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Industry resources and employee wellness guides to support energy companies through the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
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Dear valued colleague,
Above all else, NuGen Automation is committed to the health and safety of our employees and the client portfolios that we continue to monitor and protect each day. Our approach to coronavirus COVID-19 is with with urgency and empathy.
Therefore, we recently entered into a remote workforce with some exceptions to control room and other operations. Details in our contingency planning, along with other resources, can be found in the COVID-19 Resources Hub below. We hope you find these supportive in your overall pandemic planning efforts.
NuGen Automation remains as steadfast today in automating the energy community as we did when our innovation journey began in 2010.
If you have suggestions on how we can better support you, please email those to contact@nugenautomation.com.
Vice President of Operations
Frequently Asked Questions and other company resources that detail our efforts to respond the public health emergency
Key planning resources from US DOT and PHMSA, American Petroleum Institute (API), and Canada Energy Regulator
Special announcements and business continuity planning on COVID-19 from key technology partners of NuGen Automation
Authoritative guidance from public health officials, including the CDC, Office of the White House, WHO and the Public Health Agency of Canada
NuGen Automation is a critical operations facility. Our commitment to our clients still remains in our full preparation to operate assets in both normal and abnormal situations. The safety and health of both our customers and employees are perpetually top priorities for any situation.
With our response plan, we do not anticipate any impact to ongoing project and support activities.
NuGen has an internal Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Plan already in place to provide direction to our internal teams and vendors in the event that a pandemic infection poses a health and safety threat to NuGen’s customers, employees, or otherwise threatens NuGen’s ability to effectively deliver continuous business services.
As part of our business continuity planning, NuGen has transitioned to a minimum level of critical on-site staff and requiring all non-critical staff to work remotely, when possible, so that we can minimize the amount of staff in our building while also keeping our own critical infrastructure secured, highly available, and redundant.
We are continuing to conduct business as usual while working remotely. NuGen does not anticipate immediate impact to ongoing project and support activities.
We have previously validated our infrastructure to allow remote working and have implemented our internal communication plan to keep our teams updated and informed.
NuGen is currently operating from multiple secured locations around the Houston area and has isolated each console into its own respective room for further separation.
We have proactively implemented a screening questionnaire for incoming controllers, and educating our people based on current recommendations. Additionally, all of our control centers and data center facilities have on site UPS (short term power backup) and commercial standby generators (long term power backup) as redundancies, as well as multiple communication providers and remote capabilities.
If Houston is put under a curfew or shelter in place order, we have communicated with the local authorities with usage of both Presidential Policy Directive PPD-21 and Executive Order 13010 (defining/prioritizing Critical Infrastructure) and a letter citing PHMSA and DOT regulations authorizing our people to drive to the control rooms as needed.
COVID-19 is an urgent and rapidly-evolving situation. NuGen Automation has implementing additional safeguards for our employees and contractors to help them identify and protect themselves from the coronavirus.
This includes mandatory protocols for anyone exhibiting early onset symptoms for the safety and protection of employees engaged in critical on-site operations. Extra communications and training around emerging details of the virus have been paramount for senior management.
In addition, NuGen has deployed extra procedures around disinfection and additional office cleaning throughout all of its facilities.
We understand that clients need our support now more than ever, and that’s why NuGen is taking precautions to protect employees and clients during this time, including protocols for in-person meetings. All visitors in NuGen offices must fill out a form for permission to enter our facilities, which requires visitors to assess their potential exposure to and symptoms of COVID-19. All visitors must wash their hands before entering worker areas and maintain social distancing during their visit. No unnecessary entry is permitted for the Control Room.
For client sites, NuGen is prepared to support client protocols in every way possible. In addition to any client requirements to visit their sites, NuGen employees will observe regular handwashing and social distancing activities.
PHMSA's recent notice of stay of enforcement has left some operators struggling how to proceed through the COVID-19 pandemic response. Review through our interpretation in this summary report.
Stress reduction is a critical step in mitigating the direct and indirect consequences of the novel coronavirus. Originally for NuGen employees, we're offering the visual guide to anyone to help assist with their physical and mental well-being.
NuGen Automation recognizes that making the switch, especially for more than a few days, can be difficult for some. That's why we gathered very effective ways for employees and partners alike to keep their productivity gains along in 2020.
The stay-at-home initiative the country is undergoing is particularly burdensome for professionals that have children at home. We developed a guide for our employees and other professionals to help them manage the extra tasks that come with being a parent.
We explore the impact of COVID-19, the price war on oil prices and how pipeline safety measures have recently evolved in response to the growing pandemic.
In a blog post from March 2020, NuGen Automation released updated information on the rollout of Skype integration and Microsoft Teams functionality due to increased remote operations across the US and globally.
PHMSA also further details its plans around efforts to continue to support the activities of state pipeline safety programs during the public health emergency sparked by COVID-19.
The special permits are necessary in helping to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, as well as for response and remediation efforts associated with the current emergency. Find out how to obtain a special permit.
A consolidated list of group email addresses are included, followed by a brief description of the available support each email group provides (e.g. cylinder re-qualification approvals, special permit applications, regulatory petitions, interpretation requests, etc.).
The Department of Transportation issues new guidance and a stay in enforcement to DOT-regulated employers, employees, and service agents regarding conducting DOT drug-and-alcohol testing given concerns about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
As part of its ongoing support of oil and natural gas operations, API has produced a comprehensive guide that energy operators can refer to during the coronavirus emergency.
API encourages all states and localities to adopt the guidance recently published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to identify critical workers.
Acting Chief Executive Officer issues a letter to oil & gas partners detailing the national regulator's business continuity efforts address the impact of the coronavirus.
Acting Chief Executive Officer issues a letter to oil & gas partners detailing the national regulator's business continuity efforts address the impact of the coronavirus.
Professionals of all types will stand to benefit by reviewing this comprehensive economic report with multiple macro scenarios.
This interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The following interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings.
Technical content that cover a range of consequences that the coronavirus is having for daily operations of control room operators and professionals .
Esri releases ArcGIS resources to help its users support their communities and organizations respond to coronavirus COVID-19 effectively, including how to build a response hub.
From remote working to technical support, Microsoft releases a comprehensive list of assistance guides for IT professionals to leverage for better business continuity planning.
Our SCADA technology partner recently announced the testing and implementation of its Business Contunity Plan (BCP).
Until June 30, AVEVA is offering complimentary access to select engineering products and services to assist pipeline operators transition through the pandemic.
Inductive Automation issues a special announcement on measures taken within the company to help curtail the impact of the coronavirus.
Amazon has determined to allow APN Partners maintain their 2019 APN Tier status throughout the rest of 2020.
The Executive Board of our leak detection partner addresses their operations contingency repositioning in light of the global pandemic.
In a collaboration with the Center for Diseases Control (CDC), Dr. Anthony Fauci is featured by Apple on a direct message to US citizens on how they can prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The office of President Trump released a comprehensive PDF guide that details the various methods every American can take to mitigate the spread of coronavirus COVID-19.
The World Health Organization hosts a centralized source of updated guidance for individuals considering international travel during COVID-19.
The Public Health Services Agency of Canada releases key resources and self-assessment tools to assist individuals to combat the virus pandemic.
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If your operations have been affected by Coronavirus Covid-19
