Pandemic Planning for Small & Medium Businesses

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce

October 14, 2009

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Session Agenda

• Introductions

• Pandemic Planning – Viola Labun 9 – 10 AM

• Information on Pandemics

• Pandemic Planning Process

• Break 20 min

• Human Resource Issues – Mike Cuma 10:20 to 11: 20

• Questions & Answers 11:20 to 12:00

Pandemics

•What is an influenza pandemic?

•H1N1 Characteristics

•Economic Impacts of a pandemic

•Why Plan?

What is an influenza pandemic?

•Worldwide outbreak of a disease

• Fewer people are immune to it

• More people can get sick

• Spreads rapidly

• Occurs in waves

H1N1 Pandemic:

• Symptoms similar to seasonal flu

• Virus transmitted when droplets enter the nose, eyes or throat.

- Range of airborne droplets is 2 meters (6 ft)

• Virus can rest on hard surfaces, be touched and then transmitted to the nose, eyes or mouth

• Symptoms include fever and cough and possibly

– Fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, decreased appetite, runny nose, and sometimes vomiting, and diarrhea

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What's the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?

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Economic Impacts

• Over $2 billion lost in Mexico due to H1N1 outbreak

• In Mexico, 2000 of the restaurants shut down during the H1N1 pandemic are now closed

• Canada lost over $1.5 billion due to SARS, 7,000 long term jobs lost in the Canada’s tourism industry

Why plan for a pandemic?

•To reduce the risk of business failure

• To provide a safer workplace

• To be ready for a number of possible scenarios (flexibility)

• To form part of a comprehensive business continuity plan

Getting Started

•Determine who is responsible for developing a pandemic plan?

•Determine who approves the plan?

Getting Started

Determine:

•Who makes pandemic decisions during a pandemic and who is the backup?

•Who will monitor health or other government directives?

•Where will the pandemic plan be filed?

6 Step Planning Process

Step 1 – Assess the impact

Step 2 – Operate the Business

Step 3 – Human Resource Policies

Step 4 – Protect Employees

Step 5 – Communicate

Step 6 – Recovery

Step 1 – Assess the impact

•What will happen to demand for your goods & services?

• At what point will employee absenteeism affect operations?

• How might a pandemic affect your supply chain?

Step 2 – Business Operations

•What are your core business functions?

•What staff positions are critical to “core” business functions?

Step 2 – Business Operations

•What are the critical supplies, services & equipment required to support core functions?

• If travel is not recommended, what alternatives are there?

•What other factors impact your business?

Step 2 – Business Operations

• What are the strategies or options that you could use during a pandemic?

Step 3 – Human Resource Policies

Major Issue Sick Employees at Work

Infecting Others

Vs

Lost Wages if They Stay Home

Step 3 – Human Resource Policies

•Sick Leave Policies?

•Sending Employees Home?

•Doctor’s Certificate?

Step 4 – Help Protect Employees

•Assess your risk given the amount of people to people contact?

- High: considerable contact

- Medium: some contact

- Low: limited contact

Step 4 – Help to Protect Employees• What can you do now?

• Educate yourself and your employees

• Proper hand washing

• Cough/Sneeze into tissue/arm

• Maintain a healthy life style

• Make hand sanitizers available

• Clean shared equipment

• Advise employees with flu-like symptoms to stay home

Step 4 – Help to Protect Employees

•What will you do during a pandemic?

- Social distancing

- Additional cleaning

- Reduce travel

Step 5 – Communicate

•Who is responsible for communicating?

•How and what will you communicate as you are planning?

- Employees

- Customers

Step 5 – Communicate

•How & what will you communicate during a pandemic?

• Employees

• Customers

• Suppliers

• Communication Channels

- employee meetings, bulletin boards, intranet, e-mail, etc.

Step 6 - Recovery

•What steps are needed to resume normal operations?

•How will you respond to the impact of the pandemic on employees?

•What are the lessons learned?

Selected Health QuestionsQ: How long does the

H1N1 virus live outside the body?

A: 24 – 48 hours on hard surface, but will only infect a person within to 2 – 8 hours

8 – 12 hours on soft surface, will infect a person for up to a few minutes

Selected Health Questions

Q: Do I need special cleaning agents?

A: No, use the cleaning agents you use now.

Selected Health Questions

Q: Is the use of face masks recommended?

A: Masks have not shown to reduce the risk of infection other than in a very high risk situation where care of sick people takes place.

Q: How do I know what my responsibilities are regarding a safeworkplace?

A: Responsible for:

• Overall safety & well-being of employees and others in the workplace.

Selected Business Questions

A: Responsible for:

• Protecting employees & others from reasonable & foreseeable hazards in the workplace.

• See Workplace Health & Safety Acts/ Regulations in your province

Selected Business Questions

Templates (WORD & EXCEL)

•Employee contact lists

•Customer lists

•Supplier lists

•Fan out lists

Links to Other Web Sites

• Public Health Agency of Canada www.fightflu.ca

• Provincial Health Departments

• Provincial Workplace Safety Web Sites

• Other