Opening up the economy with smart, scientific and sectoral solutions

In the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a big debate now on the trade-offs between lives and livelihoods in Bangladesh and many other developing countries. Unlike many developed nations, livelihood does not just mean addressing the basic needs—rather it is a matter of survival. In other words, ignoring livelihoods in Bangladesh may lead to severe recession or even famine. In grim terms, the reality is loss of life, either by hunger or by pandemic. A recent Yale study shows that the benefits of lockdown is lower for the developing countries than the developed ones.

So the lockdown, which is adversely affecting livelihoods, may not be a long term model for Bangladesh. In fact, in some cases it may be counterproductive. For example, in slums or low income settlements, workers live in a very congested environment and social distancing is next to impossible to maintain at home. Thus, these people are aimlessly roaming around without any purpose, beating the sole purpose of the lockdown. The rate of contacts per person may be lower if the workers can be moved back to their workplaces, where proper protocols of social distancing and personal hygiene can be maintained more effectively. These protocols should cover both workplaces and the homes of the workers, as well as transport. The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently warned that opening up the economy without preparations will lead to a second wave of pandemic.

Therefore, as the lockdown continues, we should think of smart, science based and sectoral (3S) approaches of how to open up the economy. 

By "smart solutions", we mean effective but cheap, innovative but easy-to-use solutions to minimise the risk of Covid-19 in the workplace. Hence, it requires the cross-fertilisation of ideas from different disciplines: public health experts, clinicians, industrial-organisational psychologists, economists, architects and engineers. Lessons from the best practices across the world, from the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) to Kerala's umbrella solution need to be compiled, customised and tested. We have learnt that architects and urban planners are already experimenting with innovative solutions in the slums of Dhaka.

The solutions for workplace safety must have solid scientific foundations—the risk assessment of a workplace and strategies for mitigation must be scientific (i.e. science-based solutions). The innovations have to be data based, implying that data will drive the solutions and its effectiveness can also be measured in a scientific way, for example, by using randomised control trials. Understanding the (social) science of technology adoption and the willingness to pay are critical in diffusing such technology.

Based on the risk assessment findings, customised protocols for the various sectors—manufacturing, service and construction—need to be developed so that these sectors can start operating by minimising the risk of contagion. These will be part of the sectoral solutions. For example, industrial engineers can redesign the workplaces of RMG industries to ensure adequate physical distancing with little changes. The shifts of workers can be increased to minimise the number of workers at one point of time. The operations should ensure physical distancing, avoid contact between workers and maintain hygiene. The workers' flow or movements need to be properly designed and monitored. There should be protocols during entry to the factory and during their stay. Guidelines should be in place if anybody develops symptoms; psychological counselling is required to elevate worker morale. Special equipment like automatic/foot operated hand washing stands or disinfection chambers using food grade disinfectants can to be installed at the gate of each floor. 

Whereas worker flow solutions are needed for industries with factories, the service sector requires customer/client flow solutions. Worker flow solutions focus on keeping product delivery efficient and ensuring worker safety. Customer/client flow solutions ensure customer/client satisfaction and the safety of both customer/client and the service provider. The construction industry, on the other hand, needs to come up with site management protocols. These may include site entry/egress procedures, limiting number of workers on site (crew shifts), maintaining worker hygiene, cleaning tools before sharing, delineating different risk zones within the site, etc. The construction project schedules need to be designed so that workers can work in parallel, avoiding labour intensive functions. 

All of the sectors need to have customised protocols if employees become infected with Covid-19. This protocol should include procedures for detecting symptoms, isolating the infected ones and arranging hospitalisation if needed.

The huge stimulus package of the government can be tied to the compliance of the guidelines for workplace safety. Adoption of new risk minimising technologies can also be subsidised through the stimulus package. It is not only financing; building awareness among the entrepreneurs is also critical in successful implementation of such guidelines. 

 The preparation of sector-wise customised protocols for resuming work is a mammoth task. These protocols have to be approved by the appropriate regulatory bodies of the government. The private sector can play a key role in helping government develop these guidelines, for they have the sectoral expertise. We know that some private sector firms have already started to market a wide range of solutions to jumpstart the economy. These efforts should be encouraged and incentivised by the government in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Asif M Zaman is an Environmental Engineer at MD Esolve Intl Ltd. Email: [email protected]