Clifford Power Systems sustained structural damage to our facility in Austin, TX when severe weather hit the area around 12:45 a.m. Monday, February 20, 2017. The primary damage was to the administrative/office area – leaving the roof peeled back, offices unusable, metal twisted and bricks scattered – but fortunately leaving our shop and equipment intact and in good condition. And most importantly, no injuries were sustained.
As a result, we activated our Disaster Recovery Plan and continued business operations with minimal disruption of service to our customers. On the first day, while much of the staff worked around the facility to clean up and salvage what they could, field technicians were dispatched to regularly-scheduled service calls, phones were forwarded to backup coverage, and our computer network was still only a click away.
Clifford Power operates within a fully virtualized computer network, including our field technicians. Most of our operations are paperless, and our virtual system allows our staff to connect to the Clifford network anywhere they have internet access, including connectivity via wi-fi or cellular service. And through our virtual phone system, we were able to easily roll-over inbound calls to another branch office to ensure that our customer support continued with little interruption.
The facility repairs will likely take several months to complete, but our Austin team is prepared to conduct business as usual. Branch Operations Manager, Lindsay Jones, says “this whole experience is really a testament to what a great team we are. And the fact that we were able to go back online immediately is huge.”
Clifford Power appreciates the positive response from our Austin staff members to overcome these challenges without hesitation. When faced with a structural disaster, they truly worked as a team to return to a manageable level of normality very quickly, with our customers in mind first and foremost.
For more information regarding disaster recovery planning, refer to Disaster Recovery Planning for Power Continuity
Clifford Power is an authorized Generac® industrial power dealer.