When COVID-19 hit, the transportation industry needed to take a closer look at daily shipping protocols. Keeping employees and customers safe is essential at any time, but now more than ever shipping companies need to be careful not to contribute to the spread of COVID-19.
The ability of shipping services to continue undisrupted to transport food, energy and medical supplies across the continents will play a critical role in overcoming this pandemic. Shipping companies will need to become agile and adaptable to this changing situation, and focus on building effective response strategies and plans.
Here at One Distribution, we continue to meet the shipping needs of our customers and small businesses. With the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still strive to make sure to keep these safety procedures in place to maintain a healthy environment for our staff and customers by going above and beyond guidance provided by OSHA, CDC, and the US Department of Transportation.
Overview of how One Distribution applies safety measures:
Contactless Pickup & Delivery
The shipping industry involves a lot of face-to-face interaction. In the pandemic, we minimize contact between drivers and customers. If a customer requests a “waiver of signature”, our on board telematics use the latest geofencing technology to allow for text or email updates and alert customers of real time tracking for their shipment. If the customer prefers to be present for the shipment and sign for delivery, drivers maintain appropriate social distancing measures of 6 feet or more to maintain a healthy and comfortable environment for both the driver and customer.
Liftgate and Threshold deliveries
Upon arrival, our drivers use an electric pallet jack to set the customer’s order in a convenient place and avoid any contact with the pallet and customer. By using the electrical pallet jacks, the weight and momentum of the pallet is fully propelled by the electrical pallet jack so that there is no need to push the product as seen with manual pallet jacks.
Driver and Customer Protection
Drivers are equipped with hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, an additional in-cab hepa filter, and disinfecting wipes. Equipment surfaces are cleaned at the beginning, end, and throughout the day as needed. Our cloud based telematics software allows staff to easily track and confirm equipment has been sanitized.
If you have any questions about how we can help implement safe shipping practices within your supply chain, please contact us at ops@one-dist.com.
