NFT takes measures to protect its employees while ensuring business continuity

Ayad El Hage, QHSE Manager, NFT, tells in detail to CBNME the full measures take by the company to combat COVID-19:

At NFT, we are committed to our customers, employees and communities. The biggest challenges faced by companies during this crisis is ensuring business continuity while ensuring, with equal weight, the safety of its employees.

During this global pandemic we are united as business owners, employees, clients, suppliers, government entities, to combat the spread of the COVID-19. At NFT, we are a big believer that Knowledge and we share through through our BLOG the latest publications regarding the effects on the pandemic on the construction sector as well as business and safety measures to consider during this crisis.

Our QHSE department has been monitoring with full devotion the developments around the COVID-19 pandemic and strictly NFT is implementing all the recommendations from trusted sources who are experts in the field, such as
Department of Health in the UAE, World Health Organization (WHO), or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).

The health and safety of our employees and customers are and have always been our number one priority.
By default, our occupational activities are relatively safe and in line with provisions taken to combat spread of COVID19. We work with steel structures in open spaces that are exposed to the sun and high heat, which makes it resistant to the spreading of the virus.

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However, the exposure remains with the human element outside those activities such as commuting to work and within each employee’s personal life. First step in facing any hazard is to conduct risk assessments and act according to the scientific recommendations to tackle the hazards. From the very early stages, we set up Crises Management Committee formed from out top management, QHSE, Administration, Operations, and HR departments. The job of this committee is to follow up on the current situation, development of COVID-19, contact with UAE officials, contact with our sister companies overseas, and come up with measures in line with the official recommendations.

The second step was for NFT to conduct awareness sessions and NFT ran more than 15 dissemination and educational sessions about the virus and methods to control its spread to different groups in all employee languages. We made sure that the sessions were tailored to each vocation. Special attention sessions and trainings were conducted with sanitation people, drivers, or the more vulnerable groups who can be more exposed as per our risk assessment surveys. In addition, flyers, posters, videos, and publications were circulated wherever possible inside the offices, workshop, vehicles, and even labor camps dormitories.

Commuting and Transportation

We adjusted our modus operandi and adopted several work procedures according to International Recommendations and mitigation measures mandated by the UAE Government, starting with vehicles. The highest
risk of transmission occurs while commuting to work or living in labor camps that have high concentration of people.
Commuting to work according to the UAE authorities’ directives, follows 30% occupancy in the vehicles.

Effectively it means, we tripled our bus trips to labor camps, we increased our fleet of small vehicles and minibuses. In addition, we added separate plastic sheet inside the bus in order to separate the driver from the passengers.

Image Provided by NFT

Each vehicle carrying more than the driver, is disinfected at least twice a day or as necessary. The labor camps posed as a threat to the spread of the pandemic. However, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the health Authorities in the UAE, we managed to screen all our working force and implement extra precautions in collaboration of labor camps management.

On site and in our workshop, all teams were divided into segregated groups that work in isolation from each other. QHSE team is closely monitoring all laborers in our workshop by testing their temperature and ensuring they are wearing full PPE. In case any symptoms appear on any of the team members, the one with symptoms would go for
testing, while the others in the same team would be sent to self-isolation until further verification. Meanwhile, the
job would be carried out with another group, hence keeping workflow uninterrupted.

Office
In parallel, the same measures were conducted to maintain social distancing in the head office, when possible the employees could carry out their jobs without the need to come to office. In case coming to office is essential, we  restructured the office distribution as to maintain necessary social distancing as recommended. An infrared gun  thermometer was placed at the reception for all those entering to voluntarily check their temperatures.

A special team is deployed for disinfecting all surfaces, office appliances, doorknobs, handles, restroom facilities,
round the clock during working hours. Paper circulation was reduced to minimum, and when necessary special disinfected plastic files were used to carry the papers. Masks and gloves are distributed in different types and frequency according to the risk analysis.

Special awareness sessions and measures are put in place for the more Vulnerable people (by virtue of their age, underlying health condition, clinical condition or are expecting).

They follow the highest strict precautions. Fingerprinting for sign in/out were temporarily deactivated and replaced with web sign in/out. The hallways and entrances have been equipment with hand sanitizing stations. We reduced meetings to absolute necessary ones whether external meeting or internal. When possible, we usevirtual meetings through our subscription to Microsoft Teams.

On client project sites
All our technical teams received dissemination on how to take precautionary measures against COVID-19; and they were instructed to take extra vigilance to their surroundings while being full equipped with the PPE as required.  Because a full mechanical team is composed of 4-5 members, we have increased our fleet to dispatch the same number of teams as usual in order to ensure we continue to service our clients as per their schedule.

Image Provided by NFT

Tower Crane Operators, by nature of their occupation, are in isolation in the Cabin from other workers. However, they were provided with instructions and disinfection material to be applied in case there were rotation in the Cabin. The advice is not to have rotation of shift in one Cabin. If necessary, the cabin should be deeply disinfected after old
operator use and before new operator use.

It is our social responsibility to prevent the spread of the virus while ensure business continuity in support of the  economies we are contributing to. Therefore, in these unprecedented times, NFT will continue to offer its products and services in a safe, responsible manner as long as we are able to do so. Our commitment to our clients and to our employees is uninterrupted.