With flu season upon us, operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic is more important than ever. Surrounding states are already considering area shutdowns and other extreme measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. Further, with more frequent international travel and an expanding world population, it is becoming obvious that there has been an explosion in the transfer and spread of infectious diseases over the last two decades.

Many health experts warn that this may be just the beginning if we do not collectively follow safety and health restrictions and guidelines and take these events seriously. The pressure is mounting on government agencies like OSHA, CDC and WHO to step up their efforts, and many experts are saying that it’s not a matter of if but when regulations will require all businesses to have a written infectious disease prevention plan.

NJ CAR will remain steadfast in its efforts to keep New Jersey new car dealerships open for business through the COVID-19 pandemic and in the future, but we cannot do it alone. NJ CAR has launched its “NJ CAR Clean” certification program to educate and inform dealer members about protocols for operating during a pandemic. NJ CAR CLEAN applies the best of current guidelines set forth by the CDC, OSHA, WHO and other regulatory agencies to everyday dealership operations through multiple channels.

Available to dealership owners and employees, the NJ CAR CLEAN certification provides a 20-minute training webinar, a detailed written infectious disease prevention manual for COVID-19, cleaning and management checklists and a starter kit of collateral materials. These materials allow participating dealerships to provide informative and precise messaging that promotes what they are doing to keep customers and employees safe. Finally, your dealership has complete access to full-time health and safety experts employed by NJ CAR to address your infectious disease questions and concerns.

Once a dealership employee has completed the webinar, that dealership will be certified NJ CAR Clean and will receive the starter kit at no charge. Additional materials can be reordered through NJ CAR Services as needed.

Topics discussed throughout the webinar and included in the manual focus on using OSHA’s pyramid of controls. Some of the topics include infectious disease control and prevention, personal protection equipment purpose and use, social distancing properly, health risk screenings and employer/employee communication, training and relations.

The main objectives of the NJ CAR Clean program are to promote business continuity by avoiding future shutdowns and/or business disruptions, alleviate safety and health concerns, promote customer confidence, and manage impacts of the pandemic.

For more information or to become NJ CAR CLEAN certified, please contact the Coalition at 609.883.5056.