Apple Electrical’ s top priority is the safety and well-being of our employees, your families and our communities. In response to the global outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), we’ve put in place a range of proactive measures to both reduce the spread of the virus and to ensure business continuity for our business partners.

Our focused efforts cover risk-mitigation practices, travel and meeting policies, and business continuity planning. Here is an overview of the current procedures

What We Know

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the flu with fever, coughing and shortness of breath. It appears to mainly be spread through close person-to-person contact. It may be possible for someone to touch a surface or object with the virus on it and then touch their nose or mouth and become infected, but this is not the main way the virus spreads, according to CDC and other health experts. In addition to all the normal things you do to stay healthy, the preventive measures are the same as for the flu or other viruses, according to CDC.

Risk Management Practices

  • We actively encourage sick employees to stay home – Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F [37.8° C] or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick
  • Employees who become ill at work will be sent home – Per CDC recommendation, employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e. cough, shortness of breath) upon arrival to work or become sick during the day could be sent home immediately.
  • We stress respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene by all employees- Employees are expected to clean their hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60-95% alcohol or wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Employees should cover their noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or an elbow or shoulder if no tissue is available) and dispose of tissue in a trashcan.

Travel & Meeting Guidelines

We ask that employees adhere to the following guidelines.

  • Client Meetings –Many of our customers have restricted travel and may also restrict onsite visitors. For this reason, we should continue to confirm meetings ahead of time. When client restrictions are in place, we should offer to host a remote meeting via Zoom.
  • Internal Meetings Requiring Travel –We should limit travel for our teams when scheduled in-person internal meetings can be conducted via webinar or Zoom.
  • Internal Meetings with Local Team Members –We have not placed any restrictions on these types of meetings and are moving forward under normal operations.  However, employees that need to adhere to social distancing guidelines on account of a higher risk health profile or other concern should notify their supervisor.
  • Prior to Travel – We want employees to check themselves for symptoms of acute respiratory illnessbefore starting travel and notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.
  • During Travel – Employees who become sick while traveling or on temporary assignment understand that they should notify their supervisor and should promptly call a healthcare provider for advice if needed.

Business Continuity

We are working to address all business continuity concerns and have identified two phases of implementation and additional details will follow shortly.

  • Phase I: Individual Health –Should you be unable to report to work due to self-quarantine requirements, local school/childcare facility closures, etc. please notify your manager and the office via email with your name, reason you are not able to report to work (illness/school closure/self-quarantine approved by Company), time period you need to be out of the office).
  • Phase II: Company-wide Impact on Ability to Report to Work –Should we have to implement a Company-wide closure due to COVID-19, employees will be notified through email, Eaccess or phone call as soon as administratively feasible.
  • Personal Note: I am asking that all Apple Electric employees exercise courtesy in addition to safety and consideration for others, especially our more vulnerable population, when shopping for essential goods during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. I ask that you practice social distancing and, when possible, limit your shopping to one family member to help us comply with the Emergency Order. When shopping for essential needs, please limit your purchases to ‘two at a time’ and give everyone a chance to get the supplies they need…I believe that if we all work together and help each other during this unprecedented time, Apple Electric will be much stronger and a better place when we see the end of this pandemic.
    Thank you,
    – Eddy Shelton

We’ll continue to monitor and address the needs of each office location and adjust business operations and travel as needed. Your safety is our priority.

We’ll continue to communicate as appropriate. Feel free to reach out to any of us should you have any questions.  Calling the main office number 432-363-0191 you will get an option to speak to any of our team leaders.