Hope you and your family, friends and colleagues are safe and well

Since my last update at the end of March we are up and running, although I don’t think things will be the same for a long time, if ever.

90% Back to “Normal”

I wouldn’t say things are running at 100% but we are able to carry out about 90% of our normal activity

Previously, the guidance was very restrictive, but now we are able to go into peoples houses following the latest guidance published by the Government Working Safely In Other Peoples Homes

We are minimising risk both for our employees catching COVID-19 and also minimising the risk of passing it onto our customers.

All team members are working remotely, having finally got to grips with Microsoft Teams and remote scheduling!

Social Aspect

I’ve missed the social aspect of having everyone in the office talking about football and the general office banter!

From a technical point of view it’s much more isolating.. you’d normally wander over with your sketch pad and ask another engineer .. “I’m thinking of doing this, what do you think?” you can’t do that anymore

It’s much harder to do that over an email or a call – it has to be much more formalised. It’s during these informal chats that the good ideas normally come

Busier Than Ever

On a positive note, we are busier than ever, as people are starting to realise this is the new normal and projects are coming off hold.

UPDATE 27 NOVEMBER 2020

As a business we are following government guidelines and adopting a balanced approach between our team working remotely, coming into the office and carrying out site surveys.

What Does This Mean For You, Our Customer?

Nothing changes.

We are still committed to your projects and following strict COVID guidelines when we visit site.

If you have any questions at all before our engineers come to site, please contact us on 0118 962 9666 or covid-19@mapl.co.uk.

How has lock down been for you? What do you miss about the office?

Is that the project that you have been thinking about for months has to go on hold, whilst you wait until the end of lockdown .. grrr!

I’m not going to lie, but when we first entered lockdown on 23 March I (naively) thought that we’d be returning to some sort of normality by now.

As the weeks have ticked by, it has become clear that this is not going to happen any time soon.

We have continued to work throughout, embracing new ways of working. Some customers have decided to put their projects on hold indefinitely, while others have been keen to take advantage of this quiet time and its full steam ahead!

Case Study; Garage Conversion and Wall Removal

In the early stages of COVID-19 lockdown we were approached by a homeowner who was keen to go ahead with a garage conversion and a wall removal.

At the time, visiting their property was not an option, so we suggested a different way of working.


Like everyone, the homeowners were in lockdown so they weren’t going anywhere soon and they were keen to be part of the survey and design process.

Although it was daunting initially, with our support we were able to work together and gather the information required for us to carry out the design.


Information We Required

  • Ground floor layout – we managed to obtain this on line from when he bought the house
  • We marked up the plan with the dimensions that we would need
  • The homeowner was able to take the dimensions and relevant photographs
  • We suggested he did a video walkthrough of the area that was going to be affected

Initial plans were then drawn up from the information provided.

I’ll be honest, there was a bit of toing and froing it wasn’t a one hit “here’s the information” and then let’s get the design out. We got the bulk of the information in one go then went back through the loop a few times.

Using Microsoft Teams we were able to review the drawings on screen and identify potential problem areas where we needed more information – we had good conversations using the technology, without having to meet face to face.

It does takes time, but it can be done without increasing the risk of COVID-19 for either our Clients or for us attending site.

Even though we can now attend properties, this is now a proven method for us to help homeowners move their projects forward without having to meet in person.

Are you thinking of a house project, but have concerns about inviting surveyors into your home?

Please get in touch to see how we could work together.

Contact Us

You’ve probably had more than enough COVID-19 updates from random companies, but I thought it important to keep you informed of Michael Aubrey’s plans to support you through this difficult period.

We have team members working remotely. All of our systems are cloud based, so we are continuing as normal, although with reduced team numbers.

Safety of our team and our customers takes priority, so at the moment survey work is limited to sites where the work assists essential services and the Government / Public Health England social distancing guidance can be followed.

Desk based Structural assessments and design work are continuing as normal, taking full advantage of existing survey data and video call technology – getting to grips with Zoom and “MS Teams” has been a challenge!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers. We will continue to serve you as effectively as possible through what are very uncertain times for everyone.

Although our physical doors are temporarily closed, please do get in touch with me directly in the first instance if you have an issue as we are only on the other end of the phone / email.

We wish you the best of health and keep safe.

John

john.staves@mapl.co.uk

UPDATE: 6 April 2020, we are continuing to work, however our physical office is now closed. 

Best way to get in touch with us is via email:  covid-19@mapl.co.uk or leave a message on 0118 962 9666 and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Take care.