Best Practices for NAED Companies During COVID-19

Over the past few work days, NAED has contacted a number of distributor-members to gauge their best practices as we all work through our individual situations with COVID-19. While you may be doing many of these steps already, it is definitely worthwhile to see if you need to adopt any other best practices being used by other members of the National Association of Electrical Distributors.

If you have any other best practices that you can share, please e-mail them to tED magazine Publisher Scott Costa at scosta@naed.org and we will continue to update our website with ways to stay productive and maintain safety for everyone at your workplace.

• Everyone we’ve talked to is having all employees that can work from home do so. Many have given up their communal training computers to allow others to be remote. Desktops are even going home where possible (not everyone has a laptop).
• Hired a professional sanitizing company to come in after-hours to clean all surfaces, doors, etc.
• Asking customers to phone in orders and come in for pickup only.
• Employees are using masks and practicing frequent handwashing in warehouses.
• Warehouse closed down to non-essential employees, maintaining the 6’ recommended distance, wiping equipment and door handles down frequently.
• All non-essential internal meetings have been canceled
• Internal communications limited to phone and email
• No supplier meetings
• No customers allowed in the building
• Bathrooms are closed to non-employees
• Tents set up outside for will call pickup
• Coffee, donuts, and popcorn for customers and staff has been suspended
• No company events for now through May 5
• No conference or other work travel for now through the end of April
• Inbound freight drivers are not allowed in the building
• Drivers are all armed with gloves and Clorox wipes
• Drivers are dropping deliveries quickly, maintaining 6 feet, and using paper tickets for customers instead of signing their iPads. Customers are signing paper tickets (which they keep) and drivers are taking pics of the signed paper ticket to send to billing.
• Only 3 drivers at a time allowed in dispatch office and only to manifest tickets, keeping empty chairs between them.
• Outside sales reps are limiting face-to-face meetings, relying more on phone and emails
• Anyone who has been traveling is self-quarantining for 14 days
• Suggesting for our teams to limit personal travel and are making it clear they may be subject to up to 14 days quarantine
• Suspended all classroom training for everyone and all online training for warehouse and drivers who usually sit in our training room to complete them.
• Limiting travel between branches to essential business.
• Proactively reaching out to customers to see if they anticipate any delays on jobs/projects they have in the coming months., especially those jobs where materials are on order.
• Reviewing open purchase orders to reevaluate if purchases are needed in current environment, holding where appropriate.
• One member shared that they have industrial contractor customers that have been pulled out of facilities that are going into quarantine. There is uncertainty for when they will be allowed back in.
• So far supplies have not been delayed from manufacturers but they are receiving letters warning of potential future delays.