With the ever-changing COVID-19 regulations, and in light of the second lockdown, Inspire International has introduced a suitable and sufficient COVID-19 Risk Assessment to support commercial vehicle workshops.
COVID-19 has somewhat shifted the goalposts of commercial vehicle servicing, repair, and maintenance, as well as the associated risk assessments and new regulations that need to be followed. Inspire International’s Technical Director Harvinder Virdee believes the Government’s advice has been confusing and contradictory. He comments: “The new rules are fairly easy to implement into a commercial vehicle business but, because they are continually changing, it presents challenges for managers who are unsure of what is expected as the legal requirement.”
Inspire International has reported specific incidents over the last few weeks where they have been directly called upon by commercial vehicle workshops to carry out risk assessments following reports of positive COVID-19 cases. Offering a fast and efficient response, the risk management specialist has created its specialised COVID- 19 Risk Assessment, tailored to each business’ needs and requirement and, thus, preventing its clients from incurring any damages to reputation or profits.
Harvinder continues: “It is incredibly important that commercial vehicle workshops – where positive COVID-19 cases have been reported – continue to instil confidence and reassure their customers that, when they bring their vehicles into the workshops, they will not be at risk of the virus spreading from the vehicle to their drivers and businesses. This is particularly important where commercial vehicle workshops have VMUs at a customer site. Carrying out the required risk assessment is vital to ensuring businesses remain compliant during these challenging times.”
As experts in their field, Inspire International has adapted its risk assessment for commercial vehicle workshops to cover all the new requirements. Here, the experts share advice on how commercial vehicle workshops can remain compliant:
- Complete a comprehensive COVID-19 risk assessment, subject to regular and planned reviews and updates
- Develop a business continuity plan for COVID-19 cases (PHE or PH Scotland can close businesses if they do not provide the required track and trace information)
- Ensure a company track and trace process is in place, which can be implemented as and when staff confirm they have COVID-19
- Encourage all Directors (Sales, Aftersales, Finance, HR, Compliance) to check COVID-19 arrangements on a monthly basis and keep staff compliant
- Share the required information with PHE and PH Scotland track and trace – they will help businesses stay open if given the information they need in a timely manner
- Educate staff about the COVID-19 risk assessments and associated safety procedures – keep suitable records to showcase if your business is inspected.
Businesses which do not adhere to the above guidelines are likely to be at risk of fines. Governing bodies for health and safety, including The Health and Safety Executive and Education Authority, are regularly visiting businesses to check requirements are being followed and will enforce fines if not.
To combat COVID-19 challenges within the industry in relation to educating employees, Inspire International has developed a COVID-19 Return to Work module as part of its recently launched safety e-learning solution, E-Workshop. Covering a wide range of health and safety training solutions, the programme allows customers to undertake training remotely, with electronically kept records and refresher training course reminders.
