Pictured here: Laois Hire HSEQ Advisor Grace Murphy
As with every other business in Ireland, we had to rapidly adapt when Covid-19 came along. During the strict lockdowns, branches are open for critical hires to essential services and we have supplied equipment to the Gardai Siochana, HSE, the OPW and many other businesses that need to carry on. With over 28 years of expanding business, we have a vast wealth of experience in Hire & Sales, but also, in Health & Safety and delivering services in a secure way to give peace of mind to both staff and valued customers.
The person at the helm of our staff and customer’s safety is Grace Murphy, our HSEQ advisor, who has been with the company for 3 years.
“This is a very challenging time in the plant and tool hire industry. As this is an unprecedented situation, we are finding ourselves constantly learning & having to find innovative ways to trade whilst keeping the wellbeing of our Staff & Customers at the fore. We are continually monitoring and reviewing our Covid 19 procedures to ensure adherence to Government Guidelines. Risk Assessments are carried out on every task that presents itself to us and we have implemented operating procedures in all Laois Hire Depots in line with the Government’s and HSE recommendations on the management of Covid-19 including:
- Plexi Glass Screens Instore
- New product & Vehicle Sanitisation system
- Drivers have extra PPE and anti-bacterial sprayer
- Social Distancing in all operations
- Hand Sanitisation for customers
- Staff Temperature checks
We are also casting our minds forwards, on how the virus will change future operations on a long term basis. Grace says: “In terms of the future, I feel that Product Sanitisation will play a huge role in our Industry in the coming months, both within the company, and on site. In Laois Hire we have introduced a comprehensive Product Sanitisation Process that protects both our staff & the customer. Any 1 piece of equipment will have gone through our Sanitisation Process three times in the turnabout from one customer to the next, namely at Delivery, Collection, and the Test & Run stage with particular attention to the ‘Touch Points’ such as Levers, Buttons, Handles, Plugs, grip points, triggers, cables, doors etc.”
Grace also feels strongly that we can’t let the pandemic draw attention away from regular procedures. “It is paramount that the normal health and safety requirements of any operational activity must not be compromised at this time. They are no less important than usual and if an activity cannot be undertaken safely, it should not take place.”
Ending on a positive note, Grace says “One Encouraging thing we can take from this is that we have used this time to focus on retraining & upskilling our team for the challenges that lie ahead. Many staff members have completed Fire Marshall Training, Manual Handling & Mental Health Awareness. We also have our office staff set up and working comfortably and safely from their own homes”.
