While traffic is down or nonexistent to most non-essential retailers, people are still visiting different businesses. Find out where they are going – by state – here.
Day: April 7, 2020
CoolSys provides sneeze guard installation services at grocery and retail check-out counters to help prevent COVID-19 transmission
As the need for protection against COVID-19 transmission remains critical across the United States, CoolSys™, a parent of market-leading refrigeration and HVAC services companies nationwide, is providing installation of plexi-glass protective panels, known as sneeze guards, at check-out counters in grocery, restaurant and other essential retail stores.
“During this challenging time, we are doing whatever we can to respond to the needs of our customers to prevent transmission of COVID-19,” comments Adam Coffey, CEO at CoolSys. “By installing sneeze guard plexi-glass panels at the point of purchase, retail stores can add another layer of safety and peace of mind for customers and employees.”
While sneeze guards are already commonly used in grocery and food-service locations at self-serve food bars and other areas that require a protective barrier, their installation at check-out counters represents a new measure in the effort to contain and prevent COVID-19 transmission. They can help customers and employees maintain social distance and physical separation while protecting from splashes and sprays. CoolSys and its family of companies has already installed sneeze guards at multiple locations of leading grocery-chains and is expanding these services nationwide to meet growing demand.
“We are happy that our field crews are able to use their skills and experience to install sneeze guards at some of our most important customers’ locations to help keep their employees and their customers safer during this global crisis,”said Joe Roomsburg, general manager and former owner of Virginia-based BRR Refrigeration, a CoolSys company.
About CoolSys
CoolSys is the market-leading refrigeration and HVAC services company, with more than 100 mechanical, electrical, plumbing and refrigeration (MEPR) engineers and 1,850 field-based technicians specializing in every stage of mission-critical systems from engineering and design, to installation, service and maintenance, and energy optimization. Headquartered in Southern California, CoolSys offers a full suite of services covering the daily needs of more than 40,000 customer locations across North America spanning a range of industries from healthcare, telecom, pharmaceutical, grocery, retail, commercial and industrial cold storage. For additional information, please visit www.coolsys.com.
April 7 Daily Grind focuses on supplier partnerships and cleaning
The April 7th episode of The Daily Grind reviewed successful supplier partnerships and featured Deb Kleopfer, Vice President of W Services Group. W Services Group provides facility maintenance services to the multi-site commercial market.
When asked about how W Services Group leverages their supplier partnerships in the current Covid-19 crisis, Kleopfer responded, “I think it’s just important to continue to be subject matter experts for your partners. We’re all learning this along the way; it changes often and rapidly. It’s really a matter of staying on top of accurate information and providing the information to our clients so they can make informed decisions.”
“It’s very important as you look at re-opening a facility that you do some risk assessment.
- You need to consider making engineering changes to protect customers and employees.
- Do I need to put up additional shields to help with social distancing?
- Do I have adequate hand-washing stations?
- Have I trained employees properly regarding the new proactive methods that are rolling out?
Also re-evaluate your scopes of work. We used to think simply cleaning the buildings once a day was good enough. That’s clearly not the case anymore. From your staff to your customers, you need to ensure you’re doing everything you can to reduce transmission of the virus.”
“It’s a matter of being pro-active versus re-active. The pro-active measures will place more emphasis on increased cleaning in general and will focus that cleaning on high-touch points. Do I really need to clean the floor ten times a day? No, you don’t, unless your customers or employees are crawling on the floor.
The transmission is made through our hands; touching surfaces, touching your face, etc. You have to re-adjust what your cleaning and focus more on those touch-points that will maintain a healthier and safer environment for everyone,” Kleopfer concluded.
Smiling as she reflects on how they’ve personally been adjusting, Deb added “You know, its been quite a challenge for me. This is the longest I’ve been in my home in ten years. It’s an adjustment for all of us, but we’re holding up well. We’re safe, we’re healthy, and I hope the rest of the Connex membership can stay the same. Rest assured, we’ll all get through this together!”
View this episode here.
NEST CEO to Deliver Virtual Session with St. Joseph’s University Future Business Leaders on Crisis Management
Rob Almond, CEO of the New Jersey based Integrated Facilities Management company, NEST, who is a member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Decision & System Sciences at St. Joseph’s University will speak with Senior Business Administration students Wednesday, April 8th, in the Haub School of Business.
Almond will speak to the future business leaders on Crisis Management and Disaster Planning during the COVID-19 response, how NEST supports their clients, employees, and partners during the situation.
“These students are seniors in the business school at Saint Joseph’s University, taking my class on business strategy,” said Dr. Stephen Porth, Ph.D. “Learning about crisis management in real time from Rob and how companies weather the storm is an incredible opportunity for them.”
Almond’s direction and guidance in developing the Integrated Facilities Management enterprise-wide solution has brought new offerings to clients including best-in-class business and financial analytics that help drive true cost savings. His strong desire for a great workplace culture has been recognized for the last seven years as one of the Top Workplaces in Philadelphia and has allowed NEST to see double digit percentage growth each year since 2015.
Almond attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University MBA program.
Lease options to explore during COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis impacts tenants and landlords alike. Needs-based asks from tenants are certainly appropriate at this time, with sincere consideration of the landlord’s position. How both parties demonstrate responsiveness, flexibility and partnership will be remembered long after the crisis is past. Learn more here.
