CONTRIBUTORS | REPIPING IN A VIRUS
BEATING COVID-19
Working Through the COVID-19 Scare
ERIC LECKY
How one company responded to the crisis while keeping its plumbing renovation projects on track, and employees and customers safe.
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e are navigating a new world, living in unexpected times with significant shifts in our daily way of life, both personally and professionally. COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused the country, and Hawaii, to make extraordinary changes in how we interact with family, friends, customers and colleagues. This uncertainty raises numerous questions about emergency preparedness, continuity of operations, what’s safe and what’s not, how to keep workers employed, companies afloat and customers feeling reassured and secure. When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, along with local state/county orders, provided guidance on critical infrastructure services, replacing failing plumbing fell within the definition of an essential service. As this article is being written, this categorization has allowed SageWater to continue working on projects during these challenging times. It also validates the urgent need to shore up unstable plumbing and provide reliable water service to clients at a time when public health and sanitation is of the utmost importance. Due to the nature of its business, SageWater is in a unique position because it works inside people’s homes. Typically when it works inside a condominium unit, residents are at work during the day. But with the stayat-home or shelter-in-place orders, SageWater is faced with working in
units where residents are home, and more people are onsite at the communities all day, every day. As you can imagine, the company had to be very proactive to stay ahead of mandates, acting quickly to communicate with employees, clients, inspectors and local government officials about how it planned to continue operations during COVID-19 while protecting their employees and the communities they serve. They focused on a few key areas: providing leadership in a time of uncertainty, ensuring the safety, health and welfare of their employees, as well as the residents in every unit workers enter, reviewing and handling contractual matters, providing project continuity to meet client needs, and ensuring an ample pipeline of not only plumbing materials, but the newly required personal protective equip-
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ment (PPE) necessary to enhance the safety of everyone involved. Though SageWater’s response to COVID-19 is continuing to evolve, the following list outlines what company leaders have learned and put in place to support and protect their employees and clients during this time, while enabling repipe projects that provide critical infrastructure to continue. • Identified and designated an internal crisis management response team to serve as the primary resource for developing company communications for employees, clients, residents, partners, inspectors and other key stakeholders. • Communicated and disseminated information quickly and clearly to everyone affected. • Ensured they were complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization best practices, as well as all federal, state and local guidance and executive orders. • Implemented procedural changes to safeguard clients and workforce to reduce the likelihood of spreading disease, communicating those requirements openly and effectively so that everyone involved felt confident and safe. Internal procedures included: • On a jobsite, required strict social distancing, including staggering of crew breaks, arrivals and departures to avoid having more than 10 people in one place at one time. • Every morning before starting work for the day, SageWater required all employees to undergo a non-in-
