San Donato Milanese (MI), December 1, 2020 - Saipem has always taken care about the health and safety of its people and has recently launched a campaign extended to all employees operating in Italy, which offers the possibility to undergo the rapid Ag rapid test for Covid-19 on a voluntary and free basis.
For this important initiative, Saipem has selected the device produced by the company LumiraDx, a diagnostic tool with levels of sensitivity and specificity higher than all the rapid antigenic tests normally used. It has obtained the CE mark and the authorization for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The LumiraDx device has been chosen because it is one of the fastest and most sensitive devices currently available in the market. Its results are available in less than 15 minutes and with a reliability of approximately 98%. In addition, the instrument and reagents are integrated with accurate quality controls to ensure correct operation at each test.
Saipem is among the first companies in Italy to offer the diagnosis of rapid, less invasive, and equally sensitive nasal Ag rapid test. Saipem has purchased more than 80 LumiraDx devices, most of which distributed on vessels and construction sites around the world, to promptly monitor the evolution of Covid-19 in the remote areas where it operates. Saipem coordinated over 50 facilities distributed globally and adopted adequate health protocols, extended the remote work program to almost all employees, dialogued with customers and suppliers to ensure the continuation of project activities, albeit within the limits imposed by social distancing and restrictions to mobility. Furthermore, additional personal protective equipment and devices have been purchased with respect of the standard requirements, dedicated teams have been set up for the constant sanitation of the work areas and charter flights organized to ensure the return of personnel from abroad in total safety and the management of shifts, on the basis of the pandemic event, such as to allow the best working conditions.
A significant and growing percentage of Saipem employees have responded to the campaign in Italy for rapid Ag rapid test, which began on October 19, and was preceded by the campaign for serological tests for Covid 19, which started in June.
Saipem has also been promoting the flu vaccination campaign in Italy for 20 years and was the first Italian non-health company to propose, since 2012 and always on a voluntary basis, the possibility to do the pneumococcal vaccine against bacterial pneumonia.
Dario Gallinari, Saipem’s Director of Human Resources, commented: "The campaign linked to antigenic and serological tests for Covid 19 together with the anti-flu vaccine campaign, particularly necessary in this delicate historical context, responds to two fundamental criteria: guaranteeing the health of our resources and support institutions. With a view to subsidiarity, we thus support the national health system with a tool that makes it possible to lighten the system, which in these moments has to deal with important workloads, without burdening the already crowded waiting lists. Saipem took immediately actions to cope with the critical situation linked to the pandemic, guaranteeing the continuity of its activities throughout the world. Our organizational model has proved to be adequately structured and sustainable and has been appreciated by customers, shareholders and stakeholders. It is a model strongly oriented towards protecting the health of employees in compliance with protocols and the law and, where possible, also safeguarding our productivity. The natural attention to the safety and health of its people combined with the immediate implementation of measures to prevent and combat Covid 19 has allowed Saipem to continue its activities in Italy and around the world without interruption”.