Page 18 - Gi September2020

how to recover from disaster

Ensure the centres are effectively again, aside from some furloughed staff up to accommodate up to eight trainees
sanitised, at all times, and thoroughly repayments. We also owed it to our within a classroom that would normally
cleaned daily customers to find a way of reopening accommodate up to 20 trainees. The
Control the use of facilities such so we could continue to service their room was cleared of all unnecessary
as toilets and any common areas, training and assessment requirements. cupboards and shelving to increase
such that persons on site do not mix the overall useful space in the room,
closely together COMING UP WITH A PLAN ensuring 2m spacing between trainees’
Drinking water, other drinks and We aimed to reopen our centres, on desks. The following guidelines,
refreshments controlled to minimise a limited basis, from June 1. In the procedures and practical steps were
risks of infection weeks between early May and June 1, then applied to the trial group, with
Control access to and egress from we prepared our plans to reopen, stock the aim of delivering the course
our sites our centre with everything we needed, successfully and effectively while at
Ensure any mandatory documents configure the classrooms and common the same time ensuring the highest
are managed in such a way to the areas, update our risk assessments and practical level of safety for all:
minimise risk of infection when method statements to take account All organisations/trainees were
handed between individuals for of the Covid-19 risks to health and contacted prior to the course
completion and processing publish our updated documents and taking place
Ensure all persons attending the site communications accordingly. Having Agreement was gained for seven
are briefed of the increased safety done all of this, the newly configured trainees to attend the course
measures in operation on our sites, centres, revised guidelines and All seven were issued with updated
and that they understand the part procedures, sanitising arrangements and joining instructions, a safety
they must play in ensuring everyone’s supporting technology would have to be briefing, risk assessment and safety
safety, including enhanced training tested. Staff and managers alike would questionnaire ahead of attending
course joining instructions need to be briefed, trained and take our site
Ensure everyone has the appropriate part in the testing to ensure everything Trainees were directed to read and
PPE to wear for the tasks to be functioned as expected. Difficulties absorb the contents of the documents
undertaken each day and that it is worn encountered could then be addressed and to ask themselves the safety
Ensure everyone follows the and refinements made to any function or questions ahead of the course start date
enhanced procedures and guidelines procedure that required adjustment. If, in answering the questions, they
issued to them during the whole time had any cause for concern about the
they are at our centres safety of attending, they were directed
That we are informed of any current A course was set up to to contact us to jointly agree whether
symptoms, previous infections and accommodate up to eight or not they should attend
contact with individuals who have trainees within a classroom that On the first morning of the course,
experienced confirmed or suspected trainees were chaperoned on arrival at
cases of Covid-19, so that we can would normally accommodate our site through specific entrances to
take the appropriate actions to up to 20 trainees. The room our premises, minimising their access
protect everyone was cleared of all unnecessary to areas occupied by others.
cupboards and shelving to Each trainee was allocated a desk in
TAKING THE NEXT STEP the classroom, at which they remained
Given the above requirements, it’s increase the overall useful for the duration of the course, except to
easy to see the challenges we faced space in the room, ensuring 2m use the bathroom facilities, etc. Use of
to safely reopen our training centres, spacing between trainees’ desks those facilities was controlled to ensure
particularly when trainees, trainers single occupancy.
and assessors spend many hours and Before starting the course, the
days in one another’s company while group received a further safety
attending training and assessments. briefing from their allocated trainer,
It also promised to be very who wore PPE. This briefing reminded
commercially challenging to reopen the trainees of the increased safety
because our operating costs would procedures and requirements for the
have to be paid out of a greatly reduced duration of the course.
income from running the centres As part of this briefing, the trainees
significantly below capacity in order to completed a safety questionnaire online
maintain the required levels of safety. to ensure they understood what was
Alternatively, if we didn’t reopen, the required of them and to flush out any
business would still have all of its base safety related circumstances in which a
costs to pay, such as rent, rates, energy Part of the planning procedure had trainee would not able to remain on the
and utility bills, insurance, registration to include engaging with those first course that week.
fees, etc. Therefore not reopening few customers who had outstanding As part of this process, each
delivered up commercial challenges training and assessments they urgently candidate’s forehead temperature was
of its own. Grants and government needed to complete and that would be measured with an appropriate sensor,
help would only add up to about one willing to attend our centres during the and the results were recorded by each
month’s worth of base operating costs second half of May, effectively still in trainee within their own personally
and would not be repeated, meaning the middle of quite stringent Covid-19 completed safety questionnaire. Anyone
that in a month or two the business precautions and restrictions. displaying elevated temperatures would
would have to stand on its own two feet With this in mind, a course was set be further checked and a discussion

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