COVID-19 Update: 14th April 2020
The below information is current as of 14th April.
Keeping our systems and services running is critical for our customers and the many communities they serve.
All parts of the GroundProbe business remain fully operational with an operating rhythm firmly in place across all facets of the organisation. Measures undertaken continue to keep our people healthy and safe while fully servicing our customers.
Following on from this communication, we will move from weekly updates to informing you of changes to operations as necessary. For local-specific information, please don’t hesitate to contact the GroundProbe office in your region. We are happy to answer any questions you have.
We continue to monitor COVID-19 and are following advice from local governments, World Health Organisation (WHO), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and medical and the travel security services firm International SOS. GroundProbe is also working with Orica’s dedicated safety teams in each region of the world in which we operate.
GROUNDPROBE OPERATIONS
Geotechnical Support Services (GSS)
Geotechnical Support Services are continuing to operate and fully service our customers.
Our fleet of GSS-Remote engineers in Balikpapan, Indonesia are operating from our remote monitoring centre. We have implemented preventive protocols, including restrictive access to non-critical personnel, increased sanitation measures, people and workstation distancing, temperature & symptoms testing and safe private travel to and from the office. The GSS-Reporting team have been relocated out of the centre and are fully operational.
Our fleet of GSS-Remote engineers in Santiago, Chile have been relocated as part of the enforced national quarantine and curfew. All geotechnical services are being performed remotely and continuing without interruption to customers.
As a contingency, we have the capability to operate from one centre only and switch remote monitoring of critical systems to another centre, should that be required.
Product Manufacturing & Supply
Our Assembly & Production team are continuing to operate from our Brisbane facility to ensure continued supply of our safety-critical systems.
We have implemented preventive protocols, including restrictive access to non-critical personnel, increased sanitation measures, people and workstation distancing, temperature & symptoms testing, safe private travel to and from our facilities and the safe acceptance of deliveries and freight.
GroundProbe is monitoring all trade routes to ensure secure passage and arrival of our systems in country. All scheduled deliveries from February and March have been successfully delivered to customer sites. All imminent orders have been pre-positioned in country at GroundProbe workshops for delivery to site. To ensure a robust supply chain, trade routes for incoming materials are also being monitored.
As a contingency, we have the capability to assemble and manufacture radars and lasers at a separate location in Brisbane, should that be required.
Product Development
Our Product Development program is continuing uninterrupted, and we continue to operate safely meeting or exceeding all government guidelines and regulations.
Office Support Roles
All marketing, finance and non-time critical IT staff are now working from other locations. All Australian operational staff involved in installation, maintenance and support services are also working from other locations.
Availability of Spare Parts
Full spare parts inventory is located at 15 separate workshop locations around the world to support our customer base in over 30 countries.
Our main inventory of spares in our production facility in Brisbane is still fully operational. We are not currently experiencing or forecasting any short-term shortages at any of our 15 workshops.
Technical Support
Essential maintenance and installation works are still being undertaken through our extensive network of in-country technical services engineers. In most cases, GroundProbe engineers are still available to attend site where there is an urgent need.
All non-essential scheduled maintenance visits have been postponed as we seek to reduce all non-essential domestic and international travel for our staff.
We have heightened the availability of our remote support services to assist all customers. For sites with restricted access needing to deploy new systems, we are providing remote commissioning services.
FURTHER PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
All GroundProbe people have now been repatriated to their home locations and are self-isolating in accordance with country-specific directives.
Any person feeling unwell or with any symptoms consistent with coronavirus have been instructed to stay at home, seek medical attention and self-isolate for 14 days.
Any person that has been in contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus must self-isolate for 14 days after the date of last contact with the confirmed case.
All GroundProbe hosted events and participation at conferences and other events have been postponed until further notice.