IBS Office Solutions Ltd is closely monitoring the evolution of the COVID19 pandemic.
In light of the announcements on 31st October 2020 regarding heightened restrictions we wish to reassure our customers we are continuing to monitor the evolving situation and the way in which we continue to operate whilst prioritising protecting the wellbeing of our customers, team and the wider community.
We have continued to operate and support customers throughout the pandemic. Now more than ever it’s critical that we make it possible for you to continue your operations and help you respond to the unique demands that you may be facing.
The team is continuously assessing how to appropriately respond to the crisis as it evolves. Everyone’s health and welfare are a priority with many of our HO staff once again moving back to working from home to ensure our business operates in a COVID-SECURE way and in line with our risk assessments and the working practises implemented.
We have extensive online collaboration capabilities and have recently invested in further technology to help ensure business continuity.
We have centralised all our communications where possible. Please contact office@ibs-uk.net or call 01491 411996 where a member of the team will be available to help you. When requesting assistance, you will be asked a few additional questions in order for us to establish the most effective and safest way to help you. On occasion our response times maybe be slower than usual and we appreciate your understanding.
We will continue to follow advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Public Health England (PHE) and The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK, and will communicate further as the situation develops.
Please reach out to your account manager, or the main helpline listed above, with any questions and concerns. We can also help support customers with sourcing PPE, Digi tuff paper for signage, partitioning and pandemic visitor management terminals. Contact our stationery team at stationery.sales@ibs-uk.net and they will be happy to assist you.
Please see below for answers to frequently asked topics regarding our business continuity plans. We’ll maintain this page and update it regularly as conditions change.
Visiting Customer Sites
While we continue to focus on our customers’ ongoing satisfaction and success, the safety and well-being of both IBS employees and customers is of paramount concern. As such, on-site visits by our employees are limited to situations that cannot be handled remotely. In circumstances where it is not possible to handle critical situations remotely, employees may be approved for on-site visits based on the severity of the issue, site location, and measures taken to comply with legal requirements and to provide a safe and healthy environment for our employees.
If an engineer is required to visit a customer site we have implemented proactive precautions for engineers to protect themselves and customers, and to prevent the spread of the COVID19.
Booking for an engineer to visit site;
A series of questions will be asked to confirm if the site is currently Covid-Secure.
- Has the site implemented measures to become Covid-Secure?
- If no please refer call to HR Manager Ali Simmons
- Has anyone on site tested positive in the last 5 days?
- Has anyone had symptoms on site in the last 72 hours and/or awaiting a Covid test?
- If yes to question 2 & 3 – Have they received results of a Covid test? Are the remainder of the individuals “bubble” still on site? For either answer the call is then referred to our HR Manager Ali Simmons.
- If no – Call can be booked with a contact name and number listed and customer advised they will be required to notify us if the position changes prior to us attending site. The engineer will call on the day prior to arrival to ask that the area is prepared ready for their arrival and again ask if the site is currently Covid-Secure and no one on site has had symptoms since booking the call. If Covid-Secure engineer will attend site. If site is not Covid-Secure call is referred to HR Manager Ali Simmons.
- Can the engineer work with a 2 meters distance around the machine to ensure social distancing?
- Will they have access to hand washing facilities on site?
Please note in order to ensure everyone’s safety the following will apply when it has been established that someone on site has been identified as having Covid symptoms.
- Before allocating an engineer to attend site we will need to be notified of the results of any Covid result. If negative we will attend as a priority.
- If positive the “bubble” the individual was in will need to have been sent home to self-isolate for 14 days and the site will need to have undertaken a deep clean in line with Covid-Secure procedures.
On arrival at a customer site;
- The engineer will use PPE on site and wear a mask at all times.
- The engineer will sign in, if required, using their own pen
- The engineer will ask to use facilities to wash their hands with soap and water.
- They will then wear disposable gloves and sanitise the machine using bacterial wipes. The wipes and gloves will then be placed in a sealed bag for disposal.
- Prior to leaving they will ask to use facilities to wash their hands with soap and water.
Social Distancing
We have also advised all employees visiting customer sites to apply social distancing and would appreciate your support in helping them to do this. They have also all be issued with company appropriate PPE and instructed to adhere to customer requirements when on site.
Health of Employees
Measures have been put in place to monitor the health of employees. All employees are following government guidelines in regards self-isolation requirements. Employees are required to update our HR Manager on any symptoms they may present with and this is then monitored and tracked appropriately.
Employee Foreign Travel
Following Government guidelines our employees travelling to high risk countries for personal reasons are undergoing 14 day self-isolation.