STRICT GUIDELINES ISSUED FOR IT & NON-IT COMPANIES AT WORKPLACE: DETAILS LISTED!  

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the lockdown in the country till May 3, the Ministry of Home Affairs released fresh guidelines which are strictly to be followed. They have also issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for social distancing to maintain in offices, workplace, factories and establishments.

Below are few measures that needs to be implemented by all offices, factories and other establishments: 

- All areas in the office premises needs to be disinfected using user friendly disinfectant, at areas like: entrance gate of building, office, cafeteria and canteens, meeting room, conference halls / open areas like verandah/ entrance gate of site, bunkers, porta cabins, building etc, equipment and lifts, washroom, toilet, sink; water points etc and walls and all other surfaces.

- For employees coming from outside, special transportation facility should be arranged without any dependency on the public transport system. While, vehicles should be allowed to work only with 30-40% passenger capacity.

- All vehicles and machinery entering the premise should be disinfected by spray mandatory.

- Mandatory thermal scanning of everyone entering and exiting the work place to be done.

- Medical insurance for the workers to be made mandatory.

- Provision for hand wash & sanitizer preferably with touch free mechanism will be made at all entry and exit points and common areas.

- Sufficient quantities of all the items should be available.

- Work places shall have a gap of one hour between shifts and will stagger the lunch breaks of staff, to ensure social distancing.

- Large gatherings or meetings of 10 or more people to be discouraged.

- Seating arrangements looked into on job sites and in gatherings, meetings and training sessions.

- Not more than 2/4 persons (depending on size) will be allowed to travel in lifts or hoists.

- Use of staircase for climbing should be encouraged.

- There should be strict ban of gutka, tobacco etc. and spitting should be strictly prohibited.

- There should be total ban on non-essential visitors at sites.

- Hospitals/clinics in the nearby areas, which are authorized to treat COVID-19 patients, should be identified and list should be available at work place all the times.