How we do anything is how we do everything
North American Training Solutions believes in empowering individuals with the resources needed to safely perform their jobs so that at the end of the day, everyone returns home safely to their friends and family. This holds true for our clients, our partners, and our NATS team members.
Our safety expertise and familiarity with high-risk environments positions us well to support America’s critical infrastructure workers who remain on the front lines through this COVID crisis in essential business roles. Therefore, we have updated our current travel and training policy to immediately support the needs of these front-line workers.
As we begin to resume face-to-face training, we do so under guidance from the CDC, the World Health Organization, and federal and state governments. We will continue to ensure the safety of our team members during their travels and in-person engagement with clients.
Safety has been and remains our number one priority, during this current health environment and beyond.
Webinar Series: Ensuring OSHA Compliance in Response to COVID-19
In This Together
North American Training Solutions believes in empowering individuals with the resources needed to safely perform their jobs so that at the end of the day, everyone returns home safely to their friends and family. Our safety expertise and familiarity with high risk environments positions us well to support America’s critical infrastructure workers who remain on the front lines through this COVID crisis.
In response to the current situation, we stay true to our mission to serve, share, support-sustainably.
We SERVE through creating and sharing a safety resource using the NIOSH Hierarchy of Controls to mitigate the COVID hazard. This can be applied in your home and on the job site.
We SHARE through a FREE webinar series, OSHA Compliance in Response to COVID-19, designed to help you prepare your workplace to address COVID-19 compliance in accordance with OSHA and CDC guidelines.
We SUPPORT you and your family by sharing foundational health tips from our Health and Wellness Director, Dr. Amanda Carpenter, PT, DPT. You can find these on our social media channels as well as our webinar platform.
To honor our mission and remain fiscally viable, we choose to do this all SUSTAINABLY. We have transitioned to video teleconference training programs; we have developed written programs and resources that can be delivered electronically; and we are ready to support critical infrastructure through our consulting and site safety services.
We are here to meet your business and operational needs, both through our complimentary resources and our standard products and services. No matter the environment you are forced to currently work in, we can and will accommodate your needs while honoring our mission.
Contact us for more information on how we can help during this current pandemic and once we resume our in-person services.
Click here to view the full In This Together document.
Assessing The Risk of Covid-19
Understanding how to assess risks is critical in all lines of work, especially now as we’re faced with COVID-19 and its impact on our professional and personal lives. As a national training organization focused on environmental health and safety, our number-one priority has always been to provide the resources needed to ensure people return home safely to their families and friends after a day of work. For some time, we’ve been using the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Hierarchy of Controls developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which provides guidance on how to effectively deal with an identified hazard. Typically, we work with physical hazards but in the case of COVID-19, we’re dealing with a biological hazard.
RISK ASSESSMENT is about identifying potential hazards or threats, and putting appropriate control measures in place. During this COVID-19 global pandemic, we would like to share with you some highly-effective models you can use to keep you, your loved ones, your employees, and anyone who may be at risk, safe.
NIOSH has developed a highly-effective model for controlling exposure to occupational hazards. NIOSH Hierarchy of Controls was designed for mitigating hazards “on the job” however, this hierarchy can also be effectively applied off the jobsite and at home.
NATS’ MODEL: Applying the NIOSH Hierarchy of Controls When Dealing With COVID-19
Eliminate the Hazard
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC, practicing ISOLATION to prevent the spread of the virus is the MOST effective control measure when combating COVID-19. Isolation for public health purposes may be voluntary, compelled, or even mandated by federal, state, or local public health orders.
Substitution
To effectively substitute the hazards associated with COVID-19, practice SOCIAL DISTANCING. According to the CDC, social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others.
Engineering Controls
According to the CDC and OSHA, engineering controls such as PHYSICAL BARRIERS to separate people and / or AIR HANDLING SYSTEMS that are properly installed and maintained in areas with high exposure can move or displace contaminated air away from people who may be susceptible to COVID-19.
Administrative Controls
The WHO and the CDC recommend proper training for individuals or workers exposed to harmful pathogens is crucial for responding to COVID-19. Training individuals to PROPERLY WASH THEIR HANDS is an effective administrative control in dealing with the virus.
The World Health Organization has produced a great video for training individuals on proper hand washing.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC), in conjunction with OSHA, has put out OSHA 3990, a guide to prepare individuals and employers for dealing with COVID-19 (available in English and Spanish)
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE is the last line of defense in dealing with any hazard, and is often used in conjunction with other controls to minimize individual or worker exposure. According to OSHA and the CDC, PPE is used, it is important that individuals are properly trained in its use. The most commonly used for protection of individuals exposed to COVID-19 include RESPIRATORY PROTECTION (FACE MASK), GLOVES, AND EYE PROTECTION.
To maximize its effectiveness, OSHA requires individuals to be trained in these five areas when issued PPE as part of their job:
- When is PPE needed?
- What PPE is needed?
- Proper donning and doffing (proper fit and function)
- Limitations of PPE
- Inspection, maintenance, and removal from service
Understanding how to effectively and efficiently mitigate a hazard is essential to ensuring the safety of your employees, colleagues, family, and friends.
The above information is based on the recommendations and guidelines of OSHA, the CDC, and the WHO.
View the full Assessing the Risk of COVID-19 document:
English Version
Spanish Version
How to stay safe
There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19 so the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. It is thought to be spread mainly from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself and others:
- Clean your hands often
- Avoid close contact with others; follow recommendations from your local and/or state government
- Stay at home if you are sick
- Cover coughs and sneezes
- Clean and disinfect
For more information, please review the CDC's Stop the Spread of Germs, available in English and Spanish.
How to boost your health
Dr. Amanda Carpenter, PT, DPT, Health and Wellness Director for NATS, has provided a few tips to help support the body in preventing and/or treatment with symptoms:
- Rest: sleep is key to optimal immune system function
- Hydrate: water and mineral/electrolytes allows for optional functioning of the lymphatic system, which gets congested when our immune system is fighting off something
- Gentle movements for lymphatic drainage: the lymphatic system is key to a healthy immune system; movements such as rocking, bending and gentle stretches work well
- Self-facial massage to help drain sinus congestion: with freshly washed hands, massage your forehead, cheeks, and sides of throat, moving down towards the chest
- Diet: be sure to listen to your body’s need for food and choose healthy options
- Fresh air: get outside and breathe fresh air
Incorporating HeartMath® Into Health and Wellness 
Earlier this year we began to implement HeartMath® practices into the way NATS does business, led by CEO and President Ed Carpenter, and Health and Wellness Director Dr. Amanda Carpenter, DPT; both are HeartMath certified coaches.
HeartMath is about building resilience, or the capacity to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of stress, challenge and adversity. We encounter these factors in our places of work and our daily lives, too, especially in light of COVID-19.
HeartMath suggests we build and sustain resiliency by:
- Prepare and set the tone for the day and be more composed before upcoming stressful events like talks or speeches, appointments, making important decisions, or attending meetings.
- Shift and reset as soon as possible after a trigger from stressful interactions or communications, unexpected changes, or conflicts to minimize energy drains.
“Do not underestimate how much of your resilience is affected by regularly occurring stress reactions and accompanying energy drain,” the Institute advises.
- Sustain resilience throughout the day through regular, proactive awareness and breathing, and by remembering to refresh your composure in between activities and events.
For more information about incorporating HeartMath into your health and wellness, please visit our recent blog post.
What is COVID-19?
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus which was first detected in China and has now been detected in more than 100 locations globally, including the United States. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Read more about COVID-19 and its impact on our communities here.
Resources
Here are some resources for you to stay up-to-date on COVID-19:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends wearing a mask when physical distancing (remaining a minimum of 6 feet away from others) is not possible. For tree care workers, a mask has become the latest form of PPE however, there are a lot of questions around safe use. The following recommendations are shared to keep you safe on the job site.