SCHOFIELD — As multiple state and government agencies have limited travel and ordered people to shelter in their place of residence, essential businesses like Greenheck Group are addressing new challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greenheck Group continues to support ongoing building construction around the world, especially in needed industries such as healthcare and digital infrastructure, Greenheck said in a news release.

“As an essential business, we are committed to stay open for business, operating our manufacturing facilities throughout the country under CDC and CISA government guidelines to mitigate the risk to our team members while supporting the urgent needs of our customers,” said Jim McIntyre, president and CEO of Greenheck Group, in the release. “Our first concern is the health and safety of our team members, their families and the communities in which we operate. We have implemented comprehensive procedures to ensure their well-being and reduce the risk of infection. In addition, all equipment orders supporting healthcare receive the highest urgency.”

Greenheck Group manufactures commercial air movement, control and conditioning equipment, including ventilation, exhaust, and damper products that are necessary to create safe environments for healthcare workers and patients in hospitals, surgical suites, laboratories and senior care centers. Hospitals across the U.S. are asking contractors to build more patient isolation rooms and testing facilities to accommodate the increasing number of COVID-19 patients.

In March, urgent orders for Greenheck Group products have been received from around the country, and the company responded quickly, Greenheck said. Some examples include:

  • Greenheck was engaged by hospitals in California and Virginia to provide lab exhaust equipment for new patient isolation rooms. Typically, this equipment requires weeks to manufacture and ship. Greenheck expedited the orders for 10-day shipping.
  • A south Florida hospital is converting a patient space into a COVID-19 ICU. Airflow is critically important. Greenheck’s Kentucky plant manufactured a vital louver product in one day and airfreighted it to the job site.
  • A medical supply company is retrofitting a facility for production of hand sanitizer in response to COVID-19. The company placed an order for a Greenheck damper on a Wednesday afternoon. The damper was manufactured at Greenheck’s Wisconsin operations, and it was shipped the next morning.

To keep team members, families and communities safe at all its manufacturing facilities, Greenheck Group has implemented a comprehensive set of social distancing, workplace hygiene, and illness response protocols, according to Greenheck. Greenheck Group also formed a COVID-19 response team, which implemented policies based on CDC guidelines:

  • Inbound and outbound travel was stopped
  • Time gap was created between shift changes to prevent exposure
  • Sanitization of workspaces and common areas before and after each shift
  • Removal of all shared vending, coffee, and water from facilities
  • Developed a remote worker program
  • Expanded employee absence guidelines