March 16, 2020
To Our Valued Penhall Company Customers,
First and foremost, safety is and will always be our first priority at Penhall Company – it is part of our core values, it is shared with our employees, our owners, our customers, our strategic partners and our vendors. Therefore, out of abundance of caution, I thought it would be helpful to provide an update on how we are handling the situation at Penhall Company.
- We have enacted our Business Resiliency Plan for Penhall Company which includes separate response plans for hurricanes, infectious diseases, or other areas of concern. We have included a copy of our Infectious Disease Response and Preparedness Plan for immediate implementation.
- With our Business Resiliency plan enacted, we have assembled the Penhall Task Force which are select members of the Senior Leadership Team to meet periodically during the week to monitor the COVID-19 risk and potential impacts to our employees, customers and operations.
- We are continuing to follow the recommendations of CDC as it relates to hand washing. Wash with soap and water for 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, we are utilizing an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, at least 60 to 90% alcohol concentration, similar to Purell. We have asked our employees to wash often and wash properly.
- We have asked our employees that are not feeling well to stay at home, consult their doctor and not return to work until they feel better and have no symptoms so they can return to work and potentially your job site. If we have an employee that has the virus that has been on your job site, we will immediately contact your respective job site owner. We are requesting the same notification if one of your employees or subcontractors on the job site has the virus to immediately contact our local Penhall sales representative or Penhall branch manager
- Effective immediately, we have adopted a company policy until further notice of “no hand shaking”, which also includes hugging and kissing. Use a fist bump, bump elbows, wave or simply state hello.
- Our branch managers have been asked to supply hand sanitizer, tissues, waste receptacles with hands free touching or similar, Clorox or similar wipes to be available for our employees to wipe down areas of need for our branches and or offices as per our last message and per CDC guidelines.
- We are limiting business travel to only that essential to operating our business. Penhall Company is a service company and we must still operate to service our employees and customers. We will use phone, video wherever possible for non-essential meetings until further notice. Therefore, please bear with us as we will communicate with you first before traveling.
- We have discontinued shared food events, to include donuts, lunches at our offices for meetings or other group gatherings.
- Our branch offices are routinely being cleaned and disinfected at least once a week after work hours. If our offices believe it needs to be more frequent, then they have the ability to make that happen. We are focusing on cleaning frequently touched surfaces, countertops, workstations, and doorknobs.
- Employees who have traveled for personal reasons to any high-risk COVID-19 areas, have had family members who have done so, and/or who have been in proximity to anyone suspected of having confirmed with the virus with in the last 14 days, will self-isolate at home for the next 14 days.
- We are communicating these policies with our strategic partners and vendors and are asking them to apply similar guidance to their employees who might visit our Penhall offices or branch locations. We have been assured by our strategic partners and vendors that they do not see any interruption in supplies or services to Penhall.
We all know the Coronavirus COVID-19 disease and the impacts they are having on daily life with our employees. We are stressing to them to stay on task and if for any reason they feel unsafe and not certain that they can perform their task safely, please STOP THEIR WORK immediately and regroup. The most immediate risk and hazards are the ones associated with their work on your job sites and not the COVID-19.
While some of these precautionary measures may seem inconvenient, they are being taken out of abundance of caution and to keep everyone safe. It is presently unclear how long these restrictions will remain in place, though we will continue to communicate regularly as the situation evolves. We appreciate your continued business as well as your understanding and commitment during this very challenging time. Should you have any questions or concerns please contact your local Penhall sales representative or Penhall Company branch manager.
Best Regards,
Gregory G. Rice, President and CEO
