Digitizing Vaccination and Testing for ETS OSHA Compliance

Businesses are breathing a sigh of relieve as the Biden Administration extended the deadline until January 4, 2022 to implement the new rule. As you know, the ‘emergency temporary standard, ETS, is part of the COVID-19 action plan, and OSHA is to oversee its implementation for businesses with over 100 employees. With approximately 84 million workers being impacted with the requirements, businesses are under pressure to find…and implement a solution that is OSHA compliant, HIPAA compliant, protect the privacy and security of their information while managing and recording the entire process. Did I mention it also needs to be done now….this second….no time to waste?

Digitizing vaccination and testing are the best way to implement, manage and report on the results fast.

Digitizing Vaccination and Testing for Employees

In the recent document released by OSHA, the mandate is for companies with 100 or more employees. This will include full-time employees and part-time employees. It will also cover employees that telework, but those employees that work exclusively from home are not included in the regulation.

What can be done to digitize vaccination and testing? As holiday time approaches, implementing a critical program can be challenging. Your main focus is to get orders fulfilled and out for your customers. The mandate can affect worker performance and employment causing delays and labor shortages which is why the deadline was extended. Digitizing vaccination and testing for employees is the best, fastest and most effective way to proceed in order to reach the January 4, 2022 deadline for implementation.

Digital Solution Applications

As you may be aware, SIERA.AI S2 Digital Checklist is widely used to maintain OSHA compliance. For instance, before a forklift can be used, the operator answers questions and the answers are stored in our graphical telematics Dashboard with notification of any failures. However, what you may not know is how the solution is also used for other applications internally.

The S2 Digital Checklist is also used in facilities management. It manages the life-cycle, maintenance and compliance of HVAC, boilers, burners, testing, electrical, material handling equipment and more. How can it do all these things? The S2 Digital Checklist is built with flexibility in mind.

If you don’t have the S2 Digital Checklist, we have a fast and easy way to help you achieve OSHA and HIPAA compliance for COVID-19 management.

Implement in an Hour

The S2 Digital Checklist adapt to the needs of your company. To discuss the simplicity and expediency of implementation, let’s talk about it in bullet points.

What You Do:

• Upload digital identification codes that privately represents the employees identification, into the secure S2 online system.
• We provide questions, a place to start from, that OSHA wants to know based on the 29 CFR 1910.1020 regulation.
• You can add, delete, edit the questions, change the order, however you want to present the information to employees to capture.
• When ready, let the S2 Digital Checklist know, and it will send an email, text or both to all or specific employees. The message (in your words) will notify employees of what to do and how to become compliant for employment.

Some employers have already gathered this information. If your uploaded information includes those that have already provided proof of vaccination, mark as such, and the individual will be excluded from future communications until you change their status.

What the Employee Does:

• To limit exposure and the spread of COVID-19, access the S2 Digital Checklist from home, in the car, or parking lot. Access the S2 Digital Checklist in any language, from any device including mobile phone, tablet, laptop or upright computer. Enter in the assigned private PIN number supplied by the company. They will view a privacy and security statement with an agreement statement to move forward. 
• Answer the questions.
• If it’s an unvaccinated employee, and need frequent testing, that’s fine too. The S2 will send a notification, prior to the 7 day requirement, to the employee that it’s time again to get tested and answer the questions. If this doesn’t happen, you (and/or someone of your choosing) will get an electronic notification. Also, one of the questions asked will be on face coverings. They will need to answer the question about face coverings if working indoors or within close proximity as in a car, each day or as frequently as you want.
• To avoid removing an employee from the work environment, it is encouraged that the employee answers the questions prior to coming to work. Through the S2 Digital Checklist, the employee will report any positive diagnosis of COVID-19. This is one of the questions supplied to you. If positive, and the employee have completed their quarantine, the S2 Digital Checklist will prompt them to complete the questions so they may return to work.
• Fully automated so you can maintain OSHA compliance.

Storing Additional Reference Documentation

• You may store and have readily available your digital mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all employees with access into the S2 Digital Checklist
• Store digital information for the unvaccinated on how to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, and wear face covering while at the workplace. You can use the S2 Digital Checklist to help make the process easy and efficient for the employee and for you.

Pedestrians / Workers:

• Any changes to your company policy, privacy or other documents, a notification can be sent
• Any work-related COVID-19 fatality, the system will prompt management to inform OSHA within the required 8 hour timeframe. It will continue to send notifications until the answers are completed and the information will be stored in the S2 Cloud.
• Any work-related COVID-19 in-patient hospitalization, the system will prompt management to inform OSHA within the required 24 hour timeframe. It will continue to send notifications until the answers are completed and the information will be stored in the S2 Cloud.

If these situations occur, OSHA will be asking for the employee’s test results required by the ETS. The S2 Digital Checklist will provide the data within seconds with a report. In addition, the Assistant Secretary of OSHA will be expecting information such as aggregate numbers of fully vaccinated employees, and total number of employees at the workplace for examination and copying within 4 business hours of a request.
The benefit of the S2 Digital Checklist is the information for authorized personnel is fast to access, print or download and provided within minutes. Because everything is electronically available with the proper authorization, you’ll always be and maintain OSHA compliance.

Notification and Detailed Reports

The collection of secure information that can either remain in the secure Cloud, or download directly into an ERP, HR or any system. The information collected will be graphically represented in the system for a fast and easy way to ensure new and current employees are compliant.

If an employee answers the questions and is not in compliance, you will get an immediate notification so you can take next step action.

Dig deeper by site or location down to the individual name or number.
Now if/when OSHA comes in to check on your employee’s vaccination status, simply download the results in seconds, and present it to the OSHA representative.

How to Get Started Digitizing Vaccination and Testing

The best way to experience the power of the S2 is to see it…then touch it. You’ll be able to make a decision quickly and begin to implement just as fast. Contact us at sales@siera.ai today. You’ll start to collect employee data the same day you purchase the S2.