ILMA Compoundings - January 2021 - 25

The same communications strategy
applies to vendors, assuring manufacturers that they know what's coming
in the door, he added. " This is a case
where everybody can learn from everybody else. When the new year rolls
around and we say, 'Thank God 2020
is over,' " their New Year's resolution
for 2021 will be to keep everybody in
the family and the workplace safe from
COVID-19. "

Administrative vs.
Operations
A new year of policies " comes down
to prevention versus response, " said
Levetown. " We still are working on
our understanding of coronavirus as
an illness. " In this climate, " it's easy to
get bogged down. "
However, basic administrative and
engineering controls recommended by
ILMA are likely to be sustained as effective means for controlling the virus.
Interestingly, in an industry built on
manufacturing processes, the administrative side demands close scrutiny, too.
Scheduling production and workers'
tasks can minimize exposure. Personal
protective equipment should be tailored
for each worker, including additional
pieces such as face shields and N-95
respirators for those at high risk.
Office workers in traditional spaces
rarely have room to socially distance,
and changing safety standards are
likely to affect them as much as,
or more than, floor workers. For
instance, the CDC's definition of
" close contact " changed in October
to include getting within 6 feet of an
infected person for a cumulative total
of 15 minutes per 24 hours - not 15
consecutive minutes. OSHA didn't
issue a new regulation to reflect the
change, but the incident demonstrates
the importance of paying attention to
evolving standards.
Howell again cited the question
marks hovering around water-miscible

MWFs. They can grow bacteria and
fungus, and they can be treated with
EPA-registered biocides. " The question
on the table is, does COVID-19 coronavirus live in vaporous metalworking
fluids? " Howell asked. " We don't know
at the moment. With the hundreds of
thousands of American machinists who
touch and breathe the mist of MWFs
in a shop atmosphere, the question of
survivability of COVID-19 in those
fluids deserves an answer in 2021. "
What to do in a new year still heavy
with uncertainty? Continue sharing
best practices. Continue checking
ILMA's COVID-19 resources page.
And sustain " the same things we have
already learned to do in our daily
social interactions when we leave our
homes, " said Howell. " Wear masks
inside the plants. Social distance ourselves from our fellow employees. "
Plus, pay attention to ventilation
systems. Put up plexiglass barriers, just
like those at the grocery store checkout.
Keep promoting remote work for those
who can do their jobs from home.

Healthy Practices
In 2020 and going forward, the " good
news " for lubricant manufacturers
has been the extensive changes made
to SDSs when the U.S. adopted the
Globally Harmonized System for
classifying and labeling chemicals in
2012, said Howell. Manufacturers
have been implementing the changes
for five years or more, so the intensive
level of precautions demanded by
COVID-19 " is not new stuff. "
" You still have responsibilities
to review inbound data sheets for
the chemicals used in your workplace, " Howell said. " You still have
the requirement to train workers,
particularly new workers or recalled
workers who've come back and may
have forgotten some things. It's not
something you have to learn how to
do all over again. "

Disruption always leads to permanent change, but uncertainty
clouds the look of the post-pandemic
workplace. " It's hard to see how our
politics and philosophy don't change, "
said Levetown.
While there will always be those
who cling to old ideas, many businesses are embracing practices inspired
or accelerated by the workarounds of
the pandemic, such as investing in
secure work-from-home technology.
The prospect of future pandemics
that emerge more often, spread more
rapidly, cause greater damage to the
global economy and kill more people
- as cited by the United Nations in
an October 2020 report - is prompting many businesses to pay extra for
virus protections and preventative
measures, as opposed to risking shutdowns and business interruptions.
Howell advises lubricant manufacturers to concentrate on maintaining
the safest workplaces possible and rely
on ILMA and consultants " whose job
it is to be in the know " for relevant
updates. " Let the professional staff be
the ones to read the tea leaves and pay
attention to forward-looking new rule
publications, " he said.
And after a vaccine is widely distributed, he sees " fundamental changes in
the way we manage our workplaces. "
For instance, the same practices used to
battle COVID-19 can more effectively
minimize the productivity-killing
scourge of flu and cold season.
" My guess is we're not going to make
many changes from the new formats,
however that ultimately turns out to be,
because they'll be helpful to keep us all
safe and healthy, and ultimately, that will
be a better workplace in which to keep
working, " Howell said. " Even if COVID
never existed, we've now learned new
techniques to protect ourselves from one
another in the workplace. "
McCormick is a Pennsylvania-based
freelance writer.

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