Take a Cue: 4 Things Businesses Can Learn from TV, Films, & Broadway

The ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic landscape has resulted in continuous updates to public and workplace health guidelines. Due to this, the production industry was heavily impacted. After a long pause lingering over many months, the industry utilized the Safe Way Forward Protocols to resume production successfully and to keep employees safe on stage and on set.

This approach gave the studios a definitive program to meet the OSHA and CDC's requirements for pre-production, workplace entry, and day-to-day activities. Plus, the program supplied production houses with the right resources to independently meet the science-based protocols and medical management for all their workers.

Why A Multi-Layered Approach Works?

The action-based, multi-layered approach taken by the industry focused on aggressive testing; safety training for the cast and crew members; strict adherence to social distancing and PPE usage; and development of a robust Health Safety Department.

- This approach was designed to help the theater and film production industry return to work safely and for the long term.
- With onsite COVID-19 Compliance Officers, staff was able to easily follow procedural standards to ensure the continued safety of the workforce with workplace infection control programs, zoned testing, daily attestation, case management, contact tracing, and compliance.

Result:

Working with third-party medical service providers with expertise in preventative medicine, public health, and independent COVID-19 medical management was a breakthrough for many theater, TV, and film production houses as they could successfully resume productions with minimal positive cases.

What Can Businesses Take Away from the Successful Reopening of the Film, TV, and Theater Industries?

These four principles used by the production industry can also help corporations successfully maintain workplace and workforce safety during- and after- COVID-19.

1. Extensive Testing:

Testing is the only way to identify infected individuals and quarantine them to cease the spread of infectious diseases. Based on the employee's vaccination status, he or she will undergo tests as required by the new guidelines.

- Regular testing with onsite and at-home options
- Staff testing before entering the workspace and before/after traveling for out-of-town work
- Follow-up testing as required (based on symptom screening and positive test results)

2. Identify and Isolate:

- Promptly identify and isolate individuals who may be infectious
- Work with an Infection Control Specialist (ICS) to ensure social distancing, reduced occupancy limits, testing, symptom monitoring, regular sanitation, and PPE training at the workplace.

3. Minimize Exposure:

- Local contact tracing after a positive case is reported
- Social distancing where possible, reduced occupancy limits, regular sanitation, and PPE training at the workplace
- Case management with follow up in case of vaccine aftereffects/side effects

4. Take a Collaborative Approach:

- Work with an Infection Control Supervisor to develop an infection-control policy and program
- Communicate and implement risk mitigation action plans
- Workplace vaccine education and immunization programs
- Modification of onsite testing procedures when employees are fully vaccinated
- Modification of onsite safety protocols and COVID-19 infection control procedures after all employees are fully vaccinated

Staying OSHA Compliant:

Based on President Biden's new vaccine mandate, many employers, including those in the theater production industry may need additional resources to manage their workforces' health and wellbeing. As the pandemic has exacerbated its severity driven by several contagious variants, the new mandate focusing on six science-based components will focus on combatting this challenge. To stay compliant with this new mandate and OSHA's emergency temporary response, employers with more than 100 employees should focus on:

- Encouraging workplace vaccination
- Offering workplace testing for unvaccinated
- Implementing workplace risk mitigation policy
- Developing a COVID-19 management program
- Taking preventive measures

Regardless of the future of this pandemic, experts believe the aftereffects of this global crisis will have long-lasting negative effects on American businesses. With that in mind, business wishing to maintain workplace safety and successfully come out on the other side of the pandemic, should take a cue from the production industry.

Axiom Medical, a long-time leader in occupational health services and injury case management, has successfully helped the Hollywood and New York entertainment industries implement COVID-19 workplace infection control programs to ensure the safety of production staff, talent, and crew. With development and utilization of Axiom's proprietary and innovative CheckIn2Work app, Contagious Respiratory Illness Assessments (CRIA), and OnSite services offering COVID-19 testing, safety protocols, and Health Safety Supervisors (HSS), Axiom Medical has successfully helped many clients to resume their business operations.

The non-traditional partnership between Axiom Medical and entertainment productions has been a win for all. Axiom Medical's national and international health and safety capabilities continue to be trusted and relied on by theatre, TV, and film projects.

Cheers to excellent results, COVID-19 risk mitigation and a protective, science-based, multi-step approach!

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT AXIOM MEDICAL

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