Case Study: NSF Working With a State to Help Promote COVID-19 Safety Practices for Employees, Customers and Communities

NSF is working with the State of Michigan to implement a customized COVID-19 assessment and guidance program.

With cases rising, the State of Michigan wanted to help ensure that businesses had all of the information and training necessary to operate safely. The state also needed data on compliance to help guide its decision-making efforts for the pandemic.

It is essential that employers understand and implement requirements and best practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Unfortunately, many of these requirements are vague or difficult to understand.

NSF is working with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) to provide free education and one-on-one guidance to help Michigan businesses minimize COVID-19 risks.

To help assure that workplaces remain safe for employees, customers and communities, LEO and MIOSHA partnered with NSF’s Checked by NSF™ program to employ ambassadors across Michigan to conduct on-site visits at local businesses and provide support and guidance to employers.

The ambassadors will gather information and share successful ideas or business strategies. They will also share MIOSHA materials to help local businesses understand workplace safety to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. No penalties will be issued during these visits; the goal is to “educate before you regulate.”

The health and safety experts at NSF are serving as workplace safety ambassadors for the State of Michigan. Upon request, they visit businesses and provide educational information and one-on-one consultations to help companies better understand COVID-19 risks and requirements in their area, at no cost to them.

Outcomes our services provide: 

• Customer confidence to safely return to spending with retailers
• Employee confidence to safely return to their workplace
• Business education and compliance to COVID-19 workplace safety rules

Over 2,000 businesses across Michigan have participated in the MIOSHA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Ambassador Program since September 2020.