911 Supply: Coping with COVID-19

Adapting work schedules to protect employees and regular operations

911 Supply have now closed their showrooms to the public in Calgary and Ottawa, and have most staff working from home. Currently they only have a small crew of staff serving first responders for web orders, pickup orders, and other similar ‘as needed’ basis.

If you have a similar company and need to reduced and minimize your staff operations, here’s a strategy that 911 Supply has implemented on recommendation by an expert in the field of pandemics.

Staff are to operate in two independent shifts, alternating each day or in a “one week on, one week off” capacity. Cleaning & sanitizing each workstation at the beginning and end of each day. This way if one staff member becomes infected, and a health authority mandates all “close contact” people self quarantine, the company can still have a second independent group of employees who can operate, as opposed to risking being shut down entirely in one fell swoop. With the uncertainty on how long this will continue, 911 Supply is treating it like a marathon not a sprint.

A personal message from 911 Supply to the business community: “Stay safe and well everyone, looking forward to catching up and lamenting on the battle scars and impacts to our businesses when the time is right.”