To keep the power on through COVID-19, our essential employees are following essential protocols
ENERGY FILLED STORY
Our workplace health and safety plan
We’ve all seen it – COVID-19 is changing the way businesses work.
For us at New Fortress Energy, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing essential liquefied natural gas (LNG) energy services – our LNG customers and LNG community depend on us to keep their lights on and their food safe, ensure their phones can charge to stay connected amidst the social distancing, provide power for food manufacturing, maintain hospital operations to treat patients affected by COVID-19 and other illnesses, and so much more. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we had to figure out how to keep providing these critical services while keeping our employees safe.
Keeping the power on and our employees safe
With headquarters in New York City, one of the COVID-19 epicenters, we saw the pandemic unfold firsthand. On March 1st, the first COVID-19 case was detected in the state of New York; by March 7th, the New York Governor had declared a state of emergency. On March 11th, the NBA and other notable businesses announced they were suspending operations, and we allowed the majority of our corporate staff across our offices to begin working from home until further notice. Eleven days later, on March 22nd, New York mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses. As an essential liquefied natural gas (LNG) company, we opted to allow only a skeleton crew to come into our New York City headquarters to ensure that we were able to continue providing critical energy services to our customers.
In the field, it was imperative that our liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and facilities continue running to provide critical power and fuel for our customers. Our essential operators were provided PPE, and we instituted new guidelines for wearing masks, social distancing, enhanced cleaning, and reduced interactions. Any operators who felt ill were told to stay home and monitor their symptoms. Additionally, operators who were willing and able to work through the pandemic were provided performance bonuses for their dedication.
In May, as case counts began to drop in the New York area and elsewhere and restrictions were rolled back, we began making plans for reopening our offices safely. To create the safest environment possible, we decided to test every New York employee for both the active COVID-19 virus and antibodies; only employees who received negative results for the presence of the active virus were allowed to return to the office. By June, our essential workers had returned to the office.
Maintaining a safe environment
Upon employees returning to the office, we instituted a comprehensive set of safety measures and protocols based on CDC and local and state health guidelines. The foundation of our protocol is weekly COVID-19 testing conducted onsite; we believe we have one of the most rigorous testing protocols of any business currently operating. Underpinning our testing program are a number of other measures that, combined with testing, have helped us successfully maintain a healthy workforce.
Our current COVID-19 safety protocol
When there is a positive result:
- The employee is immediately sent home
- The affected areas are sanitized
- We contact-trace and retest anyone who had close contact, as well as everyone who works in the same office as the affected employee
- Employees who have come into close contact with a diagnosed employee work from home until they have completed the appropriate isolation period (in accordance with CDC and state and local guidelines) with no symptoms and receive a negative test result
- Before returning to work, any employee who tests positive must have completed the appropriate isolation period (in accordance with CDC and state and local guidelines), have two negative test results 24 hours apart, and be symptom-free
Our results
To date*, we have spent over $280,000 to conduct over 2,500 COVID-19 tests and are happy to report zero spread between US employees. We have also made additional investments to maintain a healthy workplace: $70,000+ spent on PPE (masks, gloves, hand sanitizer) and no-touch thermometers; $225,000+ spent on professional office cleaning & catering; and $270,000+ spent on terminal employee performance bonuses.
Our commitment to keeping our team safe*
We’re thankful for our employees, whose hard work and dedication are critical as we all navigate these unprecedented situations. By putting our employees’ safety first, we’ve been able to expand our workforce and successfully complete a number of large projects during the pandemic, including turning on our Puerto Rico liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. Especially in such uncertain times, we’re gratified to be able to work together to support the delivery of essential electricity and power services that are keeping the lights on for our customers and LNG communities around the world.
