COVID-19 procedures

The government, HSE regulators, clients and QHS during the COVID-19 Pandemic 1st UK lockdown in March 2020, and all those lockdowns that followed, had to adhere to robust procedures to ensure everyone could work safely in the workplace and in customer’s homes.

We will always put the safety of our residents, customers and staff first, but often it is only the engineer, our representatives in the field, who can properly assess any risk first hand. If any QHS engineer is unsure, as part of our rigorous Health & Safety procedures, they are under instructions to contact their Contract Manager.

IMPORTANT: If there is anyone in your household who is self-isolating as they have tested positive for COVID-19 or has obvious symptoms of COVID-19, non-urgent appointments should be re-arranged until they are clear of COVID-19.

Please help us all stay safe by cancelling or rescheduling any non-urgent appointments if anyone in your household develops clear symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19.

How will engineers work safely in my home?

We have set up protocols which protect you, your family and our engineers when they are working in your home by always using appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

PPE can include:

• Anti-bacterial hand gel
• Anti-bacterial wipes
• Soap
• Approved face coverings
• Disposable gloves
• Protective eye wear
• Polythene waste bags with no holes

HANDS

Our engineers where appropriate will use disposable gloves, hand soap, anti-bacterial hand gel and anti-bacterial wipes to:

• Clean/ sanitise their hands before, during and after the work
• Clean all work surfaces touched before and after the job
• Sanitise everything touched – work surfaces, door handles, tools & equipment

When necessary our engineers will open a window in the room they are working to ensure recommended ventilation while they work, sanitising the handle after closing it again before they leave.

Where required the engineer’s disposable gloves are changed after each job, the old pair being put in a polythene waste bag for safe disposal.

Our engineers won’t offer their handheld computer for signing after the job is completed if the person signing is symptomatic or has tested positive for COVID-19 and will revert in such instances to no signature.

FACE

If necessary, or at the customer's request or if required to do so by circumstances, our engineers will wear a protective face mask at all times during the visit and will also wear protective eye wear as necessary.

If required the engineers will wear their facial PPE from the moment they ring your door bell/ knock on your door until they return to their vehicle.

SPACE

In line with government guidelines, our engineers will always minimize close contact by keeping their distance from the resident and any household members by;

• After ringing the doorbell/ knocking on the door, they should step back to allow the resident to answer the door at a safe distance.
• The engineer may ask if anyone in the property has COVID or is isolating to ensure the job can be done safely. If the engineer is unsure they will call the manager for help and advice. The engineer will then explain what the work is and how it will be done. 
• While being shown to the room where the work is, the engineer will keep a reasonable distance from the resident.
• Once the engineer is in the room the resident and everyone else in the property should ideally stay in a separate room to the engineer.
• Once the job is complete, the engineer where necessary will clean and sanitise, and if required give a full explanation of the work done without coming too close.

After previously putting in place the government and HSE protocols to ensure the safety of our engineers, residents and customers, and having kept some even to this day, we are confident that our procedures and protocols mean we are as COVID-19 secure as needed.

Alternatively, if you have any concerns or questions regarding our company and COVID-19 or our protocols, then please email in to customer.services@qhs.co.uk or contact us on 01494 795000.