April 30 - COVID-19 Staying Safe

During this time, we remain open and are taking every possible precaution to make sure both our customers and employees remain safe. These procedures include but are not limited to the following:

Social Distancing:
With the bulk of our staff now working out of their home offices, we are making sure to have as little in-person contact as possible. For our service or site-located employees where working from home is not an option, we are ensuring they maintain social distancing precautions; making sure to maintain at least a 2-meter distance from one another and will be avoiding in-person meetings altogether. We encourage all customers to call or email in with requests as we wish to avoid as many physical gatherings as possible.

Self-Monitoring:
For all employees, we have enforced a self-monitoring system. All staff currently not working from their home offices are required to report to management daily on medical status and to survey for any potential symptoms. If any symptoms do come up, we ask that the employee self-isolate for at least two weeks.

Sanitization:
We have increased our sanitization practices for all open branches and all onsite personnel. We ask that all employees wash their hands every hour for at least 20 seconds with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. We’ve also asked all staff to participate in increased regular cleaning and sanitization of hard surfaces, supplies, and machinery after use.

WE’RE STILL OFFERING OUR SERVICES

We remain open and here to support you and your equipment needs. Please see below for some additional precautions we are taking for each of our services to ensure the safety of our staff and customers. Have questions? Send us an email or give us a call at (972) 494-5438 today!

New / Used Equipment:
We are encouraging customers to call in for inquiries instead of visiting our branches directly. If requested, we can provide photos and video of the unit in question. All our equipment will be cleaned and sanitized before you receive it.

Rentals:
Our rental experts are available to assist you online or over the phone to limit as much physical interaction as possible. For your safety, we are taking extra care to sanitize all rental machines prior to shipping. Although we make sure to be as thorough as we can, we encourage all customers to re-sanitize the equipment upon arrival and prior to operating on your site.

Parts:
We can offer you 24/7 parts support online and over the phone. After placing an order, we can ship parts directly to you. Various regions qualify for next day shipping. To help maintain distance, some of our branches are also offering curbside pickup. Ask about our curbside pickup during your next parts order!

Service:
We’re making sure that our service team is practicing social distancing both on-site and in our shop. This means there is no face-to-face contact and all staff must remain over two meters apart. Additional steps are also being taken to make sure all machines are cleaned and sanitized before and after working on them.

Operator Training:
Training courses are still being run with modifications to ensure social distancing can be practiced. All desks, seats, equipment, and training materials will be cleaned and sanitized before and after each class.

March 24, 2020 - COVID-19 - We are here to support you

Valued Customers,

During this difficult time, we are taking all measures required to keep our people safe and support our customers. Lonestar Forklift provides equipment and performs services necessary for the operations of “Essential Infrastructure”. As part of our COVID-19 procedures, we have limited the access to our branches and many of our team is working from home, but our business is OPEN to support you!

Parts
24 / 7 - Ready to take your order and ship today

Training
we continue to run a mixture of online and practical training.

Service
our technicians are ready to work with you to keep your equipment running.

Rentals
we have equipment ready to rent today

New and Used Equipment
We have equipment on the ground and ready to ship.

Thank you for your business and your trust. Should you need us, we are just a phone call away:
(972) 494-5438 or contact us.

March 23, 2020 - COVID-19 Training Update

Dear Valued Customer,

Lonestar Training remains open for business in a reduced capacity, ensuring that those clients of ours who are essential to our supply chains continue to have access to a quality training provider. This will allow us to meet our customers’ demands pertaining to training alternate or new staff members to maintain their critical operations as they struggle with staffing challenges under rapidly changing conditions. We feel that it is important that we continue to provide resources to these vital organizations within our communities.

We understand the seriousness of this pandemic and are committed to continually taking increased safety measures to ensure the health and safety or our clients and staff, as we see similar measures being taken worldwide, in a cooperative effort to slow the global spread of COVID-19. We would like to make you aware of the following upcoming changes in the coming week:

In addition to the measures outlined on March 16th, as of Wednesday, March 25 clients will complete their practical training in individual 1 hour appointments. Trainees will be asked to meet the instructor at the front yard or however best the branch manager decides that the traffic can be safely directed to the training area without entry to the building. Access to washroom facilities with not be provided to these clients.

• This will allow us to ensure 6ft or more of social distance at all times as recommended by the public health authorities while also allowing for a full disinfectant of equipment controls between operators.
• This will also assist us in limiting public access to our indoor facilities for the protection of our employees who remain working at the branches.

Clients will be automatically emailed a course code to complete their pre-study course work from the comfort of their own home or office from any internet capable device and a Lonestar Training representative will call and email details of the specific timeslot for practical assessment training.

Clients will not have the option to choose their own appointment time due to the challenging logistics of making this sudden change. At this time appointments will be issued in the order the registrations were received during the original course window of 9:00am-1:00pm for a maximum of 4 appointments per instructor per day.

We believe that it is important at this critical time to continue to support the workforce that is providing the essential services that we all depend on. Ongoing we will continue to adapt our business practices as needed to maintain service to our customers during this challenging time for all Americans.

Jill Brook | General Manager, Operator Training

Lonestar Forklift

March 17, 2020 - COVID-19 Training Update

Dear Valued Customer,

With increased awareness on how COVID-19 virus has impacted communities around the world, over the last few weeks we at Lonestar Forklift have taken a series of precautionary steps in response to this developing public health impact, including increased cleaning and sanitizing procedures for our facilities. The health and safety of all Lonestar Forklift staff, students, and guests is our number one priority.

Lonestar Forklift is industry leading when it comes to holding classes with an exceptionally low group size to allow for a small student to instructor ratio. Our courses are delivered in a blended online format that allows students to complete theory training from the comfort of their own office or home from any internet capable device. Following this a brief hands-on equipment practical can be scheduled at a Lonestar Forklift location in a reduced contact scenario as our student to instructor ratio does not exceed 6:1. This practical does not need to be completed right away, it can be booked separately from the theory and can be done any time within 6 months from the completion.

In direct response to the need to be diligent against this virus Lonestar Forklift is also undertaking the following measures:

1. No students who show any visible indication of illness will be admitted entry. Those that appear ill will be asked to go home and can reschedule when they are well with no cancellation fee.
2. We have implemented a strict no contact hand etiquette protocol, no handshakes will be offered by staff and an extra wide amount of personal space will be respected. In addition, no cash payments will be accepted at this time.
3. We are temporarily suspending coffee service and students will be restricted from gathering in employee designated lunchrooms.
4. Extra effort in sanitizing washrooms and hard surfaces is being made.
5. We are outfitting our facilities with ample handwashing and hand sanitizing stations. Students will be reminded at the start of class to wash their hands regularly and will be instructed of the location of these amenities.
6. Training equipment will be thoroughly disinfected after each class session, and where plausible disinfectant wipes will be provided for students to wipe down equipment before they take their specific hands on equipment test. We also strongly recommend that clients bring gloves to operate equipment as an addition PPE measure.

As noted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), COVID-19 is primarily spread through respiratory droplets, which means to become infected, people generally must be within six feet of someone who is contagious and come into contact with these droplets. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

The best advice is still frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds using soap and warm water, ensuring that any coughing is done into sleeves at the elbow or into a tissue that is immediately disposed of and avoiding touching your face.

Although we will still have PPE loaner gear available, students are very strongly recommended to bring their own gear including high-vis vest, eye protection, hard hat and gloves. Those using loaner eye protection will be asked to wash and dry the gear both before and after using it.

We are prepared to navigate these challenging circumstances with everyone’s safety in mind. As our customer base is dependent on our product to ensure safe compliance for equipment operation in the workplace we currently plan to remain open for business with a full class schedule to fulfill industry needs. We will remain vigilant to any recommendations made by the health authorities and will adjust and adapt as required.

Thank you for being a loyal Lonestar Forklift client.

Jill Brook | General Manager, Operator Training

Lonestar Forklift

March 16, 2020 - Our Commitment to Customers During COVID-19

Dear Valued Customer,

As COVID-19 continues to evolve in North America, the Venturis Group of Companies would like to provide reassurance that we are closely monitoring the developing situation and have deployed additional resources to ensure our customers’ and employees’ health is our highest priority, while we also strive to minimize disruption of our services.  Rest assured that the Venturis Group of Companies has a comprehensive set of guidelines and policies in place governing how we monitor and react to health concerns within our community.

Our business continuity plan contains the following.

Continuous Education and Policy Reinforcement:

• Update and inform our employees on preventative practices such as stopping international travel and limiting regional travel, providing clear direction on safe working environments, procedures and customer interactions, as well as identifying and encouraging those who may be symptomatic to stay home and focus on their wellness.
• Continue monitoring reports and requirements from local, provincial and federal government health agencies and modifying our approach accordingly.

COVID-19 Mitigation Protocols for our Customers, Employees and Public:

• Maintain a 2-meter distance from each other.
• No physical meetings or congregations.
• No physical interaction policy; forego handshakes and other greetings that require physical contact.
• Wash hands thoroughly every 60 minutes for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.
• Increased cleaning and sanitization of hard surfaces after use; including desks, phones, doorknobs, counters, etc.
• Support flexible work and virtual meeting options for those employees who can work from home to avoid exposure.
• For our service or site-located employees where working from home is not an option, we are ensuring that these employees are self-monitoring and reporting to management daily on medical status and surveying for symptoms in addition to; practicing social distancing, washing hands regularly and keeping supervisors informed of any developments.
• Where customer interactive tools are traditionally utilized (e.g. electronic signatures on phones/tablets); this is not applicable until further notice and alternative reviews will be established.
• Reduce traffic in our branches by encouraging customers and vendors to utilize our online resources and telephones where possible, which will serve to limit face to face interaction.
• Locations are currently not accessible to the general public and signage on entrances will direct how to contact us to continue servicing our customer needs.

As we operate in multiple jurisdictions at our customer sites, we are endeavoring to comply with local procedures.

We remain focused in our dedication to serving you as we navigate these unique challenges.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-888-321-0014

Tom Leavitt
President and CEO
Venturis Group of Companies