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Otter Co-op: Putting the COVID-19 safety plan in place

Published on: July 28, 2020

New safe work procedures enhance plexiglass effectiveness

Like hand sanitizer and disinfectant, plexiglass has become a prominent tool in protecting retail workers at the checkout counter. As an engineering control, the transparent barriers help shield cashiers from the transmission of potential droplets exhaled by customers.

Otter Co-op took it a step further. The Langley-based retailer — it operates grocery, pharmacy, feed, and liquor stores as well as gas bars — also implemented new safe work procedures for cashiers at the stores selling non-food goods. As an administrative control, cashiers are able to scan products through the plexiglass while customers hold the items up. Workers don’t touch any items.

"We limited the handling of the product, which we hope will help prevent the spread," explains Harj Sahota, director of safety and asset protection for Otter Co-op.

He followed WorkSafeBC protocols to craft Otter’s COVID-19 safety plan. "Right at the beginning we completed a risk assessment using the hierarchy of controls," he says. He also reviewed the resource Guidance to retail food and grocery stores prepared by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. "It was a great resource. It had a lot of crucial information."

Door handles, cash registers, computers, tables, and other high-touch areas are disinfected throughout the day. Staff sanitize the store frequently. Greeters at high‑traffic stores, and announcements on public address systems, remind customers of COVID-19 safety protocols such as physical distancing and following floor arrows while moving through aisles.

Communication with staff is vital, Sahota says. Safety information is shared through the company website, newsletter, and email. Refresher training emphasizes cleaning, hand washing, and food preparation safety. Cleaning supplies are restocked frequently. And everyone on staff pitches in.

"At one point, our CEO even hand-delivered hand sanitizer and disinfectant on a Sunday because a location reached out to say they were running very low," Sahota says.


Read about what other employers have been doing to implement the COVID-19 safety plan in WorkSafe Magazine.

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