The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every local business — the ones owned and operated by your friends and neighbours. There are thousands of stories about the impact of the pandemic on business; here is one.
A commentary by the general manager of Van Isle Windows.
As we face the unprecedented challenges brought on by COVID-19, Van Isle Windows Ltd. has taken the steps we felt necessary to protect our customers, our employees and their families and our communities.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the virus a global pandemic and things began to change quite quickly as COVID-19 spread across the globe and into our country, province and island. Every day brought new changes as Canada ramped up its response.
Due to the uncertainty at that time, nobody was really sure what was safe and what was not, so on March 17, Van Isle Windows decided to temporarily shut down its operation. This included all of our showrooms across the Island, our factory in Victoria, and installation department Island wide. We sent everyone home.
We did this because we felt this was the most socially responsible thing we could do to keep everyone in our community safe, flatten the curve of COVID-19 and do our part to prevent the health-care system from becoming overloaded.
For two weeks, all of our employees were given full pay and told to stay home, avoid all unnecessary travel and follow the guidelines set by our federal and provincial health officers.
After the initial two weeks, we continued the shutdown, retaining 75 per cent of our employees and putting them on an internal Van Isle Windows company payroll program, so they did not have to apply for EI or the CERB.
They were again given instructions to stay home and follow all federal and provincial guidelines to halt the progression of the virus.
No business wants to temporarily cease operations and by doing so, erode their sales, as it significantly impacts many aspects of your operations.
However, this was a time that the safety of everyone potentially impacted was put before profits. This was not just the best way to keep everyone in our communities safe, but the only way.
From the first day we shut down, our management team began diligently working from home on protocols for restarting the operation.
Zoom meetings have become a new way to connect and from there, we developed strict and rigid guidelines for the safe operation of our manufacturing facility, which included procuring personal protection equipment (some of which is not normally used in a day-to-day manufacturing setting like ours).
Such items as face shields, masks, hand sanitizer, thermometers and even toilet paper are all in high demand and very difficult to purchase due to the global outbreak.
Once all of the PPE was procured and on hand, we started breaking our factory into zones that allow for physical distancing.
Daily pre-screening and temperature checks, adhering to proper cleaning and sanitizing of work stations, and frequent hand-washing are just some of the key things we needed to ensure were thoroughly addressed.
With all the new protocols in place, we resumed operations in our factory on April 14.
We are back manufacturing with a slightly reduced workforce, and have begun building windows and patio doors. We’ve also developed guidelines for our sales and office staff to ensure their safety and the safety of our customers.
We’re completing guidelines for our installation crews, with a plan to restart that end of our operation next.
The time and effort put into developing these strict return-to-work protocols will ensure the safety of our customers and employees while they’re working, both in our factory and in our customers’ homes.
Our showrooms, Island wide, although temporarily closed, will re-open by appointment-only in the near future.
Like you, we at Van Isle Windows are facing a challenge never before faced in our lifetime. We have been a strong local manufacturer and employer for more than 40 years, and by taking the time to ensure we put our communities, customers and employees and their families first, there is no doubt we have gone about dealing with this virus correctly.
This is what makes our company special and unique.
We are a family, working together for the ultimate good, and although this is still a difficult time for us all, we would like to thank everyone for their support and for doing their part to get us through this.
We would also like to thank our ownership for the commitment to support our company, our employees and the local Vancouver Island economy while understanding the importance of staying apart and staying home to help save lives and flatten the curve of COVID-19.
Stay safe, everyone.
