Sep 11, 2020
GCRTA is continuing to make strides to protect our essential workers as we continue to work hard every day to provide an essential service to our customers and community. As a part of that mission, GCRTA has worked to ensure that employees are healthy, safe and ready to preform essential job functions.
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, GCRTA has worked with Concentra to check the temperature of essential personnel reporting to duty, including general office staff, mechanics, and operators. During this daily check-in, important information regarding symptoms and temperature are gathered before sending an employee off for the day. During the check-in, employees also had the opportunity to grab a new mask and express any concerns they may have had as it related to health or precautions being taken.
With the conclusion of our partnership with Concentra at the end of July, GCRTA continues to implement innovative ways to further protect staff. GCRTA is now checking employee temperatures with new tablet temperature scanning technology by Lamasatech (purchased from Applies Imaging). These are in place of the daily temperature check-ins and have the ability to give an accurate reading and have employees taking appropriate action in a matter of seconds. This method of temperature checking is just as accurate as the temperature gun scanner previously used with Concentra and is available for screening 24 hours a day at all locations.
The tablet works by first asking the employee to approach the camera of the tablet, with a mask on, bringing the face of the individual within the outline and lining the forehead up with the red dot the scan is taken. A green-lit temperature reading will indicate a normal temperature meaning that the employee can proceed to work. However, in the event that an employee is running a high temperature, a red-lit temperature reading will appear.
A normal temperature can be described as anything falling below 100.4 degrees. Anything at or above that is considered symptomatic according to CDC standards for COVID protection. Any employee, visitor or vendor exhibiting a high temperature should immediately go home, social distance and contact their primary care provider. An image of the individual and the temperature recorded will be sent directly to the Occupational Health Department and a designated supervisor. Facilities maintenance personnel at the district will be notified as well to take preventative measures to sanitize.
These tablet-scanning machines are accessible at our Main Office downtown to the public as well as employees, along with our four operations districts. All individuals on GCRTA property are expected to wear a mask and use the temperature tablet upon arrival to help ensure the safety of customers and employees.
In additions to the tablet temperature screening devices, GCRTA has also provided each employee with their own digital oral thermometer. This will allow employees to check their own temperature before they report to their work site further limiting any possible exposure and spread. Together we can fight COVID-19 if we all do our part to stay safe and take the proper precautions.
