If you’re like us, you’re watching developments on the coronavirus (COVID-19) as they happen. Businesses are closing, public events have been cancelled, and there is no shortage of uncertainty as to when this will all be over.
Now that the World Health Organization has deemed coronavirus a pandemic, we’re joining businesses around the world that are responding with a strategy that helps to protect our customers, staff, and the community at large.
Back in 2003, when the SARS epidemic hit the Toronto area, Springbank Mechanical Systems created a response procedure in the event of a pandemic, hoping we would never have to use it.
Unfortunately, the time to implement it has come.
We recently revisited this plan, and after spending several hours refining it and making updates based on several “what if?” scenarios, we’re prepared to put this emergency plan into action.
For the well-being of our administrative, operational, and technical teams, we’re reducing our staff at our main office to one Supervisor and one Admin person and working remotely as much as possible for the foreseeable future. This action also keeps us compliant with requests from the provincial government. The process to working remotely has been in place for our business for many years, so the transition should be seamless and cause little to no interruption to our services.
Our senior staff will continue to closely monitor our customers’ requests to ensure that we’re here when you need us. However, since many of our customers are cutting back on hours or closing for the time being, we’ll be revisiting our strategy on a day-to-day basis and be making adjustments as the situation evolves and more details come to light.
We’re also being proactive with our own health. Our entire staff has been directed to report to their family doctor or local public health office if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, or pneumonia in both lungs. Everyone at Springbank will do their part to minimize the effect this pandemic has on our community.
That said, I can assure you that Springbank Mechanical Systems is still open for business. We’ll still provide the same great HVAC service, expert advice, and high-quality work you’re used to, and if you have an HVAC emergency we’re ready and mobilized to respond.
To stay updated on the latest information on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, be sure to check the Public Health Ontario or Health Canada websites for the most accurate, up-to-date information.
We would like to warmly thank our customers and staff for being so flexible, understanding, and proactive during this difficult time. We’re all in this situation together, and we will beat this together.
Most of all, we’re looking forward to the end of this pandemic and a return to normalcy for all of us.
Until that time, stay well, everyone.
Gregg Little, Paul De Thomasis, and Hugo Lopes are co-owners of Springbank Mechanical Systems. They can be reached at 905-569-8990, or via email at gregg@springbank.com or paul@springbank.com or Hugo@springbank.com.