COVID 19 – Response and Secure Workplace Statement.
Thanks to the herculean efforts of our colleagues, we’ve successfully managed to re-start our operations safely running while protecting our employees, suppliers, contractors and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating a fast paced engineering business is difficult so we’ve needed to take a thorough approach to set in place our strategies to address the potential risks proffered by the coronavirus.
Group Rhodes initial response started with the gradual return to work of our employees in late May/early June of 2020 with monitoring the progress of the virus and managing our response under the guidance issued by the UK Government and Public Health England.
Our QHSE team led on development of our COVID 19 Risk Assessment, which documents the control measures we’ve successfully implemented since its inception. These measures are specified in our workplace and a COVID 19 information board has been so placed to inform our employees, visitors’, supplies and contractors of the measures Group Rhodes has taken. These measures are based upon official Government advice prepared by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with input received from internal stakeholders.
Measures implemented to minimise risk include but are not limited to:
- Appropriate use of PPE and the provision of face masks for those who prefer to use them.
- Temperature checks conducted on all personnel entering our facility.
- Wide availability of hand sanitisers throughout our facility.
- Social distancing wherever possible (2m), with distancing lines painted across the manufacturing facility floor to aid personnel as a visual reminder.
- An aide-mémoire for maintaining work area and personal hygiene e.g. regular handwashing, with posters and signage around the facility.
- Elimination of non-essential activities and working from home as appropriate.
- Elimination of business travel and face-to-face meetings as appropriate.
- Reduced occupancy of vehicles and implementation of social distancing.
- Staggered break times.
- Implementation of exclusion zones and barriers in offices and reception areas with all rooms delegated a maximum permissible occupancy rate. This is done through signage.
- Implementation of physical barriers and one way systems where necessary.
- Enhanced cleaning routines provided by a third party contractor and a regular cleaning regime in house offered by our own workplace assistants.
We are continuing to support our customers’ needs while carefully managing our production levels across the business and hope that our activities help to support the economic recovery in the UK and further afield as we try to regain normality.
We are confident that the steps Group Rhodes has taken allied with our ongoing review activities comply with the UK Government’s guidance and as such, we are COVID-19 secure:
- We have completed a COVID-19 risk assessment and shared the results with our workforce.
- We are cleaning, washing our hands and maintaining hygiene procedures in line with Government issued guidance.
- We are taking all reasonable steps to help people work from home.
- We have taken all reasonable steps to maintain 2m social distancing in our workplace
- Where people cannot be 2m apart, we have done everything practical to manage transmission risk through the introduction of physical barriers, one way systems and provision of PPE.
- We remain obligated to preserving a safe workplace and will continue to monitor the COVID19 situation, including the latest guidance and adapt out processes accordingly.
- We shall amend our instructions and risk assessment should Government guidance or our operations require us to do so. Group Rhodes priority remains upon looking after the wellbeing of our Staff and other personnel by taking every step reasonably practicable.
For further information regarding our Risk Assessment and COVID 19 measures, please contact Graham J. Howard our QHSE Manager on 01924 371161.
C. Mark Ridgway OBE DL
CEO.
Group Rhodes Ltd.