Statement in Response to COVID-19

To all of our Palmer Construction employees, our clients, and their families:

During this crisis, I painstakingly wrestled with two conflicting ideas: Should I take a break and spend much-needed time with my family? Or should I use the 20-plus years of knowledge and expertise I have gained to help others in this time of need?

The threat of COVID-19 is real; you just need to watch a few YouTube videos showing what Italy is going through to get a very eye-opening perspective.  You can hear them pleading – for our sake – to take this virus seriously. Health is something I definitely take seriously: my own health, my employees’ and their families’ health, and the community in which we work’s health. Unfortunately, no one knows enough about this virus to guarantee every measure we are taking will fully prevent the virus from spreading, however, we are doing everything possible to do our part to ensure we are following all standards to fully promote safety. We are trying to do our best to come up with remote solutions to reduce personal contact. For jobs deemed essential and requiring our employees to serve our clients directly on site, we have implemented new standards effective March 25, 2020.

STRICT PRACTICES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND DAILY DISINFECTION INCLUDE:

• Keeping a 6-foot distance between employee[s] and anyone outside of their household at all times
• Practicing safe vehicle usage
  • No riding in vehicles together
  • Keeping disinfectant and paper towel in the vehicle at all times
  • Wearing respirators:
    • To complete any work occurring inside a home 
    • Exceptions for respirator use:
      • When driving a  vehicle
      • At employee’s desk by oneself (office staff)
      • Taking a break outside
• Implementing safe bathroom usage
  • Avoid using bathrooms outside one’s home if possible
  • Wash hands frequently and carefully with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds 
  • Shared bathrooms 
    • Use assigned bathroom to minimize sharing germs
    • Toilet seat usage:
      • Use toilet paper as a barrier between oneself and the seat
      • Spray disinfectant on the toilet seat and wipe it with a paper towel 
• Keeping company office visits to a bare minimum
• Consistently  disinfecting hands (always when returning to vehicle)
• Checking that employee’s temperature is below 100 degrees Fahrenheit each day s/he is scheduled to work  inside of a home with people living in it (Effective 3.25.20) 

• Reasons for someone not being able to work outside of home:
  • Anyone running a temperature above 100 degrees 
  • Anyone with a consistent cough
  • Just not feeling well
  • Anyone who has had unprotected exposure to someone with symptoms of COVID-19  

Each employee’s prompt and candid communication is vital in keeping our team healthy so we can continue serving our community, as well as keeping ourselves and families safe. 

Other requirements:

• Wearing Palmer Construction uniform
• Wearing employee  name badge
• Carrying company documentation explaining why employee can work and whom to contact for any questions 
• Cleaning office desks on a daily basis

During this time we will be limiting our services to:

• Mitigation Work (Reducing the severity of damage and preventing continued loss.)
  • WATER
    • Water losses 
    • Leak prevention
      • Roofing
      • Siding
      • Windows
    • Reconstruction of unoccupied homes 
  • FIRE
    • Board-ups and safety measures
    • Reconstruction of unoccupied homes 
  • STORM
    • Reducing risk of further damage
    • Water leak prevention
      • Roofing
      • Siding
      • Windows

(Please Note: These limitations are subject to change as required.)

During this time we will be operating under new processes:

• Scope Water infiltration issues
  • We will still be visiting homes to do exterior scopes
    • Will be dressed in Palmer uniforms and have company issued ID badges
    • Please Note: We will not be coming inside the home, unless absolutely necessary
    • Limit personal Interactions with homeowners to a minimum
      • Gather as much information before coming over
      • Keeping a 6 foot Distance from the Homeowners or anyone else

• Sales presentations and project questions and answers will need to go virtual as much as possible.
  •  We will be using Zoom meet remotely and share our computer screens
  •  We can also FaceTime homeowners

• During-job inspections will also be minimized and will need to go virtual as much as possible.
  • We will continue to require our crews to keep us up-to-date by sending status pictures on a daily basis
  • Submitting completed checklists immediately after the job is finished

• After work is done.
  • We will call to schedule an inspection and review any concerns the homeowner might have
  • We will still be visiting homes to inspect our work, to verify our work
  • Please Note: We will not be coming inside the home unless absolutely necessary
  • Job/project is verified to be complete we will send an invoice at homeowners preference or convenience
    • Drop-off 
    • Email
    • Mail
    • Text

Currently these restrictions include all clients: insurance-related or not. This is our best interpretation of Governor Whitmer’s issuance of  “Michigan’s Executive Order No. 2020-21.” As the COVID-19 virus situation progresses, I am sure that more will need to be defined, and when it is, we intend to do our part to maintain the safety/protection of our community and provide for their needs.

Please contact us if you have any questions or if you see any one of our employees failing to follow these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding; we are all in this together.

Sincerely,

Andrew Palmer

(Owner of Palmer Construction)