www.BIRDFLU-MANUAL.com
PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS FOR BUSINESSES
PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS FOR BUSINESSES
WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
|
High demand items. Secure yours now.
Tamiflu for your staff and families Don’t rely on Government and hospital supplies. There won't be enough. Secure your order here. Alpha Pro Tech N-95 Face Masks Don't get beaten to the post again, stocks won't last. Secure your order here. |
|
FREE Influenza Pandemic Preparedness email eCourse. Get Your Certificate! Join our free pandemic preparedness and planning email eCourse program. Leave your name and email and we’ll take you, one step at a time, through your pandemic preparedness activities, plus give you TWO eBooks on pandemic planning and response for the home. Get a certificate too! To learn more and enroll yourself please click here. |
WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
11.1
Bird Flu is a very human issue, and ultimately
will be a very human tragedy. It is
the workforce which will be directly affected by Bird Flu, not systems, machinery or
physical locations.
11.2
Systems,
machinery and physical locations will of course eventually fail if they do not
receive workforce intervention for preventative maintenance or repair management.
11.3
The
World Health Organisation advises that management should plan for up to
50% workforce absences for periods of about two weeks at the height of a pandemic
wave and lower levels of workforce absence for a few weeks either side of the peak.
11.4
Either way, the strain on current workforce management will be enormous. Unless adequate plans are made to replace and cover
for absent critical staff, business operations will start to fail.
11.5
Care must be taken when making contingency plans
for employees. There will be a tendency for staff to feel their positions may
be under threat. "Why would they make plans to have someone else do my job?"
11.6
Therefore
consider open discussions on workforce management with staff on:
11.6.1
Deputy management
training - ensure all critical positions have a deputy manager trained to oversee
operations when the incumbent is absent from work.
11.6.2
Back up
staff - contact retired or ex-employees and management who may agree to work on a temporary
basis if the incumbent is absent from work.
11.6.3
Outsourcing Human Resources - consider what internal functions may be out-sourced in the incumbent is
absent from work.
11.6.4
Succession
planning - all critical employees and management should have succession planning in place. Analyse your current
succession planning strategy and fill any gaps that may exist.
11.6.5
Leave
arrangements - it is common workforce management practice to declare 'no leave' periods in high
season or to encourage the workforce to take leave during low season. Consider
asking staff to save leave for a time when they may not be able to come to the office
anyway.
11.6.6
Agreed
unpaid leave - it is common workforce management practice for Companies to ask staff to take unpaid
leave, particularly in times of crisis. Consider asking staff to volunteer to
take unpaid leave when they may not be able to come to the office anyway.
11.6.7
Cross
utilisation - endeavour to train staff and management across multiple functions and skill
sets. This will allow flexibility when assigning staff to fill roles of absent
employees.
11.6.8
Interim
Management - prepare 'temporary' management arrangements so that should senior
managers become absent you can call upon the required skill sets to caretake
positions until the manager's return.
11.6.9
Return
of 'immune' employees - employees who have caught and survived Bird Flu will be
immune to the strain and can be deployed at front line areas without fear of
repeat infection.
11.6.10
Employment ordinance - it is the employer's
responsibility to provide a safe working environment for its workforce. Whilst this
is a very 'grey area' when it comes to Bird Flu, there were instances after
SARS where employers were held liable. The insurance industry paid out over
US$15m in SARS related claims. Check your corporate health care insurance exclusions.
11.6.11
Adopting the advice included in this section,
with particular attention to protection measures, should assist employers with their regulatory compliance. Please note however, It’s is the employer's responsibility to ensure they are complying with their local employment requirements.
|
Protection measure |
Where applicable. |
|
Hand hygiene, cough etiquette, ventilation |
Everyone, all the time. |
|
Organisational policies |
Every organisation, all the time. |
|
Social Distancing |
Everyone, whenever practical. |
|
Protective Barriers |
Institutions where regular work practice requires
unavoidable. Relatively close contact with the public. |
|
Disposable Face Masks |
Workers/Visitors in any community |
11.7
An influenza pandemic may affect regions of the
world differently in terms of timing, severity and duration. Some regions may
be hit earlier, longer or harder. Businesses with overseas or regional offices
may need to consider rotating service delivery from hard hit areas to
influenza-free areas, or areas that have been declared to be in a post-pandemic
period. Restrictions on movement of people from region to region may be
imposed, and rotation of staff may therefore be difficult.
11.8
Businesses with overseas offices, or which have outsourcing human resources arrangements from overseas (e.g. call centres), may be
disproportionately affected. Not all countries have the means to cope with a
pandemic. Employees and staff contracted overseas may have increased rates of
illness and absence.
11.9
Staff
Travel Policy
11.9.1
Once a pandemic is recognised, the border and
ports may immediately be closed to all incoming persons (including crew),
possibly for several days.
11.9.2
It is likely that quarantine measures will be
instituted before movements resume. It is possible that all incoming people
will be required to complete at least 8 days quarantine in specially designated
places before being allowed landside.
11.9.3
If staff travel overseas for business reasons,
the plan will need to include consideration of their management in the event of
a pandemic. For example, on declaration of a pandemic, if any staff had recently
(within the last 4-5 days) travelled to countries known to be affected by the
disease, the company should:
11.9.4
Advise the employee not to report for work for
the duration of the quarantine period. Ask them to follow instructions for
self-checking for influenza symptoms, which may include advice to telephone
(rather than visit) their doctor to seek advice immediately if symptoms occur.
They should report their travel history to the treating doctor. Ask them to
document all the people they have been in contact with.
11.9.5
Check on the staff member during his/her absence
from work.
11.9.6
Set up a process for ensuring that the employee
has completed the time duration and is healthy before allowing them to return
to work.
11.9.7
Border closures overseas may also cause disruption
to return travel.
11.10
Review company insurance coverage and check what
exclusions are in place.
11.11
Consider setting up crisis counseling for staff.
Volunteers will very likely exist within the current employee base. Staff who
have contracted Bird Flu and recovered will be a great resource for crisis counselors.
11.12
If possible provide day-care facilities for
staff who are unable to come to work due to schools being closed and there
being no one to care for their children.
 Serving you 24/7/365 |
Bird Flu Manual eShop and Templates Library "... saving you time and money ..." |
More help? Need a complete solution? Something with all the hard work done for you? Something with customisable templates of procedures, presentations, project timelines and tutorials … to hand hold you through it all? Then you’re looking for our Pandemic Response Manual. It has all of this and much, much more. To learn more about it and get some free stuff click here.
|
ONLINE'S OTHER TOPICS BELOW:
|
Bird Flu Articles Bird Flu Books Bird Flu Directory Links Importance of Planning Office Access Control Public Health Sector Actions Avian Flu Information Hygiene Awareness Posters Bird Flu - a Basic Understanding Bird Flu Characteristics Bird Flu FAQ Bird Flu Information Bird Flu Pictures Bird Flu Summary Tips Bird Flu Symptoms Bird Flu Videos Bird Flu vs Regular Disruption Business Continuity Manager Communications Management Communications Tree Pandemic Activations Phases Pandemic Response Phases Risk Assessment Risk Analysis People Risk Analysis Process Risk Analysis Suppliers Risk Analysis Utilities Customer Confidence Pandemics Through History Business Impact Analysis Business Impact Analysis Questionnaire Influenza Screening Flowchart Customer Management Flu Mortality Index |
Drills and Practice Pandemic Flu Flu vs.Cold Differences Influenza Manager Lists and Forms Office Access Controls - Orange Office Access Controls - Red Office Access Controls - Yellow Sterile Office Environment Pandemic Flu Information Pandemic Influenza FAQ Personal Hygiene Education Promoting Staff Awareness Public Health Quarantine Room Regulatory Compliance Report of Recommendations Sample Project Timeline Sickness Response Procedures Sickness Contact Tracking Social Distancing Staff Awareness Staff Training Stockpiling Supply Shortages Travel Application Form Travel Policy Guidelines Travel Policy Guidelines - Orange Travel Policy Guidelines - Red Travel Policy Guidelines - Yellow Understanding Bird Flu Workforce Management Workplace Disinfection |
| 06/25/2009 05:00 PM |
| Preclinical Proof-of-Concept Studies Published For Novavax Seasonal Influenza Virus-Like-Particle Vaccine |
|
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) announced publication of the preclinical study results that supported the clinical development of the company's investigational VLP vaccine against the H3N2, H1N1 and B influenza strains. The study, which was conducted by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh, Center for Vaccine Research and Novavax, was published in the June 24, 2009 online issue of PLoS ONE.
|
| 06/05/2009 08:00 PM |
| A Closer Look At The I-Con™ - Isolation And Containment For Pandemic Control |
|
American Innovative Research (A.I.R.) cofounders, David Palmer and Judy Piscione, explain how the impact of the avian flu pandemic originally motivated their company's researching a home option of an isolation and containment unit. A.I.R. CEO Palmer states that he and Piscione leveraged decades of success in biomedical research and semiconductor clean-room technology to found American Innovative Research Corp. Palmer defines A.I.R.
|
| 06/05/2009 06:00 PM |
| Animal Production And Health To Be Addressed At FAO/IAEA Symposium |
|
An international symposium to be held in Vienna next week will focus on the use of nuclear technologies to enhance animal nutrition and reproduction strategies and to detect and control animal-origin diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as swine and avian influenza. Around 500 animal production and health experts from over 100 countries will present up-to-date findings for solving or alleviating factors affecting animal production.
|
| 06/04/2009 04:00 PM |
| Indirect Transmission Can Trigger Influenza Outbreaks In Birds |
|
New data on the persistence of avian influenza viruses in the environment has allowed a team of University of Georgia researchers to create the first model that takes into account both direct and indirect transmission of the viruses among birds. The model, which is detailed in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has the potential to shed new light on how outbreaks begin in wild bird populations.
|
| 06/02/2009 06:00 PM |
| News From The American Chemical Society, May 27, 2009 |
|
Bird flu virus remains infectious up to 600 days in municipal landfills Amid concerns about a pandemic of swine flu, researchers from Nebraska report for the first time that poultry carcasses infected with another threat - the "bird flu" virus - can remain infectious in municipal landfills for almost 2 years. Their report is scheduled for the June 15 issue of ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology. Shannon L.
|
| 05/31/2009 04:00 PM |
| Bird Flu Virus Remains Infectious Up To 600 Days In Municipal Landfills |
|
Amid concerns about a pandemic of swine flu, researchers from Nebraska report for the first time that poultry carcasses infected with another threat - the "bird flu" virus - can remain infectious in municipal landfills for almost 2 years. Their report is scheduled for the June 15 issue of ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology. Shannon L.
|
| 05/25/2009 04:00 PM |
| The Challenges Of Avian Influenza Virus: Mechanism, Epidemiology And Control |
|
The latest special issue of Science in China Series C: Life Sciences focuses on the recent progress in the H5N1-related research field. Early 2009, eight human infection cases of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, with 5 death cases, were reported in China. This again made the world alert on a possible pandemic worldwide, probably caused by avian-origin influenza virus.
|
| 05/25/2009 03:00 PM |
| Tighter Surveillance Of Swine Flu In Pigs Needed Worldwide Says CDC |
|
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that there is a "global need for more systemic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs", during a press briefing where they explained the findings of a recent study on the genetic and antigenetic properties of the new 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus.
|
| 05/20/2009 10:00 PM |
| In A New Way Of Treating The Flu, Both The H And N Portions Of The Virus Are Targeted |
|
What happens if the next big influenza mutation proves resistant to the available anti-viral drugs? This question is presenting itself right now to scientists and health officials this week at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, as they continue to do battle with H1N1, the so-called swine flu, and prepare for the next iteration of the ever-changing flu virus.
|
| 05/19/2009 09:00 PM |
| New Vaccine Strategy Might Offer Protection Against Pandemic Influenza Strains |
|
A novel vaccine strategy using virus-like particles (VLPs) could provide stronger and longer-lasting influenza vaccines with a significantly shorter development and production time than current ones, allowing public health authorities to react more quickly in the event of a potential pandemic. Ted Ross, Ph.D.
|
| 05/13/2009 08:00 PM |
| News From Burnham Institute For Medical Research, May 2009 |
|
Human monoclonal antibodies effective against bird and seasonal flu viruses Dr. Robert Liddington and colleagues, working with researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported the identification of human monoclonal antibodies that neutralize an unprecedented range of influenza A viruses, including avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, previous pandemic influenza viruses and some seasonal influenza viruses.
|
| 05/11/2009 06:00 PM |
| Bird Flu Research Could Help With Swine Flu Vaccine |
|
A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America shows that Aflunov®, the Novartis investigational pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine formulated with Novartis' proprietary MF59® adjuvant, can elicit a broadly cross-reactive immune response covering all known H5N1 antigenic variants, even when that booster dose is administered six years after the initial priming dose.
|
| 05/05/2009 11:00 PM |
| EFPIA Response To The A (H1N1) Novel Influenza Virus |
|
EFPIA is aware and concerned by the current outbreak of a novel influenza, which appears to have originated in Mexico. We note the WHO's decision to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 4 to phase 5. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, working with our colleagues at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical manufacturers and Associations.
|
| 05/02/2009 07:00 PM |
| Novartis Investigational Adjuvanted (MF59) Pre-pandemic Avian Influenza Vaccine Aflunov® Shows Long Lasting, cross-protective Immune Response |
|
A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America shows that Aflunov®, the Novartis investigational pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine formulated with Novartis' proprietary MF59® adjuvant, can elicit a broadly cross-reactive immune response covering all known H5N1 antigenic variants, even when that booster dose is administered six years after the initial priming dose.
|
| 04/30/2009 06:00 PM |
| Avian Flu Research Sheds Light On Swine Flu Outbreak |
|
A new study by University of Maryland researchers suggests that the potential for an avian influenza virus to cause a human flu pandemic is greater than previously thought. Results also illustrate how the current swine flu outbreak likely came about. As of now, avian flu viruses can infect humans who have contact with birds, but these viruses tend not to transmit easily between humans.
|
| 04/29/2009 03:00 PM |
| Is Swine Flu A Worldwide Threat? |
|
After human cases of a new H1N1 swine influenza A virus were first reported in Mexico and then quickly spread around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its pandemic alert level from phase 3 to phase 4, on April 27. The virus is a fusion of human, pig and avian influenza. There was growing international concern a week ago, after outbreaks of illnesses similar to influenza were reported in Mexico and in other countries.
|
| 04/29/2009 03:00 PM |
| Swine Flu Baffles Experts And Raises More Questions Than Answers |
|
As countries around the world ready themselves for the possibility of a global pandemic in the wake of increasing numbers of confirmed cases of people infected with a new strain of A/H1N1 influenza virus that is being described as swine flu, investigations digging deeper into the history and evidence surrounding the outbreak are coming up with more questions than answers.
|
| 04/28/2009 11:00 PM |
| NanoViricides, Inc. Says Flu-Cide Drug Designed To Destroy All Influenza A Viruses Including Swine And Bird Flu |
|
NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), announced that it is developing FluCide(™), its flagship anti-influenza drug candidate, to work against all influenza types and subtypes. FluCide has been shown to be effective against both common influenza subtype H1N1, as well as two different variants of bird flu subtype H5N1.
|
| 04/28/2009 09:00 PM |
| Pandemic Flu Vaccine 6-Month Time Lag Warns Scientist |
|
New research published April 27 from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust warns of a six-month time lag before effective vaccines can be manufactured in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. By that time, the first wave of pandemic flu may be over before people are vaccinated, says Dr Iain Stephenson, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester.
|
| 04/28/2009 06:00 PM |
| Scientist Warns Over Pandemic Flu Vaccine Six-month Time Lag |
|
New research published from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust warns of a six-month time lag before effective vaccines can be manufactured in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. By that time, the first wave of pandemic flu may be over before people are vaccinated, says Dr Iain Stephenson, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester.
|
