Watkins wanted to update everyone on what we have been doing to deal with the changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and what we are doing with the business moving forward.
At the start of the pandemic Watkins assembled a COVID response team which included our Senior Managers from across the business. They ensured we followed guidelines that had been issued for COVID-19. This included liaising with our clients to ensure the safety of everyone on and off sites and to ensure we were equipped to handle the changes in the short and long term.
One of our first challenges was to enable our office teams to work remotely before the full lockdown came into effect. Our IT department worked tirelessly to ensure that staff had the ability and access to be able to do this. Our Health & Safety team quickly set up our new working procedures for office staff and for those sites that remained open when it was safe to do so.
We liaise and work alongside our clients ensuring all the necessary requirements that have been set out by the government have been implemented. Changes to our sites to ensure safe working included:
- Supplying all our sites with a COVID-19 PPE box with all the necessary equipment;
- Implementing new signage at the entrance and around the sites explaining the changes which includes distancing and signing in procedures;
- Extra antibacterial cleaning stations to clean down all tools before and after use;
- Additional handwashing stations in various locations around our sites;
- Increased Hygiene measures in our offices including floor markings for our Site offices and Induction rooms to adhere to the social distancing rules;
- Training and inductions for our office staff and site staff;
- Continued remote working wherever possible.
Our supply chain has been working hard with procedures to ensure labour and materials are available as required to meet program requirements. Watkins has worked closely with suppliers on making sure procedures work together to keep everyone safe.
Because of all the hard work from everyone at Watkins and our supply chain we have been able to maintain a high level of service to our clients throughout this difficult time.
Our Maintenance and Customer Care Team continue to provide 24 hours emergency service and preventive maintenance to Energy Centres. This has ensured residents are supported when they need it the most. Recently we have returned to a full service providing a full reactive and preventative service.
The situation is constantly changing, and we are evolving our procedures to meet our client’s requirements in-line with government guidance.
