Urban Brew Studios, a leading facilities provider, adapting to business in the time of Covid-19

When the world started to take notice of Covid-19 and WHO (World Health Organisation) declared it a pandemic, no one could have predicted how the year would play out and how challenging it would be for everyone. Businesses, government and the general public were faced with a lot of unknown, which included a threat of life like never before. In the face of this global crisis, South Africa took action and so did Urban Brew Studios. We formulated and implemented a comprehensive Covid-19 protocol as guided by the government's health guidelines.

At the heart of our protocol was the understanding that, ultimately, we are dealing with the lives of our stakeholders and anyone who walks through the doors at Urban Brew Studios; therefore, total adherence to our strict safety protocols is not a matter of negotiation.

Our procedures include the Covid-19 mandatory screening, temperature checking at all entrances, placement of sanitisers throughout the building, frequent disinfecting of the UBS premises and communication to all staff on the importance of social distancing and wearing of masks at all times. We have also allocated a designated area to be used as a temporary quarantine area in case of emerging symptoms while at work.

We have developed specific standard operating procedures for our productions, both in studio and on location, which guides our teams on how to deal with safety measures. As an example, in control rooms we have installed protective screens between stations - which helps with social distancing.

During these difficult times, we got to see the effectiveness of these procedures in June with the studio production of Idols. This was a very important period for the client and us, as the studio partner, as we were entering uncharted territory in the way we run television productions from the health and safety perspective. Following a successful delivery of this project, we continue to apply the same procedures on all studio bookings and shows that we produce and partner with such as Celebrity Game Night, YoTV, etc. The procedures implemented gave comfort to our teams who've been holding the fort since lockdown Level 5 to continue to bring content through our two gospel channels, One Gospel and Dumisa, which provide solace at such an important time.

One of the tenets of our success in dealing with Covid-19 and being able to continue to produce content during this time, is our understanding that we need to be able to respond swiftly and have the flexibility to incorporate changes as they are communicated. As South Africa faces a second wave, driven by a strong variant that seems to aggravate transmission of infections faster, it is important to adapt and to keep reminding ourselves that everything we do impacts the lives of those who come into our space, as well as their contacts.

We cannot disregard the loss and hurt that we are all experiencing since the lockdown started, we therefore convey our heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and to those who are battling with the infection, we wish you a speedy recovery. We also appeal to everyone to always remember that adherence to the health regulations saves lives.

As Urban Brew Studios, even with the challenges the pandemic brings, we continue to pride ourselves with the quality of content and services we offer to our viewers, clients and partners.

Passionate. Innovative. Creative.