page_title: Workplace hazard controls for COVID-19
section_title: Hazard controls
hierarchical_section_title: Workplace hazard controls for COVID-19 / Hazard controls
context_page_description: Hazard controls for COVID-19 in workplaces are the application of occupational safety and health methodologies for hazard controls to the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019. The proper hazard controls in the workplace depend on the worksite and job task, based on an occupational risk assessment of sources of exposure, disease severity in the community, and risk factors of individual workers who may be vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.
  According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, lower exposure risk jobs have minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers, for which basic infection prevention measures are recommended, including hand washing, encouraging workers to stay home if they are sick, respiratory etiquette, and maintaining routine cleaning and disinfecting of the work environment.
  Medium exposure risk jobs include those that require frequent or close contact with people who are not known or suspected with COVID-19, but may be infected due to ongoing community transmission or international travel.
context_section_description: The hierarchy of hazard controls is a framework widely used in occupational safety and health to group hazard controls by effectiveness.  Where COVID-19 hazards cannot be eliminated, the most effective controls are engineering controls, followed by administrative controls, and lastly personal protective equipment.  Engineering controls involve isolating employees from work-related hazards without relying on worker behavior, and can be the most cost-effective solution to implement.  Administrative controls are changes in work policy or procedures that require action by the worker or employer.  Personal protective equipment (PPE) is considered less effective than engineering and administrative controls, but can help prevent some exposures.  All types of PPE must be selected based upon the hazard to the worker, properly fitted as applicable (e.g., respirators), consistently and properly worn, regularly inspected, maintained, and replaced, as necessary, and properly removed, cleaned, and stored or disposed of to avoid contamination.   Randomized controlled trials and simulation studies are needed to determine the most effective types of PPE for preventing the transmission of infectious diseases to healthcare workers.  There is low quality evidence that supports making improvements or modifications to personal protective equipment in order to help decrease contamination. Examples of modifications include adding tabs to masks or gloves to ease removal and designing protective gowns so that gloves are removed at the same time. In addition, there is weak evidence that the following PPE approaches or techniques may lead to reduced contamination and improved compliance with PPE protocols: Wearing double gloves, following specific doffing (removal) procedures such as those from the CDC, and providing people with spoken instructions while removing PPE.
caption: The hierarchy of hazard controls contains methods for controlling exposures to hazards.  Methods listed towards the top potentially more effective than those at the bottom at reducing the risk of illness or injury.[3]