Committed to Safety & Service
How We Are Reacting
Exposure and Business Continuity Plan
Basis:
The purpose of this plan is to implement strategies to protect our workforce from potential exposure to COVID-19 while also ensuring continuity of operations. This will, in turn, protect our customers as well as our employees.
General:
While our company is not considered to be at high risk for exposure (such as Healthcare, Deathcare (coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors), Airline Operations, Waste Management, and Travel), Expert Mechanical Service employees do perform work at some of these facilities. Being a contractor, we are exposed to many different people at many different job sites daily. This plan outlines some of the risks, mitigation of risk, and our plan for business continuity should an outbreak result.
Prevention:
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Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness must stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F [37.8° C] or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees must notify the office and stay home if they are sick. We strongly encourage employees who come down with the above symptoms to be tested for COVID-19.
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A doctor’s note must be provided before returning to work if an employee is off work for two days or longer. This measure is being taken in effort to ensure COVID-19 is not being spread any further.
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NOTE: Some infected persons may develop pneumonia and become seriously ill or die. Extensive treatment may be required. Please be vigilant in your health care and contact your doctor or emergency room if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.
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Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure. Expert Mechanical Service management also understands that circumstances may arise to where an employee may have to stay home to care for a sick family member. Employees are to notify the office and/or management if this occurs.
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If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, Expert Mechanical Service Safety and/or Management will inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. We will also notify any of our customer sites which may have been affected. Patient confidentiality (i.e. name, address, any personal information) must be maintained as required by State regulatory agencies (i.e. HIPAA, ADA). Employees exposed to a co-worker with confirmed COVID-19 should refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.
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Practice good hygiene:
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Stop handshaking – use other non-contact methods of greeting.
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Limit food sharing.
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Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When soap and running water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands that are visibly soiled.
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Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
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Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
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Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Put your used tissue in a waste basket. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, NOT your hands. Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.
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Environmental cleaning:
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Expert Mechanical Service will routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the office, such as workstations, countertops, and doorknobs.
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Disposable wipes and spray disinfectant are available so that commonly used surfaces (doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls, desks) should be wiped down by employees before each use.
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Expert Mechanical Service encourages all employees to follow these practices at home, and while out in public as much as possible.
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Business Continuity:
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Members of the Management and Administrative team will work remotely from home. All systems and files are available for working access and customer communications.
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All available field employees will be informed regarding protective actions and/or modifications. Messaging and risk communications will be conducted by Kelly O’Brien. Guidance and instructions on established infection control measures such as social distancing and personal protective equipment are provided by Kelly O’Brien, the Safety Department and/or Supervisors/Foremen to assist in limiting the spread of COVID-19 at the primary and alternate worksites.
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Shifts for field employees will be modified so that coverage is achieved without putting anyone’s health or safety at risk.
How We Are Handling Job Sites
We have sent the following letter to all of our current customers here at Expert Mechanical Service to ensure that we stay healthy and keep our customers healthy.
March 26, 2020
SUBJECT: COVID-19 – Customer Sites and Access Requirements
To Whom it may Concern:
With the current COVID-19 crisis, we at Expert Mechanical Service, Inc. are doing everything we can to adhere to the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order. While we are an essential business provider and are open for business – we are doing so with the utmost caution. Of the highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of people – our employees, their families, our customers and the community. Our office staff are all working remotely from home. Our field technicians are all well versed in the requirements of social distancing, personal hygiene, disinfecting devices and surfaces, wearing personal protective equipment as required, etc. (see attached Tech Safety Tips).
During this crucial timeframe of the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order which demands most commercial buildings strictly regulate access, many if not all employees are working remotely to limit exposure. We do though, have to ask the tough questions when working at customer sites and when receiving calls for service. This is in effort to comply with the Executive Order, to communicate and coordinate our arrival and time spent on site, and to help stop the spread of this terrible disease.
Answers and coordination efforts, we require during this time:
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Has anyone within your building recently been confirmed with COVID-19 or become ill or symptomatic? If so, what are the measures which have been taken to ensure the safety of anyone who is in your facility?
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What measures have you taken to alleviate/limit contact between people in your facility? Does your company follow the WHO (World Health Organization), CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and State guidelines which have been instructed?
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When our technician arrives on site, are there going to be any other outside contractors or vendors on site working also? If so, in what proximity? What measures are you taking to ensure all who work on site are following the guidelines?
We would like to reassure you that we are open for business and available during this timeframe. We will do everything we can to keep your business up and running during these uncertain times – we just all have to do our part to do so safely and as per guidelines so that we can get through to the other side of this as soon as we can.
Please feel free to contact us directly – either by phone (734-282-2250), or by email (Service@expertmechanicalservice.com) with any questions and/or to schedule with us.
Sincerely,
Expert Mechanical Service, Inc.
Kelly J. O’Brien
President