DNV GL launches risk management solutions to prevent and mitigate infection threats

The hospital-grade solutions enable companies to prevent and mitigate infection risk from emerging pathogens in a structured and proven way, communicating confidence to employees, consumers and others that compliant and necessary measures safeguard their health.

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing threats to both society and the financial world that neither were prepared to face. With entire countries forced into lockdown, international and national authorities are defining guidelines and establishing new social rules to contain the spread of infection.

“Companies have had to adapt by reviewing, sometimes drastically changing its processes and ways of supplying goods, services or operating its facilities. Infection risk management measures have become relevant, even essential, for every single organization to continue operations. Whereas before, it was maybe thought of more specially developed for hospitals and others in healthcare,” says Luca Crisciotti, CEO of DNV GL - Business Assurance.

Some companies must prove compliance to continue operations. However, most companies need to reassure their customers that their operations can be safely trusted to continue business.

"As societies carefully reopen, companies are gradually resuming business volumes. Without the ability to assure customers that it is safe to stay at your hotel, purchase products or use any service you may offer, there will be no business to resume,” says Paul McNellis, Global Assessment & Advisory Manager in DNV GL – Business Assurance. “This comes on top of employee safety of course and there is an extreme need to communicate trust beyond doubt.”

The ability to communicate trust always starts with one’s efforts. But understanding all current and post-COVID-19 lockdown requirements and translating them into suitable and compliant processes, and assessing implementation is very complex.

DNV GL’s information risk management solutions support you in developing industry specific solutions, metholdologies to assess compliance and maturity, and training of personnel. Assessment, certification and training by an independent third party provides the necessary confidence in operations internally and externally.

To enable a response that meets the high-level infection risk management required from companies today, all solutions and assessment methodologies are based on DNV GL’s own hospital standards, systems and expertise applied by hospitals daily. This is combined with our industry best-practices and risk management competence, national COVID-19 requirements.

“Our objective is to provide solutions that enable companies to provide a robust, immediate answer and gain insight to develop long-term HSE policies part of their management system to be fit for the post COVID-19 business environment,” says Paul McNellis. “In addition, we can apply blockchain-based solutions where efficient to collect data, assure immutability and instill trust in our marks. This provides an additional level of transparency and allows effective communication via dedicated blockchain-stamped pages on a company’s ability to manage infection risk.”