Statement COVID-19 measures - Updated 25/3/2020

Statement COVID-19 measures - Updated 25/3/2020

The COVID-19 virus continues to spread worldwide. Kloosterboer keeps monitoring new developments in relation to the virus and accordingly implements measures, both at group level and at site level, to protect the health of our employees and of external parties we do business with. At the same time we do our utmost to ensure the continuation of our business processes and to safeguard the interests of our customers.

The measures and instructions put in place in our organization are primarily based on the guidelines from local, national and European health authorities and governments. These guidelines may vary per country, region and city. Please note that if local/ (inter)national laws prescribe stricter measures or instructions than the ones mentioned below, those instructions will be followed.

At this moment the general measures and instructions put in place for the Kloosterboer organization include the following:

Meeting & communication structures:

  • The Executive Board, HR, Legal and QESH department directors meet three times a week (by video call) to review the latest developments and to define measures to be implemented.
  • Internal newsletters are sent to General Managers, HR, Sales and QESH departments on a regular basis to ensure alignment of central and local measures.
  • Executive Board statements are communicated to all employees.
  • All local Management Teams have regular meetings to align and update measures and to inform employees.

General hygiene measures and work instructions:

  • Hygiene measures and specific work instructions are posted at all sites.
  • Contingency plans are updated to include a ‘virus outbreak’ scenario.
  • All employees are instructed not to shake hands with colleagues and external parties.
  • Employees who are ill or have symptoms in relation to Corona should stay at home.
  • Employees and temporary staff (including interim staff) are requested to work from home whenever this is reasonably possible, regardless of whether they display any symptoms.
  • Employees should strictly follow the hygiene instructions, take extra care to wash hands and regularly wipe working surfaces.
  • Employees are instructed to minimize contact with external suppliers, including (international) drivers. To the extent allowed by regulations and contract, drivers should be asked to stay outside our facilities during loading/unloading.
  • Employees are not allowed to travel to risk areas as indicated by national health authorities and governments.
  • All site tours are cancelled.
  • Employees should not travel to or between Kloosterboer sites or to external parties if there are reasonable alternatives (e.g. phone/video meetings). Live meetings may only be held if there is no reasonable alternative available.
  • All employees are instructed to respect the social distance of 1,5m towards every individual person.
  • All employees returning from holiday are requested to report to the General Manager by phone before returning to work.
  • Employees work in shifts as much as possible.

Measures at individual sites:

Measures are implemented per site in accordance with specific demands and circumstances. Local measures include:

  • Putting up plastic screens at counters and reception desks.
  • Creating an outdoors (tented) area for communication and exchange of documents with drivers.
  • Wiping all work surfaces with hygienic towels several times a day.
  • Intensify cleaning activities.
  • No lunches or coffee breaks are taken in common rooms.
  • Putting time gaps of one hour between shift changes.
  • Rescheduling of preventive maintenance.
  • Avoiding personal contact and using phone as much as possible.

Please contact the individual site you do business with to get an overview of the specific measures in place there.

Measures and instructions in place and this statement are revised on a regular basis and updated as required by new developments.