Message from GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK CO.
to our Partners, Clients, and Stakeholders
GLDD is dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of our team members and have embraced an Incident and Injury Free® (IIF®) safety management program across the company. Given the COVID-19 crisis, we have implemented a dedicated team focused on ensuring clear communications, enhanced safety procedures and the well-being of all staff and crews while continuing to support our key customers by meeting the nations’ maritime needs during this challenging period.
In particular, our initial focus has been as follows:
- COVID-19 Command Team – This team led by Dave Simonelli, COO, kicked off their dedicated focus and meetings on March 6th with cross functional support from Operations, Fleet, Safety, HR & Labor Relations
- The Maritime Industry was deemed an ‘essential service’ critical to the infrastructure of the nation. As such, we have implemented CDC guidelines to reduce the risks that all team members face while continuing to support these critical activities.
- We have continuously reviewed our policies and practices and modified as needed given the continued COVID-19 concerns. In early March we introduced a specific Travel Policy to emphasize caution when travelling (while on or off duty) followed by implementing our COVID Safety Policy on 12 March and ultimately introducing the GLDD COVID-19 Response Plan on March 24th to mitigate risks of this evolving crisis.
- While many team members are able to work remotely, our Project Teams and Vessel Crews continue to execute operations at our many Sites. We continually assess the well-being of all team members by caring for individual’s concerns and stress and by monitoring team members who are exhibiting cold, flu or possibly coronavirus symptoms.
Our Executive team meets multiple times per week to review conditions across the company’s operations and ensure we are providing needed resources to support our Teams.
We are in almost daily communication with our primary Clients including the US Army Corps of Engineers, Port Authorities and State Counties where we operate and remain committed to meet the requirements on these important projects to keep the marine supply chain routes navigable. We understand the importance of port expansion and deepening projects as well as coastal protection and restorations and remain focused on providing these services in a safe manner during this COVID-19 crisis.
To our communities, we remain focused on performing all duties in a safe manner for team members and the local communities and continue to focus on executing all projects with strong environmental and safety standards.
We continuously monitor updates from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) as well as Federal and State guidance to determine any changes that are needed due to risks.
We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every facet of life in this country as the situation continues to evolve. We are committed to continually reviewing and maintaining the safety of our team members while remaining focused on delivering these critical projects focused on improvements and resilience of our country’s environmental, coastlines and infrastructure.
Sincerely,
Lasse Petterson
Chief Executive Officer