Protecting our people and assets amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – by Don Cox, Fire Protection Expert

This unprecedented pandemic and the actions that are being taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus could not even have been thought of only a few short weeks ago. With the attention to the daily changing needs operationally and administratively it is easy for us to inadvertently divert our attention away from the fire protection and life safety systems in our facilities. As production activities continue in many locations with reduced staffing, we have to perform a balancing act to ensure safe daily operations continue and that the safety systems in place are operational and not compromised. Although the following statement was written specific to the commercial and residential markets it certainly applies to the petrochemical and refining industry.

“The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®), a global leader in fire, life and electrical safety, is urging officials to ensure that fire protection and life safety systems be maintained in all commercial and multi-occupancy residential buildings throughout the global pandemic. NFPA further urges that the personnel and vendors that service those systems be deemed essential. As government officials across the globe issue travel directives and ask non-essential employees to work remotely during the pandemic, once fully-occupied buildings are near vacant or dramatically underused.” –  The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) Download your copy of the Guidance for Maintaining Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems.

Many systems within industrial facilities can be partially verified by visual only inspections. In these challenging times we at Total Safety can support you by reducing the need for your operations teams to verify these systems. Modified inspection, testing protocols, and programs can be quickly developed to assess system and equipment readiness to respond if called upon. To ensure that your systems are fully operational in the event of an incident or emergency we at Total Safety stand ready to support you with real service solutions to protect your people and assets. Whether you are a current client or one in immediate need please call today and allow us to take point in assessing, modifying, or developing a program to maintain your life safety systems throughout this crisis. Amid these challenging times we remain devoted to our mission W3…to ensure the safe Wellbeing of Workers Worldwide.®

To learn more and schedule a maintenance appointment contact Don Cox at docox@totalsafety.com or 281.291.4882