Star Pipe Products, Houston, Texas
STAR PIPE PRODUCTS IS A GLOBAL MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER FOR A LARGE ARRAY OF IRON PRODUCTS, INCLUDING PIPE FITTINGS, JOINT RESTRAINTS AND CONSTRUCTION CASTINGS.
With 14 regional distribution centers, and more than 1,200 employees, it requires a communications strategy that can reach work sites within seconds all over North America in case of an emergency. With so many centers, as well as more than 75,000 bin locations, the 38-year-old company also requires a streamlined way to get day-to-day notifications out to employees with ease.
A Rapid Response to Hurricane Harvey
- 107 lives were lost
- 30,000 people were displaced in the resulting floods
- 17,000 rescues
With headquarters in Texas, Star Pipe had been using emails and phone trees to contact workers.
“We were closed for several days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Once it started drying up, we opened on a voluntary basis until everyone could get out and we could return to normal operations. With Regroup, we were able to send out daily updates to our employees via SMS/text, email and robo voice alerts. Regroup’s system worked great and did exactly what it was supposed to!”
Jeff Greer
IT Manager for Star Pipe Products
Ongoing Training, Streamlined Communications
Star Pipe primarily uses Regroup Mass Notification for emergency weather notifications and office closures for various reasons. It also finds the ongoing support from Regroup’s Client Success Team has illuminated other best practices for its communications, including templates.
STAR PIPE ATTENDED VIRTUAL TRAINING ON HOW IT CAN USE REGROUP’S EASY TEMPLATES TO CREATE COMMON COMMUNICATIONS THAT CAN BE SENT OUT WITH NO DOWNTIME ON THE PART OF THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE PLATFORM.
Templates are a great way for complex organizations, with several locations and a large employee base to have a system of sending out notifications without the need to create them from scratch.
HERE ARE SIX EXAMPLES OF TEMPLATES MANUFACTURERS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS USE FOR SIMPLIFYING HOW THEY COMMUNICATE TO ALL OF THEIR STAKEHOLDERS:
- Active shooter or dangerous situations
- Evacuation for extreme weather or industrial accident events
- Shelter-in-place alerts
- Dangerous situations, from icy road commutes to system failures
- Be on the lookout alerts
- Delegation strategies, to ensure communication is consistent
“Regroup is simple to set up and maintain, and it works without fail. We have used Regroup to notify employees of office closures due to weather (including during Hurricane Harvey), and it has worked for us marvelously. When we need to get a hold of them, they are available very quickly, but we rarely need to reach out. We have been extremely pleased with our relationship with Regroup.”
Jeff Greer
IT Manager for Star Pipe Products
HOW MANUFACTURERS ARE EMPOWERED THROUGH REGROUP
Emergencies
- Notify everyone on a site if equipment is down or the power is out
- Alert everyone of approaching severe weather storms, including hurricanes
- Send all-clear notifications to resume work faster
- Use Regroup to practice safety drills or for emergency evacuations
Routine Notifications
- Send reminders about safety walks, meetings, and more
- Enable workers to anonymously report safety concerns or unsafe workers, including those who are suspected of being inebriated
- Keep teams informed about inventory stocks and delays
- Send regular safety reminders and updates to specific locations