COVID-19 Berry Farm Checklist

Title Page

Farm
Date
Prepared by
Location

KEEP PEOPLE SEPARATED BY BOTH TIME AND SPACE

Key considerations:
PHYSICAL | farm & packing shed
ORGANISATIONAL | managing people
ADMINISTRATIVE | accessing help & emergency procedures

PHYSICAL | FARM & PACKING SHED

Property signage – alert visitors prior to entry & deter unnecessary callers
Handwashing signage – ensure posters are displayed in appropriate areas promoting personal hygiene & how to stop the spread
Handwashing facilities - all sites well stocked with soap, paper towels and disposal of water & used towels
Hand sanitiser – located where handwashing facilities are not practical including property entrances, vehicles, farm machinery, equipment & packing tables
Personal protective equipment (PPE) – adequate supply available (gloves, masks) & used appropriately
Review cleaning procedures - particularly important for high risk & high touch areas including shared spaces such as meal rooms, packing sheds, door handles
Separate toilet facilities – provide toilet options to separate teams to avoid transmission risk
Tools and equipment – provide working teams & individuals their own tools & ensure they are cleaned appropriately after each person’s use
Packing shed layout – redesign layout so workers can be 1.5m apart (minimum). If not possible, consider Perspex barriers and/or PPE (face masks)
Common areas – remove excess chairs & tables, space furniture apart to encourage staff to meet minimum 1.5m social distancing
Work zones – break areas up into zones & limit crossings

ORGANISATIONAL | MANAGING PEOPLE

Current Workforce Assessment – are there employees at higher risk; aged 60+, existing health conditions. Can these employees be reassigned to reduce risk of infection?
Temperature checking – all staff checked daily prior to entering the workplace & record maintained of checks
Team Management
Pre-commencement checklist - including location & travel history & signed self-declaration completed
Induction - all staff inducted including basic food safety, personal hygiene & social distance requirements
Social isolation compliance – address any 14-day social isolation requirements (interstate movements)
Daily staff health assessment – to ensure they are not suffering from fever, fatigue, cough, sneezing, aches & pains, runny or stuffed nose, sore throat, diarrhea, headaches or shortness of breath
Staff aware of social distance restrictions – maintaining 1.5m distance, avoiding personal contact, restrict face to face meetings
Keep staff informed – regularly updates & remind staff of requirements
Record keeping – individual declarations, team make-up, living arrangements (shared house, hostel), team rosters
Translation – ensure all resources are understood & translated if required
Interstate Workers – check current border controls & isolation requirements at www.berries.net.au/covid-19
Workplace policies
Fit for work policy
Pro-active leave policy (incl. social isolation)
Clear method for reporting and addressing personal illness, confirmed COVID-19 cases or close contact (isolation) requirements
Control of non-essential workplace visitors
Limitation of personal interaction between teams, transportation (truck) drivers
Ensure contractors (e.g. logistics, suppliers) are made aware that they cannot bring other visitors with them without approval
Cleaning roster – allow additional time & resources for enhanced cleaning prior to shift changes. Maintain detailed records of cleaning activities
Work crew and team size – reduce size of teams (to meet 1.5m spacing requirements & social isolation if required)
Work schedules and shifts
stagger time between shifts to minimise interactions & avoid bottlenecks in meals areas, toilets and car parks
stagger break times to manage usage of meal & toilets areas
Accommodation
decentralise accommodation to separate into smaller teams
then keep teams together - the smaller the team, the better
minimise the use of shared cooking, laundry & toilet/shower facilities
ensure clear communication between your business & shared accommodation (hostel) & encourage teams stay & travel together (where possible)
identify alternative accommodation options if staff members are required to self-isolate
Transport
transport teams together
ensure strict vehicle hygiene including adhering to social distance requirements (1.5m)
clean vehicles with sanitiser after each use (steering wheels, handles, seat belts)
where no specific permits are required, ensure the driver in each vehicle has a letter from the employer stating the business name, address, contact details of employer and that they are travelling to or from work
ensure all passengers have required information including permits to travel if travelling between regional areas in WA

ADMINISTRATIVE | ACCESSING HELP & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

Help – the business has clearly identified who to contact for advice, what to do in the event of an infected worker & has a documented procedure ready to implement
Emergency procedures
identify the source & immediately quarantine all the people that have been in close contact
approach appropriate health authority based on your state location
immediately disinfect all equipment that the entire team was using including any shared facilities such as meal areas & toilets
ascertain as many details about the original source person to help authorities with traceability including housing & transport arrangements, recent travel, places visited like shops

USEFUL LINKS | STATE RESOURCES

QLD | covid19.qld.gov.au
VIC | vic.gov.au/victorias-response-coronavirus
SA | covid-19.sa.gov.au
NSW | preview.nsw.gov.au/covid-19
TAS | coronavirus.tas.gov.au
WA | wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus

SAFEWORK | safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT | health.gov.au/resources/collections/novelcoronavirus-2019-ncov-resources

BERRIES AUSTRALIA | berries.net.au/covid-19
FARMHUB | farmhub.org.au