COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that began in late 2019 and still continues to spread. To completely understand how the virus spreads, you can learn more about it at the CDC website, where the information about the list of symptoms is updated frequently.
Studies have shown that the virus can be transmitted by people who don’t show signs or symptoms. Not all people are aware of this, and many neglect the information they get. By doing this, COVID-19 will continue to spread.
The virus has impacted many businesses negatively, and we need to adapt to the circumstances.
A Contractor Member Survey Regarding COVID-19 conducted by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) shows 48% reduced customer demand for commercial roofing services and 33.5% for residential roofing services.
In this blog, we have covered the measures you need to take to prevent the spread of the virus while still maintaining a good workflow.
Advice for protecting your employees, clients, and yourself
Roofing contractors need to understand how to protect themselves and their team so they can make their clients feel comfortable about using their service. The advice below has everything you need to follow to maintain a good workflow during the pandemic, and continue growing your business, at the same time.
Best practices for roofing contractors:
- Your employees must immediately notify you that they are feeling sick and they need to stay at home
- Follow CDC-recommended steps if you or your employees are not feeling well. Return to work when the criteria to discontinue home isolation is met, and have passed consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments
- Follow CDC-recommended precautions and immediately notify your employer if you are well but have a member of your family infected by COVID-19
- Distance of at least 6 feet away must be kept from other people, when possible
- CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public areas where more people gather to lower the chances of people getting infected
- Cloth face-coverings prevent people who are infected but don’t have symptoms to transmit them to others
- Cloth face coverings are NOT surgical masks. While at work, you should consider covering your face with surgical masks, face shields, or other protective gear
- In the beginning and end of every shift, it is mandatory to clean and disinfect everything that you and your employees have interacted with (shared tools, machines, vehicles and other equipment, handrails, etc.)
- Limit tool sharing
- Client and employee temperature checks
- Hand hygiene is an infection control measure that is mandatory for you and your employees to practice
- Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth
- Use tissues or cloth to cover your face when you cough, sneeze, or touch your face
To provide an estimate, you need to know the dimensions of the roof you will be working with. You can use satellite technology to take roof measurements, so there is no need for you and your client to come in contact.
You can ask your clients to provide you photos and videos of the damaged areas that need repair via email.
Once you have all the information necessary to provide an estimate, you can inform your client of the cost of service.
Controls
Conversations with clients must be handled via phone, video, or text. While at the job site, you should advise the client to stay indoors until you and your employees finish the roofing job.
Paperwork regarding the estimates, invoices, etc. should be handled electronically, where possible. If the client is not tech-savvy, documents should be put in their mailbox to reduce the interaction between each side.
PPE (personal protective equipment) should always be worn for the safety of employees and clients. It must be worn correctly for complete protection.
Additional COVID-19 Resources
The World Health Organization provides the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19, that includes:
- Research and development around the virus
- COVID-19 dashboard to track and follow new data
- Emergency measures
- Live updates on the spread
If you are interested in reading the most frequently asked questions and answers regarding COVID-19, visit the World Health Organization website.
In case you have adopted a new company policy as a result of COVD-19, e.g. you offer contactless services/deliveries, etc. you can include that information in your Google My Business profile. More info here.
