Consultants partner to create guidelines for getting back to work

With so much debate and uncertainty today about when and how America can safely go back to work, it was a pleasant surprise — even some relief — to see an email from my friends over at ESI Convergent, LLC and Butchko Inc., two security consulting firms, who have partnered to develop the STEPS partnership program to Bring America Back to Work, a guide to provide a safe path forward as the American workforce gradually gets back to business as usual. The group presented their comprehensively detailed and clear and concise resource guide to government, state and local agencies earlier this week.

“We brought together leaders in the safety, security and entry business to help define our detailed plan,” Butchko Inc. President & CEO Benjamin M. Butchko told Security Systems News. “It will take determination and effort, but with pragmatic steps, we can overcome the economic turmoil resulting from Covid-19.”

Some of the industry leaders assembled to help with this guide include industry consultant and SSN Security Legend Award winner Jim Henry, Sage Integration's Rick Leighton and Building Intelligence Inc. CEO Jeff Friedman, to name just a few.

ESI Convergent, LLC CEO Mark R. Perkins, said in the opening letter introducing the program that the goal of bringing this group of “renowned security and safety professionals” together was to create a process that the group hopes “will enable our great nation to get back to work again,” he said. “The process of reuniting us with our normal process will be a daunting task but we believe with practical and safe adherence to processes that not only have been part of our daily work lives but are adjusted to the new norm we can make this a smooth transition. This process was created as a way to partner with our government and local agencies to become part of what we call the STEPS Partnership with America.”

Using the STEPS acronym, the Partnering with Americans to get America Back to Work in the COVID-19 era program focuses on:

Social Distancing Policy
• CDC defined and implemented
• Federal and State Guidelines
Testing Guidelines for employees and visitors
• Government Medical Alliances
• Drug Testing Guidelines
Entry Assessment Program (EAP)
• bSMART Guidelines
• Security Consultants
Privacy Policy (PP)
• Properly managing high risk individuals
• Existing Legal Precedent
Stay Home / Work-From-Home (WFH)
• Incentive Program
• Government/Private Partnership

As the group points out in the guide, “the greatest challenge is doing the right things now, and not allowing missteps and future mistakes to erode momentum in getting Americans back to work. With all the misinformation, negative perspectives, and social media influences, it is necessary to put forth a plan that substantially alleviates or eliminates any reasons not to go back to work. In this way, people who are skeptical and fearful of returning to work can be reassured that the right STEPS are being taken to assure their health, privacy and wellbeing.”

The guide also includes some great resources, such as the Testing Bill of Rights, as well as The Coronavirus Measurement and Positive Alert System (COMPAS), a COTS-based system designed to safely provide rapid field results and a common operating picture during both natural and manmade emergencies, including disease pandemics.

The COMPAS field sensor system provides immediate analysis and results indication to operators and consists of a thermal imager, calibration reference, field test controller, and an optional auxiliary data workstation. The touch-free operation and remote set-back deployment flexibility simultaneously maintains safety for test subjects while reducing operator exposure and personal protective equipment (PPE) demands. The field test controller operates from both Android and iOS operating systems for immediate local analysis, results reporting, and automated analysis algorithm enhancements developed through system-wide data analysis.

“The STEPS program is all about creating confidence and trust between business owners and employees, and between small businesses and customers," said Perkins. "It's about eliminating confusion, especially as it pertains to COVID-19, and returning to a healthy work environment and returning to consuming goods and services. We can't ask business owners to do more than they can do. We can only ask them to follow some easy guidelines and do the best they can do with what they have.”