that I’ve seen is when I’ve been out on my walks or out in the community with my facial covering is people wearing the facial covering, but they have it pulled down so it’s only over their mouth and not over their nose. There are going to be things like that we’re going to need to be aware of as we start to come out of this and be sure we have communication and a plan.
Please tell us a little more about the importance of communication during this crisis.
Stegall: I think one of the big things right now is ensuring people still feel part of a team. Even if it’s a staggered shift, and they’re still working together in a facility, there still needs to be a way of having the huddles and maybe instead of everyone gathering in one area, it’s more spread out or maybe it’s using some type of technology.
Earlier in the year, I talked about the changing world of work. I wasn’t expecting it to change quite like this so rapidly. But since it is, we’re having to look at technology to provide solutions that we hadn’t considered in the past because there wasn’t an urgency.
You can still see each other and let people know that you care. Especially as leaders withn the organization, it gives us a spot check, if you will, on how does it look like that person is doing? Does it does it look like they’re getting enough sleep? Are they participating? Are they allowing this to lead them down that rabbit hole where they’re just focused on the negative and can’t see beyond what’s going on currently? So that communication is even more important.
Now is the time to really be transparent and have that trust with your teams. One more thing—it’s false to say, you know, that everything’s going to be okay, because it may not be. We’re all probably going to know somebody who contracts [COVID-19]. We need to acknowledge people’s emotions and say, “I understand that this may be difficult for you because you’re working remotely and you have three kids at home,” or whatever that situation may be. It’s about incorporating that into the communication piece.
DEBORAH ROY
With a transition period going from one president to another, have you discussed any plans to continue providing the resources and education that safety professionals need at this time?
Roy: A big part of what we do is provide education for occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals. The COVID-19 challenge is really appropriate. It’s something that all of the U.S. professionals are dealing with now and will likely deal with sometime in the future. Their ability to assess risk is really important as part of identifying what needs to be done for employees to keep them safe from a pandemic or any other risk. So I think they’re well positioned to do that in the future, as well as now and the society can provide the tools in order to help our members to assist both the employee groups and their employers.
How can a safety professional ensure the mental health of their employees who still have to come into work and fear contracting the virus and also those working at home?
Roy: I think part of the responsibility of the OSH professional is to make sure that they work with their company to properly communicate the information that needs to be provided from a mental health standpoint.
In other words, what are some coping mechanisms, what are some things to keep an eye on? What kind of strategies are there to reduce stress? All of those things are readily available and need to be communicated to employees.
They must also reinforce to employees what the resources are to them, such as employee assistance programs. These days with all of the technology available, they can even do group sessions using technology.
What initiatives will you focus on for the next year?
Roy: We have four pillars of our strategic plan and those remain the same. They are: Member Community, Education, Standards and Value of the Profession. The board of directors approved this plan through 2023, and each year the directors set key performance indicators to provide more detailed direction within the plan. This gives staff and volunteers a clear path to move the society forward.
The focus of my ASSP presidential platform for 2020-21 is:
1. COVID 19 Pandemic
Response OSH professionals are critical to the nation’s COVID-19 response. We are helping to develop the pandemic plans for our organizations. We are determining the job risks from the traditional hazards and also from the SARS CoV-2 virus. We are identifying the right controls for these risks based on the Hierarchy of Controls to keep workers and customers safe. We are providing clear and scientific direction to our senior leaders in order for workers to safely work in critical infrastructure industries or return to work at businesses that have been closed during the global crisis. My personal goal throughout the pandemic has been to support OSH professionals with timely, scientific and practical education so they can perform their vital roles.
2. Total Worker Health
Total worker health is a next-generation approach to safety and health. It holistically addresses the worker by considering all the impacts to workers. TWH explores opportunities to both protect workers and advance their health and well-being by improving the conditions of work through workplace policies, programs and practices.
An emerging body of evidence now supports what many safety and health professionals have long suspected: Risk factors in the workplace can contribute to health problems previously considered unrelated to work. I support TWH as an emerging topic that OSH professionals need to learn more about.
3. Value of the Profession
Safety professionals provide a competitive advantage to businesses in all industries around the globe. They add value to companies and influence the need to move from basic safety compliance to risk assessment and safety management systems, and ultimately total worker health. As ASSP supports our members with world-class education, standards, advocacy and a professional community, our mission is to help members advance in the safety profession. Ultimately this will improve business productivity and improve the value of organizations in every industry.
How do you think this will change how CEOs and leaders view safety and OSH professionals?
Roy: I think this is a great opportunity for safety and health professionals to actually assist their employers and for senior leadership to realize what they have in front of them. The fact is that as professionals do have the skills to be able to evaluate the science, and help provide good advice to senior leadership, I think this is a great opportunity for those of us in this field to have the visibility in corporations to actually help to protect individuals in the future, but also to get that visibility of the field and the individual so that career wise, they have the opportunity to move up over time.
Do you have any final advice for safety professionals as we go through this evolving situation?
Roy: What I’d like to say to professionals is to use this opportunity wisely. This is your opportunity to shine. This is your opportunity to provide the best, scientifically-based advice to your employer. And it also is an opportunity to use those soft skills and those business skills to actually show your senior leadership that you understand the business and that you can really provide appropriate advice that will help that business to succeed economically