The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic represents a unique challenge to the shipping and logistics industry. During these unprecedented times Verizon Connect is committed to supporting your financial wellbeing and the health of your organization and its people.
COVID-19 has highlighted the critical role of supply chains in maintaining the smooth operation of emergency health services, of ensuring the continuing flow of essential goods and services to those in need, and of maintaining business continuity and revenue. It has also underscored the importance of maintaining the health and wellbeing of the people around you, whether at work or at home.
On this page you will find information about our response to the current pandemic, what we’re doing to help, and general guidance on best practices.
Learn more about Verizon’s response to COVID-19 and watch the Fleet Policies to Help Reduce COVID-19 Risks webinar.
Financial assistance
If you’re experiencing financial difficulty and you can’t pay your Verizon Connect bill, talk to your Customer Success Manager or contact our support or accounts teams to discuss ways we can help. We know that you might need more financial flexibility now, but we’re in this together and doing our best to help.
As the global situation evolves, and our need to respond to customer needs evolves with it, visit this page to learn more about emergency support initiatives as they are rolled out.
How you can support your people
To minimize the transmission of COVID-19, businesses should support working from home wherever possible. In some regions, working from home is now a legal requirement for those in non-essential roles.
Remote work might not be possible for all your people, but for administrative personnel, sales, and general support staff, helping them to work from home not only makes business sense but ensures that your operations can continue with minimal disruption.
You can continue using Verizon Connect software and tools from any internet-connected computer, phone or tablet, anywhere in the world.
Did you know that every single Verizon Connect employee around the world is currently working from home?
Encourage social distancing
If your people can’t work from home or require ‘in person’ contact with others to perform their jobs, they should remain at least six feet from other people, including customers. Handshakes, in-person team briefings, and friendly group gatherings should be avoided.
This is the time to fully utilize the digital tools at your disposal. Encourage drivers, mechanics, and critical support staff to communicate and accept tasks by phone, email, or using the messaging systems included in our apps.
Wherever possible, collections and deliveries should be ‘contactless’, avoiding direct physical contact with other people. Avoid using physical forms and use digital alternatives instead. Use contactless payment methods for essentials such as fuel.
Keep your drivers safe
If your people can’t work from home, they need to exercise heightened vigilance about the cleanliness of their environment. Provide hand sanitizer in vehicles if you can and encourage regular washing of hands. Regularly sanitize contact points like door knobs and handles in your depots or any communal spaces.
Wash or sanitize hands after leaving customer sites, after refueling vehicles, or after visiting public spaces. Use a paper towel when touching gas pumps. Avoid crowded restaurants by visiting at quieter times and wear protective equipment such as gloves and masks if your local authorities encourage their use.
If your drivers share equipment or vehicles then clean flat surfaces, shifters, and steering wheels in vehicles between shifts. Likewise, clean the screens of permanently mounted tablets, laptops, and other mobile devices.
Act fast for your drivers and customers
If you suspect that any of your staff are unwell or may have contracted COVID-19, keep them home and ensure that they self-isolate. This is critical to prevent transmission of illness in the community.
If tested and found to be COVID-19 positive, all close contacts with these confirmed cases within your company should be sent home and advised to seek medical counsel, and customers they have visited notified of their exposure risk.
Increase efficiency and safety
In some regions, regulatory requirements such as Hours of Service have been suspended yet demand for goods has dramatically increased. This means that some of your drivers might be driving longer hours than normal to support the supply of critical goods and services.
The importance of this work cannot be understated, but the wellbeing and safety of drivers must also be a priority.
Ensure that drivers are not overloaded by spreading workloads evenly wherever possible. Schedule shifts that permit longer rest breaks if you can. Use routing tools to reduce the number of vehicles and drivers on the road, and their fuel consumption and miles driven.
Use the Verizon Connect tools at your disposal to proactively help drivers avoid dangerous situations: use reports to monitor speeding alerts, to identify dangerous driving like harsh acceleration and braking early, and to ensure drivers are using their seat belts.
Leverage the power of our Integrated Video™ feature and connected in-dash cameras to review safety events, and monitor vehicle speed and location data. Ensure your vehicles can safely stay on the road for longer by tracking their servicing schedules using maintenance and DTC alerts.
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