When RESA Power, based in Houston, first starting sending staff to local COVID-19 testing centers, results were slow and were causing disruptions to business continuity.
RESA Power’s employees are considered essential, responsible for electrical testing and maintenance at any facility that needs power. Valer Banushi, health and safety director reporting directly to RESA CEO Monte Roach, said the company has 16 locations and 350 employees working in every state. and the organization needed a way to test employees for COVID-19 when necessary to continue business continuity and contain any outbreaks quickly and efficiently.
At first, RESA Power found chaos and confusion in the testing community as it sent employees out to local testing sites for results. “We sent them anywhere we could. If an employee felt sick or had any symptoms they would call in and we checked online to find a nearby testing facility,” noted Banushi.
Banushi said they faced a lot of difficulties, especially in Southern California, specifically at Dodger Stadium.
“Our employees would wait four to five hours in their cars. Then the test results would either be lost or we wouldn’t get results back for up to 7-10 days. It was really an awful situation. We needed a good way to test,” he says.
The company decided to take matters into its own hands, working with a mail-in testing facility that would turn around results quickly and populate those results in a real-time dashboard for comparison. Working with InOut Labs of Morton Grove, Ill., RESA Power began using mail-in PCR testing kits as a backup plan. InOut Labs first sent 10 kits to every company location and RESA Power set up the sites and kits on an InOut Labs online dashboard to ensure accurate tracking.
For RESA Power, the company has been enable to minimize lost time and long waits. “The process is running perfectly,” said Banushi. “Samples are consistently turned around in one day. Kits come with overnight-labels. The lab gets the test kit and provides results within hours.”
Baushi added, “It helps us stay productive and keep clients’ essential services online. Our ultimate priority is safety. The test is highly accurate. I know there are rapid screening tests that are very accurate, but you have to have symptoms. PCR is great. Our CEO values safety first which is why I report directly to him. If one employee tests positive and was working on a team, we test everyone. If contact tracing comes out negative, they can go back to essential work with masks and social distancing.”
