As we all know, many parts of the world have been infected with an unexpected and very unfortunate virus which has taken the lives of many people throughout this great country of ours. Many companies unknowingly were not prepared for this and have been unable to continue to operate their business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Industrial Resources was fortunate to be considered an essential operation by both President Trump and West Virginia’s Governor Jim Justice, allowing us to maintain a presence within the market place while abiding by the governmental mandates, requirements and recommendations throughout the past several months.
General posters for what to do and what not to do are present throughout our office complexes. A Pandemic Preparedness Program was developed and implemented within our organizations. We have made every effort to abide by and to go beyond the call of duty to provide our employees with the items they need to maintain sanitary measures, monitor employee’s temperatures, practice social distancing and to keep them comfortable, allowing them to perform their work responsibilities and to maintain a high level of mental and emotional attitudes as we move forward. Some of our employees have been working from home and others have been wearing the required mask and or maintaining the recommended social distance when needed and or working behind their office’s closed door.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those that have lost family members and friends and may God give them the strength to carry them forward each and every day. We extend our sincere appreciation to those that work in the medical fields and emergency personnel for the devoted attention they have given to those in need.
Fortunately, Industrial Resources was in a somewhat unique position when COVID-19 began affecting our nation, offering our employees the ability to work remotely from home during this pandemic situation that the world is dealing with. In 2019, Industrial implemented a 100% Cloud Share Base Computer Software called Citrix. The intent of this software program was to permit our managers, engineers and field construction superintendents to have remote access to the files associated with their projects, regardless of their location. The ability of this remote access gives them a direct connection to our main file server for quick access to engineering files. Access to the most current files ensures that all personnel is reviewing the most recent files while discussing any concerns or issues that may have developed during the fabrication and or construction installation process.
Therefore, having the Citrix program in place when COVID-19 became present gave us a leading edge to easily allow our employees to work from home while having the ability to access all required files, whereas they previously would only have had the ability to access these files from their office computer system. Industrial Resources also had previously purchased and installed 65” high definition flat-screen TVs implementing a network video conferencing arrangement so we could conduct internal and external video conference meetings no matter where our personnel was working, further ensuring the ability to communicate regardless of the projects’ location. This eliminated the need to travel from office to office in order to get together to conduct face to face meetings, greatly reducing the chance of an incident during travel. Video conferencing allows easy participation by current and prospective customers, offering the same reduction of risk associated with travel.
Industrial Resources has an (AISC) American Institute of Steel Construction Certified Fabrication Facility, which we are required to abide by the many standards and requirements associated with the criteria guidelines. Having these programs and systems in place put us one step ahead of our competitors and significantly helps us to maintain our existence during these troubled pandemic times. We are required to have an annual third party AISC External Audit which is normally conducted on-site. Due to the current restrictions mandated as a result of the pandemic, this year’s Audit was conducted remotely via Zoom video conferencing, allowing face to face communication, so we were able to share each and every file, or drawing, that the Auditor asked to review during the Audit process.
During the past several months with the virus present, Industrial Resources and West Virginia Electric have been awarded engineering projects with various power plants and coal preparation plants; video conferencing has allowed us to conduct our meetings remotely with our customers. Mountaineer Resources and West Virginia Electric have been able to conduct some field construction and erection activities on projects while complying with the COVID-19 related mandates and requirements while working limited personnel on-site at these locations.
Industrial Resources fabrication facility has been able to perform our fabrication processes while maintaining all required sanitary practices with extensive cleaning, spraying disinfectants and temperature monitoring while maintaining the distance between workers to comply with the minimum social distancing.
The countermeasures that have been implemented within our organization have been effective and we only hope to continue to maintain a high level of mental and emotional attitudes within our workforce in a continued effort to beat the COVID-19 pandemic virus. If there are any companies that need the services we provide, please do not hesitate to contact us at 304-363-4100 and your inquiry will be directed to the appropriate individual within our organization.
Stay COVID-19 STRONG and may God Bless your health and wellbeing.
Phillip E. Burnside
President Emeritus
Industrial Resources, Inc.
P.O. Box 2648
Fairmont, WV 26555-2648