COVID-19: Operational Impact
EcoChill always put the well-being of our employees, partners, customers and their families first and we are proud of our on-going Health and Safety track record that supports this.
In what is an unprecedented time for New Zealand, we want to assure you we have processes in place that ensure we are continuing to deliver essential services for New Zealand. We are fully focused on working with our customers to reduce the risk of transmission at customer sites and in our offices.
We are committed to doing this while maintaining the safety of our people, your people and our communities.
CUSTOMER IMPACTS
New Zealand is currently operating in the traffic light system.
As the situation continues to evolve whatever traffic light New Zealand is in you can be assured EcoChill is an essential service provider. All our teams are fully operational and will be available within traffic light guidelines.
Government guidelines and health and safety protocols are in place to ensure the safety of our teams, customers and communities.
Offices are NOT open in RED light except to our own people and for the purpose of critical services and only open as allowed in other levels.
We ask you to postpone your visit if you are feeling unwell and masks are mandatory at all times.
All visitors and employees are required to sign in at all times and appropriate guidelines are strictly followed.
Building Warrant of Fitness Requirements
The Building Act 2004 (the Act) requires completion of all IMR procedures in the buildings compliance schedule for the previous 12 months, in order for a BWoF to be issued. Unfortunately, the Act does not provide any flexibility or exemptions to this requirement. This means for those buildings where IMR procedures have been missed, at the time the next BWoF is due, a valid BWoF will not be able to be supplied or displayed.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Our COVID-19 response team includes health and safety and operational experts to manage our company-wide response.
The team is supporting our business to implement plans and maintain safe operations at our sites. This team reports daily to our Senior Leadership Team.
In addition to current health and safety and hygiene protocols EcoChill is:
- Monitoring local conditions and has actions in place to maintain workforce safety and business continuity. These include procedures to move quickly to isolate anyone who may require medical treatment or testing, as well as additional information and resources to support the well-being of our workforce.
- We have implemented measures based on risk assessment, government requirements, and specialist advice that take into account specific site factors. These include:
- Ensuring our people continue to follow Ministry of Health guidelines on hygiene and pandemic protocols.
- All our people are equipped with appropriate PPE and have been trained in its use.
- Ensuring all our people take a health check before coming to work and supporting teams through the Mates in Construction mental health toolbox guidelines.
- Ensuring specific procedures and Ministry of Health guidelines are followed for dealing with contaminated sites and at-risk facilities including the development of COVID management and site-specific plans.
- Our employees are prepared to manage through a range of scenarios where COVID-19 limits workforce capacity or access to infrastructure through our Business Continuity Plan.
- All construction work is being delivered to the New Zealand COVID-19 Construction Protocols that sit below the COVID-19 Standard for New Zealand Construction Operations. These protocols are a living document that is updated by a working party of health and safety practitioners from across the industry and are adapted on a site-by-site basis.
The challenges presented by COVID-19 are fluid and change on an almost daily basis. There can be no guarantees about what further measures might be implemented by the government or the directions that world markets might take. As the situation continues to change rapidly worldwide, we will continue to assess and update our response ensuring we protect the health and safety of our people, our customers and our communities.
