COVID-19 Safety Policy

To our Customers, Friends and Family,

The situation in British Columbia and Canada continues to change every day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This constant state of change has led to very difficult times for all of us personally, in our families and for our Employee Owned Centra operations. The health and safety of our employees and customers have always been, and will always be, our top priority.  Centra is a family and this is one of the toughest times we have faced together.

Health and Safety practice Guidelines: 

Centra Windows has been and will continue to follow every provincial and federal guideline as set out by WorkSafe BC; the BC Ministry of Health; and the Government of Canada. This has included immediate implementations of ‘stay home if sick’ protocols; physical distancing protocols; work sharing; work from home arrangements;  PPE (personal protective equipment) requirements; cleaning and disinfecting procedures; providing outlets and channels for reporting and discussing concerns, and many more.   

Centra is BC’s safest window manufacturer and installation company. We are very proud of our reputation in safety and the standard we continue to set in the Window Industry. We proudly say this because we are BC’s only Worksafe COR certified Window Company and have been for 10 years running. We are also the only company that has its own in-house certified hazardous materials window installers.  This includes rigorous independent testing and training through a full system of safe work procedures and practices. This experience in asbestos and hazardous materials management ensures that we can handle any circumstance and we are using this knowledge to create safe working environments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our goal is simple, do whatever it takes to ensure that our customers and our Employee Owners are safe every day. We have hourly paid installers with hazardous materials training, who are also Employee Owners. Many other companies in our industry use subcontractors that are paid piecework for every window they install which rewards speed and encourages shortcuts with no accountability to safety standards. We believe that in today’s uncertain world of COVID19 and strict Public Health Officer Construction Guidelines, there can be no shortcuts when it comes to the safety of your family and our Employee Owners and their families. 

Consultations:

In-person consultations will be completed with social distancing and increased sanitation and hygiene practices in place. We will be two metres apart at all times as directed by the BCCDC. Our Centra Owners are self-monitoring and are self-isolating at the first sign of illness. If you are showing any symptoms associated with COVID-19, we would be happy to reschedule for a future date.

Manufacturing and Construction:

In BC, manufacturing and construction in the residential construction industry are still operating. The province has implemented specific guidance and direction through Worksafe BC on how to operate safely during this time. We are following all of those provisions. 

Across Canada, we have some provinces like Ontario and Quebec that have declared a state of ‘essential’ services only provinces.  In these jurisdictions, it is very important to know that manufacturing and residential construction (which Centra operations fall into) have been declared essential services because they support society’s ability to support shelter and because the work environments have the space and means to safely operate. This is all contingent on workplaces being able to provide all the health and safety requirements of physical distancing; cleaning; and PPE (personal protective equipment). 

In Centra’s manufacturing facility, we have a physical distance of approximately 2,000 sq. feet per employee.  We have taped off the physical distance requirements with no-go zones; implementing cleaning; restricted common areas like time clocks and lunchrooms and many more. 

Our residential construction worksites also are continuing to operate as we work with employees, engineers, strata and property managers to ensure that we can achieve safety for all staff with a focus on exterior construction or alternate procedures and PPE on any interior work.

Safety is one of our core values and with the emergence of COVID-19, we will continue to keep all of our Employee Owners and customers safe at all times. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these times of rapid change.

For more information, contact our local Employee Owners at 1-888-534-3333 or send us an email at info@centra.ca.