Client Q&A - What should I be doing to ensure my facility is prepared for a COVID-19 health inspection?

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Q. What should I be doing to ensure my facility is prepared for a COVID-19 health inspection?

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A. CDC has released a new Manufacturing Facility Assessment Toolkit. This toolkit is based on its previously released guidance for manufacturing workers and employers. It has been designed as “tools and resources for occupational safety and health professionals and state and local public health officials assessing manufacturing facilities” for COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

 

The measures in this guidance are what health officials will be looking for during facility inspections. The toolkit provides a checklist for manufacturing facilities to self-ensure that not only do they have all the necessary controls in place but that they are well-prepared for a health inspection. TAG has observed that health officials continue to be very focused on conducting inspections and mitigating the spread of the virus, especially now that there has been an upward COVID-19 trend in the U.S., with many states seeing their highest case counts ever this week.

 

For all these reasons, TAG strongly recommends that you not relax on any of your virus controls. (See TAG’s FAQs/Guidance for Employees and Business.)

 

It is also important to note that, while CDC developed the guidance, it has no authority over guidance implementation in facilities. Instead, authority lies in your state and local health departments who will be conducting the inspections. With some states also requiring manufacturing facilities to have a written COVID-19 plan in place, you also should be sure you are staying up to date with all the requirements specific to the states in which you have facilities.

 

If you need any assistance assessing your facility against the guidance or review of any gaps, give TAG a call to connect with one of our public health and COVID-19 experts.