cdc.gov/coronavirus

Review of Facility Assessment Checklist for Use by 

Management and Occupational Safety & Health 

Professionals at Individual Facilities

And Review of Facility Assessment Tool for Use 

by Public Health Officials

Virtual Occupational Technical Assistance (VOTA)
Presentation overview

Section 1

Meat and Poultry Processing Facility 

Assessment Checklist

Section 2

Meat and Poultry Processing Facility 

Assessment Tool
Key Steps to a Successful Facility Assessment

▪ Pre-Assessment

• Include management and employee representatives (e.g., union representatives, if 

present)

• Inform all parties of the focus of the assessment

• Review the checklist and determine applicability of each item

▪ Walkthrough with the facility assessment checklist

• Limit participation to those that are familiar with plant processes

• Include management and employee representatives

• Observe as much of the plant as possible and appropriate

▪ Post-Assessment

• Discuss observations

• Develop action items

• Discuss next steps (if any)
▪ The following slides will cover and highlight key aspects of the Facility 

Assessment Checklist and the Facility Assessment Tool.

▪ It’s important to remember to review the Checklist and Tool prior to and 

during assessments.

▪ This tool can serve as a template for assessing a facility; elements and 

response options can be removed or added depending on the local 

situation, assessment goals, and facility characteristics. 
Meat and Poultry Processing Facility Assessment 

Checklist

▪ Template for evaluation of COVID-19 assessment and control plans

▪ This checklist is intended to be used to help determine if facilities are utilizing the 

CDC/OSHA guidance to implement practices and protocols for operating while 

safeguarding workers and the community.

• Items are not necessarily listed in order of importance

• Some activities may be more important for a given facility than others

• This checklist was organized by goals
Meat and Poultry Processing Facility Assessment 

Checklist

▪ This checklist may be used to help determine if a facility is utilizing the CDC/OSHA 

guidance to implement practices and protocols for operating while safeguarding 

workers and the community.

▪ If used for this purpose, judgement is necessary by the evaluator to determine that 

the activities and controls in place at the facility meet the intent of the CDC/OSHA 

guidance

▪ The checklist is not intended to be used to determine regulatory compliance
Goals Addressed by the Facility Assessment Checklist

▪ COVID-19 Control and Assessment Plan

▪ Ability to Maintain Social Distancing

▪ Promote Personal Hygiene

▪ Identify and Exclude Ill Workers from Working

▪ Provide Education, Training, and Communication

▪ Cleaning/Sanitation/Disinfection

▪ Provide PPE and Cloth Face Coverings, As Appropriate

▪ Evaluate and Maintain Ventilation

Used to assess a meat and poultry processing facility’s overall hazard assessment and 

control plan for COVID-19 based on elements in the CDC/OSHA guidance
For more information, contact CDC

1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)

TTY: 1-888-232-6348 www.cdc.gov

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the 

official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meat and Poultry Processing Facility Assessment Tool

▪ Follows the example of the Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) 

Program

▪ This tool was developed to assist in assessing infection prevention practices and 

guide quality improvement activities
Facility Assessment Tool Sections

1. Facility and workforce characteristics

2. Facility policies and procedures

3. Guidelines and other resources

4. Direct observation of facility practices
Facility Assessment Tool Section 1: 

Facility and Workforce Characteristics

▪ Obtain basic information about the facility included in the checklist with a focus on:

• Number and types of shifts

• Shift start, shift end, and break times

• Names of departments in facility

• Transportation to work

• Primary languages needed for education and communication

• Union information (for participation in meetings and walkthrough)

• Primary points of contact for agencies, such as state departments, USDA, and 

OSHA
Facility Assessment Tool Section 2: 

Facility Policies and Procedures

▪ Reviews the facility COVID-19 workplace health and safety plan

▪ Elements to be assessed follow CDC/OSHA guidance on meat and poultry 

processing workers and employers

▪ Includes assessment items, if it has been assessed by the facility, and notes areas 

for improvement

▪ Notes/Areas for improvement section includes questions related to the element
Facility Assessment Tool Section 2: 

Facility Policies and Procedures

▪ COVID-19 workplace health and safety plan

▪ Infection prevention and control policies and practices covered:

• Engineering controls 

• Cleaning/disinfection/sanitation

• Administrative controls

• Health screening

• Training/communication

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) and source control

• PPE use, cleaning, and disinfection

• Cloth face coverings
Facility Assessment Tool Section 3: 

Guidelines and Other Resources

▪ The assessment tool has web links to detailed information from:

• CDC

• NIOSH

• OSHA

• FDA

• EPA

• U.S. Animal Health Association

• National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians
Facility Assessment Tool Section 4: 

Direct Observation of Facility Practices

▪ Matrix to help guide collection of information to supplement section 3

▪ Not meant to be an exhaustive list

▪ Can be modified based on local guidance. For example, if no work is currently being 

performed on-site, or there is a particular area of interest (e.g., specific 

department)
Facility Assessment Tool Section 4: 

Direct Observation of Facility Practices

▪ Consider assessment of specific areas of the facility at the following times:

• Start of shift

• End of shift

• During health screenings

• Mealtimes

• Breaks

• During production

• During cleaning and disinfection
Facility Assessment Tool Section 4: 

Direct Observation of Facility Practices

▪ Evaluate items such as:

• Adherence to social distancing

• Cleaning and disinfection practices

• Communications

• Availability of hand hygiene

• PPE and cloth face covering use
For more information, contact CDC

1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)

TTY: 1-888-232-6348 www.cdc.gov

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the 

official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.