Tracking the health of manufacturing employees, contractors, and guests has never been more critical than it is right now due to COVID-19. As the state of Michigan's workforce opens back up, following new rules and regulations is crucial to the continued combat of the Coronavirus. But with new rules and regulations, comes many unanswered questions about how the manufacturing industry can keep their employees and guests safe and healthy.
In this blog post, we'll tackle 15 answers to the new questions that those within the manufacturing industry have been asking. Along with this, we'll provide you with tips on how you can automate health self-reporting to enforce accountability and enable contact tracing through our new Health InsITe 365 application. Here's an overview of the questions that we'll be covering:
- Am I required to collect daily health data from my manufacturing employees?
- How can my company automate the collection of daily employee health?
- How should my company handle the collection of health information for guests and visitors (non-employees)?
- What are some ways we can enable contact tracing in the case of a known infection?
- Do we have to capture and log the temperatures of our employees when they enter our building?
- What is considered HIPAA protected data?
- How long should I store daily health data from my employees and guests?
- If I use the Health InsITe 365 application, where is the day-to-day health data stored?
- What integrations are available with the Health InsITe 365 app?
- Is there a contactless option?
- What happens during situations where funneled access is difficult to achieve?
- Is there a health data collection solution that can be installed and used outdoors?
- What are my notification options when someone fills out the Health InsITe 365 form on the app?
- Can I have a different daily health screen form(s) for different locations?
- How does the contact tracking process work with the Health InsITe 356 application?
Keep scrolling to read the answers to these questions.
1. Am I required to collect daily health data from my manufacturing employees?
Michigan's current Executive Order 2020-91 and recommendations from OSHA and the CDC do require that manufacturing companies develop a daily entry self-screening protocol for their employees and contractors. See the photo below for the recommended daily entry screening protocol.
2. How can my company automate the collection of daily employee health?
We highly suggest using our Health InsITe 365 app. With this, you'll be provided with a streamlined validation form that you can easily send to your team and guests to fill out before entering your manufacturing location. The form can be sent and filled out via mobile, tablet, or desktop from anywhere in the world. This leaves you with peace of mind that each person is declaring that they do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 while also fulfilling your requirement to collect daily health data from your employees and contractors.
Get started or learn more about the Health InsITe 365 App by clicking here.
3. How should my company handle the collection of health information for guests and visitors (non-employees)?
If you decide to use our Health InsITe 365 app, we can personally design it to have a different process for your guests (vendors, clients, visitors, etc.) and a different process for your internal employees, if needed.
4. What are some ways we can enable contact tracing in the case of a known infection?
Our Health InsITe 365 application enables basic contact tracing in the event of an infection. By using our application, you could determine who had potentially close proximity to the infected person(s) based on building and department tracking.
5. Do we have to capture and log the temperatures of our employees when they enter our building?
Capturing and logging temperatures of your employees when they enter your building may depend on your industry. It is recommended that you review the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Manufacturing Industry to learn more about what specific rules and regulations there are for your industry.
6. What is considered HIPAA protected data?
For more information about what data is considered to be HIPAA protected, click here.
7. How long should I store daily health data from my employees and guests?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to how long health data from employees and guests should be stored. The answer depends on several things, such as the industry you're in, specific compliance requirements, the type of data stored, and others. We strongly recommend you talk with your legal counsel and/or the governing body of any industry compliancy regulations that your organization must adhere too to determine the answer to this question.
8. If I use the Health InsITe 365 application, where is the day-to-day health data stored?
If you use our Health InsITe 365 application, the daily health data you collect is stored securely within your Microsoft 365 tenant. This is so that you control the data, and it does not pass out of your control.
If you do not have a Microsoft 365 tenant set up for your organization, we can quickly get that setup. Just click here to fill out the form and we'll get you started.
9. What integrations are available with the Health InsITe 365 app?
There are several integration options available for the Health InsITe 365 app based on your organization's needs. Available integrations include:
- Facial recognition
- Thermal camera integration
- Advanced notification routing (e-mail direct report)
- Additional languages
- Additional workflows and auto-actions
- Advanced Contact Tracing
- Line of Business application integration
- Visitor/contractor location tracking
- Additional reports and analysis tools
- Hardware integration (thermometer, temporal scanner, etc.)
- HR and employee list integration, including time and attendance
- Door access and badge system integrations
Click here for more information about the Health InsITe 365 application.
10. Is there a contactless option?
There are contactless options available based on your particular use case. Please click here to reach out to us for more information so we can discuss your given situations.
11. What happens during situations where funneled access is difficult to achieve?
For the Health InsITe 365 application (and health screening in general) to work sufficiently, it's best to have controlled funneled access into one or a few building entrances. That said, if controlled access is difficult for your company to achieve, click here to schedule a time with us to discuss your particular need as there are some different integrations available that may help.
12. Is there a health data collection solution that can be installed and used outdoors?
While there are solutions that could work outdoors, we do not recommend doing so, especially if temperature taking is required for your industry. Outside temperatures and weather, in general, can affect the accurate measurement of a temperature screening.
13. What are my notification options when someone fills out the Health InsITe 365 form on the app?
When someone fills out the Health InsITe 365 form from the application, you can choose to be notified by e-mail or by text message.
14. Can I have a different daily health screen form(s) for different locations?
Yes, different daily health screen forms are available for different locations. With our Health InsITe 365 application, we can create for you one form segregate data based on location, or we create separate forms for your different locations. The base deployment can also include location-based questions. Additional forms have a small up-charge. For more information, please fill out this form, and we'd be happy to talk with you.
15. How does the contact tracking process work with the Health InsITe 356 application?
In the event of a positive COVID-19 infection, there are several ways you could look at the data that you collected through the Health InsITe 365 application to help with contact tracing. At its most basic form, an Excel file could be used to review. However, the data could also be paired with other data visualization tools like Microsoft PowerBI to help present the data in a way that is most useful to your particular needs.
Click here to learn how the Health InsITe 365 application can work for you.
Creating a safe, healthy and secure environment for your manufacturing employees, contractors, and guests during this time is crucial to not only follow the new rules and regulations but also to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Is your industry prepared?
For more of the top COVID-19 resources concerning rules, regulations, and safety for manufacturing employers and employees, please click here.