Until 2020, the industrial sector largely shared a reactive approach to business continuity which was sufficient to mitigate the day-to-day risks associated with the industry operations. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, quickly showed if we wanted to remain sustainable during these unprecedented times—something had to give, and it had to give fast.
That’s when our team recognized soaring demand for a comprehensive employee medical prevention program instead of traditional offshore medical services. It was clear—our clients needed to ensure sufficient resources were available to prevent the spread, and we needed to deliver. We immediately went to work successfully launching our COVID-19 medical screening and testing division. The team in this division developed a HIPAA-compliant Coronavirus tracking database where clients could monitor trends and data collected by other participating companies. To test the waters—we started supplementing our Covid response efforts with a preliminary, on-site Point of Care (POC) program to confirm employees were fit for pre-deployment duty and had medical and containment solutions readily available in the event of an outbreak. The results were astounding.
For the first time ever, we were able to bring the oil and gas, manufacturing and construction industries together to build an industrial community standing for the same common goal—doing everything in our combined powers to protect our workforces from the global health crisis while keeping our operations going. This collaborative environment allowed employers to compare results to see what protocols were most effective at keeping worksites COVID-19 free, and what responses were proven successful in containing the spread so users could apply those preparations to their own operations. By doing so, our clients were able to mitigate the risks of medical evacuations and resulting downtime during a period when the industry was facing these and many other threats at an alarming rate.
Addressing Industrial Business Continuity Through HSE
The challenges the pandemic posed on industrial business continuity stretched well beyond COVID relief, prompting Essential Critical industries to reevaluate their strategic methods. While medical surveillance proved to be key, a sustainable solution required a comprehensive and well-rounded approach. Over the past twelve months, our HSE division made it their mission to pool together the most qualified and respected HSE resources to support the rise in demand for more robust solutions equipped to handle a health crisis of COVID’s scale.
This in turn presented another critical obstacle for our team—employing enough personnel and supplies to service our clients at an increased capacity. To do so, we needed a strong leadership team possessing the ability to solve any logistical and operational issues thrown our way.
We started initiating structural changes from within first—evaluating which employees were best suited to take on new roles based on experience and the values they brought to the table during this growth period. However, we were going to need additional reinforcements if we wanted to successfully reach our objectives. Through hiring new talent and cross-training existing staff, we were able to get the right resources in place to seamlessly launch our first phase of new service lines to accommodate the evolving needs of our industrial community.
Your Partners In Navigating The Pandemic
2020 threw a curveball that left many businesses in fight-or-flight mode, but at Pharma-Safe, our highly-flexible team was able to prepare, reorganize and adapt to our clients’ needs by providing additional support to their own business continuity plans for continued success. Contact us today to discover how Pharma-Safe can help you capitalize on your core business by securing the healthiest workplace possible for any industry, any environment.
