Companies gear up to combat flu outbreak

Huntly Power Station, operated by Genesis Energy, is quarantining shifts. Photo / Greg Bowker

Bottles of sanitiser and wet wipes will help keep the lights on across the country as utility companies tell their staff to wash away swine flu.

Essential services companies are promoting better hygiene as their first line of defence against their contracting the H1N1 virus.

Mark Hanson, of power generator Mighty River, says the firm is handing out sanitisers to staff and asking them to limit travel between company offices by using phone and video conferencing. If face-to-face meetings are essential, the group size must be limited as much as possible.

"We're asking staff to conduct meetings by phone wherever possible, and to ensure none of their visitors has been overseas within the previous three days or have any cold or flu symptoms," Hanson says.

"We are restricting some of our sites, such as the hydro operation plants and control rooms, to staff only - they are now off-limits to contractors."

Mighty River has also introduced a compulsory 24-hour stand down for staff who have left the country.

"Staff returning from overseas need to call their manager and get clearance before returning to work. They should have at least a full day back in New Zealand before coming back to work - even if apparently healthy."

Hanson says it's unlikely that H1N1 influenza could result in a plant having to stop generating.

Richard Gordon, spokesman for Genesis Energy, says the firm is drawing on plans it put in place following the Sars outbreak in 2003.

"At this stage we are making sure everyone is aware of hygiene issues and of reducing contact with each other. We are providing antibacterial wipes and sprays for all staff - these are in our offices and power stations already.

"We are not training up staff to replace key people and I wouldn't want to comment on what the worst-case scenario could be - we are a long way from reaching that.

"We are taking advice from the Ministry of Health on each stage of the pandemic."

On Wednesday the company's managers told staff to minimise contact with colleagues. Workers at the firm's Huntly power station in the Waikato currently work in four shifts and have been told not to have any contact with people who are ending or starting their shift.

"We are quarantining shifts so there is no overlap between them," says Gordon. "We can operate the plant pretty much in isolation if we need to. Clearly a lot of contractors come and go from the site every day and if we need to we could stand down those contractors."

Gordon says the firm's contact centre in Hamilton, which employs around 400 people, is a significant part of the company's business, and they too have been given anti-bacterial wipes to use.

"We are telling office staff who have any symptoms of the virus to stay home, they should also stay home if a member of their family has the swine flu. We have remote computer access so staff can log in to the company network and work from home if need be."

Encouraging staff to work from home is one way Telecom is planning to reduce the spread of the disease among its staff. The company's spokesman Mark Watts says it is making plans to allow up to 3000 of its 6500 staff to work from home and is buying its own stocks of the Tamiflu medication, as well as face masks.

Staff who could work from home include those working in communications, finance, legal and human resources.

Watts couldn't put a price on what the swine flu preparations are costing the firm, but says: "We are on flu watch, like the rest of the world."