An update from Northline – COVID-19
20/1/2022
How is COVID-19 affecting our delivery service?
Currently, the transport and logistics industry is being impacted by the rapid increase in community transmission of COVID-19.
Whilst the majority of our services continue to operate without disruption, delays are being felt where COVID-19 related resourcing shortages are being experienced.
This includes, but not limited to many of our linehaul providers and suppliers who are facing significant labour shortages resulting in an increase to turnaround times for collection and delivery.
Additionally, our fleet and warehouse operations in Victoria and New South Wales have been disrupted by absences due to COVID-19 self isolation with significant absences being reported on any given day.
We anticipate that any delays which may occur to be temporary and we are committed to working through these challenges safely, minimising the impact to our employees, contractors, suppliers and customers.
Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Service Update – COVID Restrictions NSW
19/7/2021
In light of the developing COVID situation in New South Wales (NSW), along with the toughened restrictions announced by the NSW Government on Saturday 17 July 2021;
Please be advised that our network continues to operate without impact or disruption.
Workers within the critical Local Government Areas that need to travel outside have been limited where appropriate and have the necessary permits where applicable.
We continue to operate within the restrictions and testing requirements set out by the authorities and all mobile employees continue to be tested at the necessary frequencies. Our Sales and Administration teams have been working remotely for some time now without disruption.
Our Operations nationally, as well as in NSW have the necessary restrictions and controls in place to ensure the health and safety of our employees and service continuity for our customers.
If you have any further questions, please contact your Account Manager.
A message from Craige Whitton, Chief Executive Officer
29/3/2021
This month, Northline celebrates 38 years of serving our valued customers, forging strong industry and community relationships and giving people opportunities to develop their careers with us.
We hope that our 38th year won’t be as challenging as our 37th was for many of our customers, but rest assured that Northline will continue to be at your side every step of the way.
Despite COVID, we are proud to have continued operations without interruption over the past 12 months to support our customers, and while some adaptions have been necessary, we have been able to maintain continuity.
As Australia’s Global Logistics People, Northline has always been about investing in our team and empowering them to support our customers with a personalised service.
If you would like any further information on Northline’s COVID-19 response, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Northline continues to operate as business as usual
18/11/2020
Further to today’s announcement made by the South Australian Government implementing lockdown measures, we would like to reassure our customers that Northline continues to be classified as an essential service and therefore will operate business as usual during this lockdown period.
We understand that these announcements are moving quickly and we will endeavour to maintain an open channel of communication with our customers, as and when additional announcements are made.
If you would like any further information on Northline’s COVID-19 response, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
COVID-19 precautionary measures update
9/08/2020
With the recent rapid escalation of COVID-related cases in Greater Melbourne please refer to the following update on the precautionary measures we are implementing.
During this time, we have implemented additional rigorous cleaning and hygiene protocols throughout our facilities and are practicing other safety precautions including installing sneeze guards on all high risk face to face Administrations areas, social distancing, daily screening, and temperature checks.
By taking clear steps to prepare for the spread of COVID-19, we are confident that we can do our part to help reduce the impact and disruption for our stakeholders.
As the situation worsens in a number of hotspots, we have taken additional measures which include;
- Restricting any visits to Northline sites unless it is critical to attend in person.
- If you do need to attend the site, you must book in prior to arrival so that you can be screened and be granted access to the site and we can control the number of people of the site.
- Whilst on site, we require you to wear a mask and will be required to undergo temperature checks. If a high temperature reading is recorded, you will not be allowed to proceed.
- If any of your employees or contractors are feeling unwell no matter how minor, are awaiting Covid-19 test results or have been asked to self-isolate then you must not to attend any Northline site.
If you would like any further information on Northline’s COVID-19 response, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Northline continues to exercise COVID-19 precautionary measures
15/06/2020
Northline continues to maintain precautionary measures in all of our business sites to mitigate COVID-19 impact including:
- Social distancing requirements
- Daily temperature monitoring of all employees
- Practice of good hygiene
- Allocated work groups and amenities
- Reinduction in those controls for returning workers who have been working from home
- Requirement for employees to seek medical advice if they feel unwell or experience flu-like symptoms
If you would like any further information on Northline’s COVID-19 response, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Service continues for Northline
09/04/2020
As mentioned in my previous correspondence, Northline continues to service the freight and logistics needs of our customers without restriction. This will continue over the Easter break, with Northline being closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday national public holidays. As we approach the Easter long weekend, we all need to note that social distancing measures and border closures remain in place across Australia.
Our National freight services continue to operate without issue or delay and our warehouse operational shifts have been adjusted to suit both social distancing guidelines and employee welfare. For any day to day enquiries our Australian based Customer Service Team is here to support your needs on 1300 722 534.
If you need to track a delivery you can always do so on Northline’s Track App or on your desktop at track.northline.com.au.
Northline continues to take precautionary measures to adhere to social distancing requirements which we have outlined below. If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
I would like to take this time to thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time. From all of us here at Northline, we wish you and your families a safe and well-deserved break over the long weekend.
Regards,
Craige Whitton
Chief Executive Officer
Supporting customers during COVID-19
02/04/2020
Over the last week there have been ongoing actions and added importance put on the social distancing measures. Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland closed their borders to all outside travel. Northline and the wider transport and logistics industry were deemed exempt from any restrictions on border closures and for us, business remains as usual.
As an ‘essential service’, Northline’s interstate services are not affected by any of the border closures and we still maintain all services into regional areas across Australia.
With growing restrictions across the majority of our pick up and delivery points, our National freight services continue to operate without issue or delay. Our warehouse operational shifts have been adjusted to suit both social distancing guidelines and employee welfare and continue to operate smoothly, with extended shifts and overtime worked as necessary.
Maintaining a high level of customer service is a priority for Northline and we appreciate the understanding and patience our customers are displaying throughout this time. Our Australian based Customer Service Team is still here to support your needs and our Operations teams are working hard to continue servicing the freight and logistics requirements of all our customers.
The health and safety of both our Northline employees and our customers is paramount. This means that operationally, we are taking extra measures to ensure social distancing requirements are adhered to. We would like to share with you some developments and actions Northline have deployed and continue to monitor as part of our ongoing commitment to business continuity;
Actions
- COVID-19 committee including Executive Team members continue to meet daily to manage our ongoing response.
- All International or Domestic business travel continues to be cancelled until further notice.
- Nationally, we continue to exercise our working from home (WFH) policy for those employees who are able to. This includes all external sales employees, national management roles based at branches and a significant number of employees based at our Service Centre.
- We have separated, by physical distance, teams located at each branch thereby adhering to the social distancing principles and have clear segregation between operational functions and shifts at every branch.
Operations
- Northline’s services are currently operating and performing without impact, every depot is operational.
- Our visitor login and induction systems at the branches have been adjusted to include some additional screening questions.
- Our delivery procedures have been adjusted slightly in consideration of social distancing principles and hygiene – this includes;
- The option of the driver signing the POD/PDA device on the customers behalf, including a reference “CV19” on the POD
- Home delivery customers are provided the option of ‘an authority to leave’ with the delivery being left in an agreed location on site without the need for the customer to sign for delivery.
- We are continuing to adjust our operations in line with our customers changes in protocols where necessary.
Business Continuity
- We are reviewing our contingency plans to ensure we can maintain delivery of services.
- We are purchasing additional laptops to allow for more uses to have remote access.
- We continue the trialling of alternate locations testing as a service contingency.
We understand that announcements are moving quickly, and we will endeavour to maintain an open channel of communication with our customers, as and when additional announcements are made.
If you require any further information in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Regards,
Craige Whitton
Chief Executive Officer