ARA debuts online cleanliness course

The American Rental Association (ARA) has launched another aspect of its “Clean. Safe. Essential.” initiative for construction equipment rental companies. The online training program for ARA members is designed to help keep the rental experience safe during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Available online through RentalU, the “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training certificate program features a variety of learning modules to help member construction and general tool rental stores ensure the cleanliness and safety of all rental operations, employees and customers. Topics covered in the comprehensive training include supplies needed, preparations to make, safety considerations and a cleanliness checklist.

Upon completion of the “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training program, ARA members will receive a certificate and an implementation kit for their specific location. ARA will continue to refine the training program with modules updated, added or replaced as necessary.

“Our industry is committed to developing solutions over and above what is expected to keep the rental process clean and safe,” said Tony Conant, ARA’s CEO. “The uniform training found in the ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ program is designed to help ensure the health and safety of customers and employees — and to maintain the highest level of confidence of our customer partners.”

The “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training program provides member stores with consistent training on measures to minimize exposure to the coronavirus for customers, staff, vendors and guests. Training is based on expertise from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), rental operators and equipment manufacturers.

While the training is based on medical science and operational expertise, ARA directs rental stores to comply with the latest local/city, state/province, and country laws and government regulations, and to conform with guidance provided by government health agencies. If government guidance is more stringent than what is found in the training, ARA says that stores should follow government guidance.

“The ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ program harmonizes the best practices for delivering a safe rental experience through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond,” Conant said. “Its main goals are to provide a consistent body of knowledge around health and safety practices inside of our current environment and to arm rental store staff with the tools they need to keep customers and employees safe.”

ARA is creating an expert panel to regularly evaluate the program and update best practices as new information becomes available.