23 March 2020

Jefferson Sheard Architects - COVID-19 Contingency Planning

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The health and well-being of our staff, clients and their families, is paramount and Jefferson Sheard Architects are fully committed to adhering to government and NHS guidelines and taking precautions to limit the impact of COVID – 19. We are confident we can continue to provide a quality service to all our clients through this turbulent time and maintain operational resilience.

In addition to our overarching Emergency Business Contingency Plans, which forms part of our BSI ISO 9001 accredited Quality Management System, we have outlined the below specific measures and reassurances in direct response to COVID-19.

Communication: We will ensure we keep all staff and clients and our supply chain informed of any updates to our operating procedures as the COVID-19 situation develops.

Remote working: All employees are now remote working with the necessary hardware, software and remote access to all resources needed to fully perform their duties. All staff will remain contactable via email and telephone.

IT: Jefferson Sheard have robust business continuity and back up strategies in place regarding information stored on our servers. We understand that at times like this the potential for breaches in security through hacking is significantly increased and we work hard to maintain our Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation to ensure robust security measures are in place to safeguard project data. We have business wide VPN access to all job files and resources.

Travel: We are advising against all travel and will utilise video and audio conference calling via Skype and Microsoft Teams to facilitate meetings.

Our studios: In accordance with government guidelines we are now advising all employees to work from home. All staff deemed fit to work but requiring to self-isolate will be remote working from home. All staff are required to adhere to self-isolation for the periods as defined by the government and NHS recommendations

Client commitments: we assure all our clients we will continue to efficiently provide a complete and high level of service on all facets of our Practice. We will maintain strong lines of communication and work with our clients to ensure all projects proceed with no delays or loss in service.

Capacity: Jefferson Sheard Architects have a staff of over 40 Architects, Technicians and support staff, spread out over 4 studios in Manchester, London, Sheffield and Peterborough. This breadth in service and spread in geographical locations combined by inter office networking capabilities will help us manage project resource effectively to cope with possible sick leave.

Supply chain / sub-contractors: We are communicating with our supply chain and subcontractors to ensure they have the necessary procedures in place to continue service provision.

Jefferson Sheard Architects have been in business for over 60 years, we know by looking after our people and clients we can weather the turbulent times together and hopefully get back to business as usual as soon as possible.