COVID-19 Shawcity Company Update

UPDATED: 7th April 2020

As a supplier to many organisations working across Critical National Infrastructure sectors, we can confirm that Shawcity is still operational today as a business with a skeleton staff to ensure we can fulfil our customer needs in terms of health and safety monitoring.

Our customers have an essential and sometimes life-critical duty of care to their employees who are, in turn, helping to keep key services running for the country, so we will remain operating on as much of a 'business as usual' basis as we possibly can.

Our warehouse and Service Centre are both functioning as normal, whilst strictly adhering to the current government guidelines on social distancing and hygiene to contain the risk of coronavirus contamination. Stock levels including spares, parts and accessories and calibration gas are currently good and we are still able to offer instrument calibration, servicing and repairs.

During the current COVID-19 situation, we are offering customers FREE contactless courier collection and delivery to help with any instruments they need to send in for servicing, calibration or repair. This offer also extends to customer hires. We can arrange collection and delivery to any work or home address in the UK. If customers don't currently have access to a printer, our courier can also supply the required labels.

All of our normal contact details, such as direct dial phone lines, the main switchboard and personal email addresses are functioning as normal and are being constantly monitored, so please do get in touch in the usual way if you need any help or advice.  

Our main contact details are: Tel: 01793 780622 or email: info@shawcity.co.uk.

During this unprecedented time, our highest priority is the well-being of our customers and team members. We are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation daily and adapting according to government advice.

We wanted to let you know about the steps we’ve taken to ensure we’re supporting our customers throughout this uncertain period, as well as pass on some useful advice.

Our current working practices 
For staff who, by necessity, need to work within our business premises to enable us to supply our customers we have introduced further robust cleaning routines, particularly in high contact areas, and have plentiful supplies of gloves as well as sanitiser, hand washing materials and paper towels.

We have informed all employees of the government social distancing guidance to reduce interactions. All staff in the workplace are avoiding public transport and are observing the 2m distance rule. We have restricted visitors to the building to contactless couriers only, who remain outside at all times. All deliveries are being sanitised on arrival and again before dispatch.

Our sales team are able to communicate with customers via phone, email and video calls. As we supply monitoring applications which can be life-critical, where a site visit is absolutely necessary we are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of all personnel involved based on the most up to date government advice.

Customer training
We have postponed all of our upcoming one-day training courses for customers on Noise, Air Quality and Vibration in the workplace until further notice. If you had booked a place you are entitled to a full refund or to transfer your booking to a date later in the year. If you have any training queries, please email: marketing@shawcity.co.uk.

Exhibitions and events
All of our upcoming exhibitions and public-facing events until at least September 2020 have either been postponed or we have withdrawn from to enable us as a team to continue social distancing.

Health & safety is more important than ever
A key concern is to assure our customers that we are committed to supporting any and all businesses where health and safety protection is an issue and sometimes life-critical. Safety in the workplace is always our number one priority and no-one should ever feel it is something they have to compromise on.

Please do not at any point feel like you could or should cut corners in terms of your detection and monitoring instruments to save money on calibration or servicing or if there is a concern or problem. If you find yourself in a situation where you are worried about the financial cost, please get in touch. We’re here to help and we can discuss all of your options. Please also remember our impartial advice is always free and unlimited.

Mask wearing and fit testing
The consensus across the board is that disposable masks do not protect wearers from coronavirus and could actually increase the chances of wearers contracting it as it causes them to touch their face more than usual.

There is also a worldwide shortage of disposable masks, so if we all stop using them we will be helping workers who actually can’t work without them. These workers, in turn, are the ones who provide key products and services for us all.

As a direct response to this shortage, some industries are now exploring switching to reusable half- and full-face masks instead, where possible. It is critical to remember, however, that these must be selected to make sure they are appropriate for the application and then sized, fitted correctly and tested by a competent fit tester using the appropriate equipment. Contact us if you need any further guidance on fit testing.

Making good use of time
Many of us here in our business are looking for proactive projects to undertake during this period, especially if taking steps to self-isolate.

Similarly, for our customers this presents an ideal opportunity to check all of your instruments are up to date in terms of calibrations and annual services. Even if you are self-isolating we can arrange a contactless courier service your instruments between your place of work or home and our service centre for you where they will be sanitised on arrival and re-sanitised before being dispatched back to you, ready to use.

Stay safe
Make sure you visit the gov.uk website for the most up to date information on issues such as self-isolation, social distancing, protecting older people and the vulnerable, travel and advice for employees and businesses. 

Stay in touch
With instrument customers across the UK and Ireland as well as sensor customers across the EMEA region, we recognize that everyone is in a different situation and the challenges you face will vary. Rest assured that the team at Shawcity are fully committed to supporting you.

If you have any questions or worries on any aspect of health & safety monitoring in the workplace or are looking for any technical support - whether you are a Shawcity customer or not - please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for free, unlimited advice: info@shawcity.co.uk or call 01367 899558.

We hope you, your colleagues and families all stay well.