Biosafety Certification
An infectious disease outbreak in the workplace can happen at any time. Biosafety Certification by Bureau Veritas takes a management systems approach requiring you to implement industry-compliant sanitary protocols that ensure a safe business environment for workers and customers.
In the workplace, a lack of preparedness can potentially worsen the consequences of an infectious disease outbreak, from COVID-19 to the flu. To minimize the risk of infection and ensure health and safety, organizations need to prepare themselves and their employees as far as possible.
Our Biosafety Certification scheme builds upon a management system which requires you develop and implement best practice controls, preventative measures and sanitary protocols that comply with applicable requirements from recognized authorities. This program is essential to enabling you to demonstrate your commitment to workplace well-being and uninterrupted service delivery to your key stakeholders, including employees, customers, the public and the authorities.
Key benefits
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Minimize the risk of contamination
and/or infection from exposure in the workplace
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Better prepare for future outbreaks
to ensure health and safety
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Demonstrate your commitment
to a safe working environment and uninterrupted service delivery to key stakeholders
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Ensure compliance
with applicable infectious disease risk management requirements from recognized authorities
Biosafety Certification, at the heart of a safe workplace
The standard for Biosafety Certification was developed by BV’s experts in certification, health, safety and with a view to the latest guidance on infectious disease risk management strategies. The management system establishes a company-wide policy for monitoring employee health and implementing workplace sanitary protocols to minimize contamination risk following an infectious disease outbreak. It includes an action plan, based on a risk assessment, that addresses issues such as compliance obligations, absenteeism, employee cross-training, and activity interruptions. Regular internal audits and inspections of the management system ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
The right resources for successful implementation
To ensure compliance with the policy and protocols related to infectious disease risk, the right resources and competences must be identified and maintained. The management system requires the identification and provision of these resources, such as face masks, disinfectants, and no-touch rubbish bins. It also requires that employees’ competencies fulfil compliance obligations and are improved to close any non-conformities. Communication responsibilities must be established and appropriate channels used to disseminate information to employees, customers, visitors, suppliers, subcontractors and service providers.
Staying on top of workplace hazards
During an infectious disease outbreak, controlling workplace hazards is critical to minimizing infection. The infectious disease management system requires the most effective protection measures in the form of engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). For engineering and administrative controls, this can include installing physical barriers and adapting working hours to promote physical distancing. Safe work practices provide procedures to reduce duration and frequency of exposure to a hazard, while PPE can provide added protection against certain exposure.
