A key point in President Ramaphosa’s statement on Sunday was that COVID-19 has the potential to have lasting effects on the economy if handled incorrectly. As such business will continue as usual at MasterDrive in order to ensure that all companies can still deliver on their health and safety requirements.
The managing director of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, assures that safety precautions with regard to health and hygiene will be taken as well. “While we feel it is expedient to our social and networking gatherings, business will continue as normal. Companies with strict health and safety requirements cannot let training fall by the wayside. As result, MasterDrive is still delivering training with our trainers and facilities prepared with extra precautions.
“Of particular note is the re-introduction of our eLearning option. Drivers can complete the theory component online and a certificate of attendance will be issued once the driver completes their in-car.”
Other steps have been taken to provide MasterDrive clients with assurance that all recommendations from the World Health Organisation and the South African government are being adhered to. “We are adapting to the new regulations of clients who can no longer meet our team members face-to-face. The sales team will make greater use of modern technology to replace these interactions. A number of other hygiene and preventative measures will be taken which are detailed below.”
The country’s proactive response means there is no reason to bring business to a standstill. “Take the precautions and restrictions seriously but avoid giving into the levels of panic that have made countries like Australia infamous. Let us continue to work together to limit the effect COVID-19 can have on South Africa so that we emerge from the pandemic, healthy in every sphere of our life,” says Herbert.
MasterDrive’s policy on handling COVID-19
MasterDrive is diligently implementing up-to-date, safety standards and protocols to ensure your safety – when using our facilities for training or visiting your offices.
The safety of you, our customers, and our employees is very important to us and we are closely monitoring the news, information, advice and guidance from the World Health Organisation regarding the spread of the coronavirus as well as following the recommendations from South African authorities.
In order to lessen the impact and spread of the virus and to assist you with meeting your training requirements, we have taken the following actions:
Training facilities
We are cleaning all our facilities more frequently with recommended sanitising products. This includes work surfaces, training materials, frequently handled equipment and, where relevant, vehicles being used.
MasterDrive has placed hand sanitisers at key points at all of our sites to encourage customers, suppliers, visitors and employees to constantly clean their hands. Further to this, surgical face masks and hand gloves are available at our sites and can be used by customers and employees if they so choose.
Vehicles
We have enhanced our cleaning standards on our own vehicles (after in-vehicle tests). In particular, we are paying special attention to places that people touch such as door handles, steering wheels, controls and other hard surfaces by cleaning these with alcohol-based sanitiser.
Welfare of our employees
We are taking steps to ensure the welfare of our employees and this includes instructing all employees who feel ill to stay at home and consult their healthcare providers. All our staff are required to be vigilant about frequent hand washing. We strongly advise against direct personal contact such as handshakes and hugging as this could also transmit the infection.
Existing bookings
We will exercise greater flexibility applied to minimum numbers agreed upon, and where the training will be delivered – MasterDrive will gladly, during this challenging time, facilitate training at your office. If you have an existing booking, we look forward to seeing you and want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to promote a safe and secure training experience.
Annual price increase deferred
the annual price increase schedules for 01 April 2020 have been deferred to 01 June 2020. All training booked before 1 June 2020, will be honoured with the current price. We encourage you to book your training soon to take advantage of this.
eLearning program option
MasterDrive has launched the first phase of our Defensive Driving eLearning Program. You, as our valued client, will have the option to complete this in place of face-to-face classes in order to work with clients who would like to minimise potential risk through human contact. Upon successfully completing the 10 online training modules, you will be issued with a Certificate of eDriving Attendance, and you can then book your in-car session with our trainers. Following this you will be declared competent as per our standard defensive driving qualification.
If you would like to know more on how to book for the eLearning program, please contact the bookings team on 0861 100 618.
Future actions
We have consulted with experts and are implementing plans for contingencies in the event of the following;
• A coronavirus breakout within our operation
• A large number of our employees are ill/isolated
• A provincial/national lockdown
We advise that you stay updated on the latest developments from the World Health Organisation. The National Health Department has set up a hotline (0800 0299 99) to respond to all COVID-19 related enquiries, including where you can get tested in your local area.
During this challenging time, many people are choosing different ways to address their business needs. If you need driver training, we are here for you. Your safety is our highest priority and we truly appreciate the trust you place in our team and our company.
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