NESR’s Response to COVID-19
The health and safety of our employees is our key priority. To help ensure our people’s continued health, we implemented a comprehensive outbreak management plan and introduced COVID-19 preventative measures which align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and applicable local government regulations and containment measures. However, our impact does not end within NESR. We also developed practices that are contributing to the health of the people in the communities where we operate and helping to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread and infection among our contractors, business partners, suppliers, and agents.
NESR’s Crisis Management Team (CMT), led by Dr. Chokri Ben Amor – Vice President for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, was activated at the beginning of the pandemic and focused on addressing three key matters:
- Protecting our people’s health and safety by providing effective guidance and support and adopting best work practices.
- Maintenance of business continuity by monitoring the situation across regions and countries, providing effective communication and implementing preventive measures to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on our business.
- Support of local communities in the fight against the pandemic by active participation in local programs, sharing best practices with local community contractors and donating to local healthcare initiatives.
We are continuously monitoring the situation and implementing appropriate measures to keep our people safe and informed during these extraordinary times. Active communication to keep our employees, contractors and partners informed and aware is a key element in keeping our communities safe
Employee Health & Safety
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we encourage everyone to stay informed and follow the recommendations of their local health authorities and our Emergency Response Teams.
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the key actions undertaken to protect the health of our employees and their families included:
- Establishing country emergency response teams;
- Restricting travel and prohibiting large gatherings and corporate events;
- Splitting the workforce in different locations to minimize overcrowding;
- Adjusting field rotation schedules to minimize risk to field operations;
- Creating a process to check employees’ health before returning from days off, which includes COVID-19 testing and quarantining of locals and expatriates prior to rejoining operation;
- Quarantining employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 or have traveled recently;
- Restricting outside visitors from entering our offices;
- Encouraging virtual meetings among employees and contractors;
- Allowing employees the flexibility to work from home using virtual communication tools;
- Adjusting shifts to minimize crowding in common areas;
- Monitoring employee body temperatures at company sites;
- Providing personal protective equipment to employees, including face masks and hand sanitizers;
- Regularly sanitizing workspaces and installing plastic dividers in open areas;
- Developing and communicating guidelines and information on health precautions;
- Providing training sessions and online certifications to ensure that employees are appropriately educated on the virus;
- Conducting periodic webcasts to all employees to brief them about the pandemic and the actions the company is taking;
- Organizing a Q&A session to address employee’s questions and concerns;
- Providing salary advances to families and employees;
- Communicating with customers about NESR’s COVID-19 measures and guidelines; and
- Rolling out COVID-19 NESR return to work guidelines and readiness assessments across the company.
Samples of the Return to Work Guidelines
Moreover, we developed a technical application to provide employees with the latest COVID-19 updates, NESR emergency contact details, and the ability to complete the employee Health Self-Declaration on a weekly basis.
We also rolled out COVID-19 safety chats across NESR to address COVID-19 topics during pre-job meetings on an interactive basis.
Operations
In order to maintain business continuity, NESR is working closely with customers and suppliers to minimize operational disruption. For example:
- We adopted all necessary information-sharing tools to collaborate virtually with our customers and suppliers;
- Our global CMT and the country emergency response teams are monitoring the situation across countries and regions where we operate daily;
- We conduct supply chain risk assessment and operations impact assessment regularly and develop respective preventative and mitigation measures;
- We maintain inventory levels based on potential logistic delays;
- We provide training sessions and online certifications to ensure that third parties associated with our business are appropriately educated on the virus.
Community Engagement
NESR is engaging with local communities to support the fight against COVID-19.
- NESR Saudi Arabia financially supported the Health Endowment Fund of the Ministry of Health in its effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 and provide support to healthcare workers;
- NESR Oman contributed to the initiative of the Supreme Committee by matching the donations of our employees to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 efforts; and
- NESR employees in Indonesia distributed food packages to 115 families.
Important Resources
To ensure your health and safety and that of your families and your communities, NESR encourages you to monitor public health and local government guidance.