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Fleet Procedures To Minimize COVID 19 Contagions

Written By Emma Pauline Health Care Edited by

Key Takeaways

  • •Hygiene
  • •Social Distancing
  • •Sanitization
  • •Use of Disposables
  • •Fueling the Fleet
  • •Educate Your Fleet
  • •If an Employee Tests Corona virus Positive
  • •Local Restrictions
  • •Customer Interaction and Vehicle Usage
  • •After a Travel

With our heroes on the forefront, safeguarding us from famine and discomfort brought about by the scarcity of daily essentials, it is imperative to take compulsory measures that discourage the spread of Corona virus among truck drivers to wholesalers and the end customer there by.

Breaking the chain of the COVID-19 contagion can indeed be done with a myriad of preventive measures. Moreover, it is the right of every truck driver, cleaner or fleet instructor to be provided with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or any serious physical harm. This is backed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) General Duty clause. For most truck drivers, their truck is their place of employment.

It is the responsibility of every fleet manager to ensure that the fleet he leads is not contributing to the spread of the deadly COVID-19 in any way. COVID-19 is generally spread through personal contact or contact with surfaces touched by an infected person. However, with proper preventive measures, this contagion sure can be contained.

Matrack has taken an initiative to pen down all the measures our customers can take to prevent self-infection as well as spreading the infection ahead.

Hygiene

  • Always sneeze or cough coving your mouth with the inner part of your elbow
  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds as frequently as you can or whenever necessary
  • Sanitize your hands
  • Keep your belongings clean and sanitized

Social Distancing

  • Maintain at least a one arm distance from whoever you meet
  • Avoid physical contact altogether
  • Fleet managers should limit the number of persons in one truck to avoid crowding especially when transporting crews
  • Stay away from crowds

Sanitization

  • It is important to regularly sanitize all equipment like; computers, scanners, cart handles used to haul equipment, door knobs and toolboxes
  • Also sanitize the steering wheel, dash board and interiors of fleet vehicles
  • Foster the habit of cleaning and then disinfecting work spaces and frequently touched surfaces to minimize the contagion
  • Use an EPA-approved disinfectant
  • The novel Corona virus takes about 3 days to become ineffective. Therefore sanitizing after every passenger leaves a vehicle in your fleet is extremely essential
  • Make it a rule that every employee in your fleet will clean after themselves. Any trolley, equipment, surface, tool, etc. touched by them would be sanitized by them soon after
  • Take care that the employees from your fleet travelling with mini sized sanitizers can facilitate regular hand-washing

 Use of Disposables

  • Every employee in the fleet should wear a mask while on the go or while interacting with others and must dispose the mask once damp or ineffective
  • Ensure that drivers wear gloves while on duty and dispose the gloves with due caution once dirtied

Fueling the Fleet

  • As fleet manager, you should instruct your fleet drivers to use wet wipes to clean the fuel pump handle and keypad before punching the odometer and driver ID. In case wet wipes are absent, use tissue or gloves to touch the same
  • To properly clean out fuel cards as well, especially if the card is shared
  • To dispose wet wipes, tissue or gloves used during this procedure, before entering the vehicle

Educate Your Fleet

  • It is important that as fleet manager, you educate your fleet about COVID-19 with details on the seriousness and spread of the pandemic
  • Fill in your employees with updated information on locations and specific areas where Corona virus is spreading rapidly or is at its peak
  • Ensure that drivers delivering to locations reporting COVID-19 are briefed by a qualified professionals like; a health service personnel, health care providers or local public health partners
  • Ensure that your employees know whom to contact in case they feel sick while on the go

Drivers in your fleet could access latest information on Corona virus here

If an Employee Tests Corona virus Positive

  • If your employee tests positive, immediately have the vehicle he/she used cleaned and thoroughly sanitized
  • It is important to get other employees in closed contact with the positive employee tested or quarantined as well
  • Please note that HIPPA Act of 1996 (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) considers it a criminal act to reveal medical information without the employee’s permission

Local Restrictions

  • Drivers should comply with local instructions and restrictions while on the go
  • In case a local authority advises them otherwise in relevance to what they were going to be doing, they need to follow the local authority instructions irrespectively

Customer Interaction and Vehicle Usage

  • Avoid the handshake
  • Minimize driver interaction at service stations
  • If possible, make an interaction guideline on the procedure to be followed by a driver with the third party in case of a mishap
  • Allot a single driver for a vehicle in your fleet to avoid multiple people using the same vehicle thus hampering safety
  • Ensure family member of the driver do not use the vehicle from your fleet

After a Travel

  • Every driver, especially after travelling to an area where the spread of Corona virus is high, should monitor himself and conduct regular temperature checks for 14 days thereafter
  • Leave the doors and windows open for a while after completing a ride to ensure air flow in the vehicle
  • Clean the vehicle and use a disinfectant after every completed trip or during a prolonged stop

In order to protect your fleet from the dire consequences of COVID-19, it is extremely crucial that as fleet manager or owner, you commit to the safety of your fleet at any cost. Proper measures are to be implemented for protection against Corona virus and for the same. Fleet authorities can learn about Corona virus related employer and employee information here

“Together we can stop the spread of COVID-19. Stay safe, stay protected.”  Says Cam Smith – Matrack VP