Clearpoint Emergency/Disaster Response and Updates

Hurricane Ike

Friday, September 26, 2008 | 9:00am

Clearpoint is open and fully staffed at our offices on Jackson Street. Our phones, fax, and email are functioning normally.

Thursday, September 25, 2008 | 9:15am

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is forwarding to a system that routes calls to staff mobile phones.

Our fax line is once again working! You may send faxes to 713.779.5520.

Phone an internet service was restored at the Jackson Street location last night. We are now preparing to re-open at our usual location.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 | 7:30am

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is working with a temporary system to route calls to staff mobile phones.

Our fax line is not yet working. If you need to send a fax, please scan your document and email it to ppascoe@clearpointco.com or use the call routing system (our main phone number) to call Patricia (Tish) Pascoe for help.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: If you have questions about submitting timesheets, or about compensation for wages lost due to Hurricane Ike, please see the earlier updates posted this week (below).

NOTE TO STAFF: Power is back on at the office, but the T1 line needs repair. AT&T is working on the repair now. I have sent everyone an email with more details. If you did not receive that feel free to give me a call. -Rahilla

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 | 4:00pm

Electric power has been turned on at Clearpoint's offices on Jackson Street. We are in the process of testing phone and internet to assess possible damage to these systems.

Please also see the 11:00am updates below for more information posted earlier today.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 | 11:00am

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is working with a temporary system to route calls to staff mobile phones.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: Please see the timesheet notes posted yesterday (below). Also see an important note from Clearpoint's Vice President, in this update, regarding payment of wages lost due to Hurricane Ike.

NOTE TO STAFF: Power remains off at the Clearpoint house. Please continue working at your remote sites and stay tuned for updates!

NOTE FROM CLEARPOINT'S VICE-PRESIDENT REGARDING LOST WAGES:

To all our employees and staff,

For all of us who were unable to work during the storm, from evacuation through recovery, an obvious looming concern is the loss of income due to Hurricane Ike. Please be aware that Clearpoint is working diligently with its insurance companies to recover these revenues through our business loss insurance. Like almost everything related to storm recovery, this requires meeting with an insurance adjuster and diving into the depths of an insurance policy. We expect that meeting to take place at the end of this work week, and we anticipate full recovery of our loss based on the limits of our policy.

As soon as we receive favorable confirmation from our insurance adjuster, Clearpoint will run a second paycheck for this pay period which will include storm pay for time missed due to Hurricane Ike. In the event that the insurance does not allow us to recover losses as we expect, we will alert all employees so that employees can seek other avenues of recompense.

Regards,

Charelle Webb
Vice President

Monday, Septebmer 22, 2008 | 9:00pm

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is working with a temporary system to route calls to staff mobile phones.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: The deadline to submit your approved timesheet for week ending 9/19 was 11:00am today. Under the circumstances, we are extending that deadline until 12:00noon on Tuesday, Sept 23. Since our fax line is still down, please make sure you follow the instructions below to submit your time by that deadline (See the Sept 19 update below for details).

NOTE TO STAFF: You should have received a copy of the payroll plan for this week in your email. If you didn't, call Rahilla.

Monday, September 22, 2008 | 3:30pm

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is working with a temporary system to route calls to staff mobile phones.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: Read the instructions below (dated Sept 19) regarding how to submit timesheets.

NOTE TO STAFF: Unfortunately the outlook for restoration of our power at the Jackson Street house has changed, and it is unlikely to be on until tomorrow at the earliest. Once power is restored, we need to test internet and phone connectivity and make any necessary repairs before we can move back in. Stay tuned to this page and email for updates on moving back in.

Monday, September 22, 2008 | 9:45am

Clearpoint is open with nearly all staff working from remote locations.

Our main phone number, 713.779.4626, is working with a temporary system to route calls to staff mobile phones.

Employees/contractors should read the instructions below regarding how to submit timesheets.

We expect power to be restored at the Jackson Street location today. Power crews working on our street confirmed they are working on our house now. Once power is restored, we will test our phone, fax, and internet systems. If all systems are working, we could re-open on Jackson Street as soon as tomorrow. If not, we will need to assess the time needed for repairs and post updates.

Sunday, September 21, 2008 | 4:00pm

As of this morning, power remains off at the Clearpoint house on Jackson Street. Clearpoint will continue operating from remote sites on Monday, Sept 22.

NOTE TO STAFF: Once power is back on at the Jackson Street house, we will need one day (minimum) to make sure phone and network systems are up and running. We will continue to post updates here to let everyone know when the house will re-open.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: Please be sure to submit your timesheets according to the directions below.

Friday, September 19, 2008 | 10:15am

Clearpoint is open and partially staffed, operating from remote locations. Power remains off at the Clearpoint house on Jackson Street.

NOTE TO EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS:

How to submit timesheets for week ending 9/12 AND 9/19:

Since Clearpoint's fax line is down, please email your timesheets for last week (the week ending 9/12) to us at mcousar@clearpointco.com.
If you can scan your approved timesheet and attach it to an email, please do so.
If you cannot scan your timesheet, you may report hours in the body of your email.
- Indicate the number of hours worked each day. Do not simply total the hours for the whole week.
- Forward that email to your manager and ask the manager to reply with the approval.
- Then forward the entire email thread to mcousar@clearpointco.com. Do not delete email headers when you forward.
(If you are one of the employees already using StaffMetric to submit time, you do not need to submit a "paper" timesheet. Just make sure your online timesheet has been approved by your manager.)

NOTE TO CLEARPOINT STAFF:

All Clearpoint staff now have new mailboxes where you send and receive using your CP email address. Most staff also have pre-storm emails/contacts loaded into their new Clearpoint mailboxes. If you do not, and if you have your Clearpoint computer, you can access your old email by opening Outlook and allowing it to work offline. We will need to put your computer on a network and run through several steps to get your pre-storm email into your new mailbox.

Some Blackberry users are already receiving email on their BBs. If you are not, you can log into your Email Set up application and update the following settings if you can find them:

In your email settings, change your password to the new password you are now using for email access.
Look for the advanced settings that allow you to enter the URL for webmail. Change this to the new URL: owa.clearpointco.com.

If you need assistance, call me and I'll try to help - Rahilla

Thursday, September 18, 2008 | 10:07am

Clearpoint is open and partially staffed, operating from remote locations. Power remains off at the Clearpoint house on Jackson Street.

Our "clearpointco.com" email addresses are working, and pre-storm emails are slowly being loaded in.

Callers to our main phone number, 713.779.4626, can hear our emergency message, search a directory of staff, then be automatically connected to that individual's mobile phone.

Clearpoint staff and employees should read the updates below for information regarding how to access email, submit timesheets and other info.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 | 5:45pm

FOR CLEARPOINT EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS: The email address where you can email your timesheets for the week ending 9/12 has been updated. Please send time report to mcousar@clearpointco.com. (See below for details). If you already sent your time to the gmail address, you do not need to resend it.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 | 2:34pm

FOR CLEARPOINT STAFF: You can now access your Clearpoint email account via the web. Instead of the URL previously posted, you need to use this URL:

http://owa.clearpointco.com

Enter your email address as the login ID. Enter your temporary password that I created for you. It is not the same as the password you used before the storm. If you do not know your temporary password, call me at 713.201.9220.

When you use this system you are using your regular Clearpoint email. All new messages you receive and send will remain in this mailbox. Pre-storm messages will be added as soon as possible, but that will take a few days.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 | 12:00 noon

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO OUR EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS:

How to submit timesheets for week ending 9/12:

Since Clearpoint's fax line is down, please email your timesheets for last week (the week ending 9/12) to us at cousar@gmail.com.
If you can scan your approved timesheet and attach it to an email, please do so.
If you cannot scan your timesheet, you may report hours in the body of your email.
- Indicate the number of hours worked each day. Do not simply total the hours for the whole week.
- Forward that email to your manager and ask the manager to reply with the approval.
- Then forward the entire email thread to mcousar@clearpointco.com. Do not delete email headers when you forward.

To submit timesheets for week ending 9/19:

We will post instructions on this page, probably tomorrow. .

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 | 10:45am

Clearpoint is open and partially staffed, operating from remote locations. Power remains off at the Clearpoint house on Jackson Street.

Our "clearpointco.com" email addresses are still not working but we hope they will start working sometime today. In the worst case scenario, they may not start until tomorrow. Many staff are conducting business by setting up temporary Clearpoint email addresses in Yahoo or Gmail (ex. name_clearpoint@gmail.com).

Callers to our main phone number, 713.779.4626, can now hear our emergency message, search a directory of staff, then be automatically connected to that individual's mobile phone.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 | 12:40pm

Clearpoint is open and partially staffed, operating from remote locations. Power remains off at the Clearpoint house on Jackson Street.

At the moment our "clearpointco.com" email addresses are not functional. We expect them to become operational again on Wednesday. Staff may continue to try the URL below to access email. If you keep getting the website, just try again after a few hours.

Callers to our main phone number, 713.779.4626, now hear our emergency message, search a directory of staff, then be automatically connected to that individual's mobile phone.

Monday, September 15, 2008 | 5:15pm

By tomorrow morning Clearpoint staff who have access to the internet should be able to use email via the web. To access your email, go to:

http://email.clearpointco.com

Your user name (mailbox name) will be your first initial and last name. You will have a password that I (Rahilla) have already set up for you. To find out the password, call Natalie, Tish, or me.

If you try to use the link above before tomorrow, it might not work. Instead you will be directed to our own website. Just keep trying until it connects properly.

Our new phone routing system might be up tonight or it might not be up until Tuesday.

Monday, September 15, 2008 | 4:10pm

Regarding Clearpoint's plans to re-open, internal staff who can work from their current locations should plan to do so starting when we open Tuesday at 12noon. The work location at Natalie's house will be available for those who cannot work from their current location. Report at Natalie's if you are able to do so safely.

Monday, September 15, 2008 | 3:30pm

Power is still off at the Clearpoint house and we do not expect it to be restored for at least a few days, if not longer. Most internal staff are still without power and/or internet.

Clearpoint expects to partially re-open at an alternate site at 12 noon on Tuesday, September 16th. (Staff, see below for details)

For employees/contractors who work at Clearpoint client sites: Please continue to communicate with your client managers to determine the client's plan to re-open. Call your Clearpoint contact to relay this information. If you cannot reach your Clearpoint contact or the backup, call Tish at 281.235.4890. If you are able, plan to report to work on site or remotely (if authorized by the client) when the client re-opens.

For Clearpoint staff: We are working on Plan C of the post-storm disaster recovery and preparing to re-open at 12noon, Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at Natalie's house in Sugar Land.

Phones: Beginning tonight, we hope to have the main Clearpoint phone number set up to forward to another phone line where we can connect a call routing system. The call routing system will include a greeting explaining that the caller has reached our temporary call routing, and offer a company directory of names. Once the caller selects a name, the call will be automatically forwarded to the cell phone of that person. The greeting will also explain that callers unable to reach you can call either Rahilla or Natalie to relay their information.

Email: Our email access is being restored using a 3rd party host. We hope you will have access to email via the web by Wednesday morning. We will explain how to connect to this service in the next update. At first this will only allow you to send/receive new email, but within a day or two it will also include your old email.

Re-opening Clearpoint: If you have power and internet at home, contact me (Rahilla) and we will make plans for you to work from home. If not, and if you are able to safely drive to Natalie's house, please plan to report to work Tuesday around 12 noon. We will try to contact you with directions, but you can also call Natalie, Tish, or me for directions. If you will come to work, please let me know or ask someone to relay that information to me so I can make sure your computer is there and ready for you to use.

As other homes come online, we will bring up other work locations and some staff can work from home.

All staff should continue to find out which clients are re-opening and when. Document this information and relay it to Natalie, Tish, or me. I will try to continue posting updates on this site.

Sunday, September 14, 2008 | Update 1:30pm

The Clearpoint location on Jackson St. is in good shape. The building is apparently undamaged by the storm. All internal staff have been contacted and are safe.

Like most places in Houston the Clearpoint house has no electric power. It will not be possible for our staff to access their work email until power comes back on, internet connectivity is restored, and our server can be restarted.

Our offices will remain closed until power is restored. Staff who have power and internet at home may be able to connect to MPloy.

If possible, staff should try to contact the employees in their emergency contact lists and find out their status. If needed, relay this information to client managers.

We may not be able to update this page again until power is restored in Houston.

Thursday, September 11, 2008 | Update 11:30am

Clearpoint will close today at 12:00noon to allow our staff time to prepare for the storm. Employees who live in zones where mandatory evacuations are ordered have been released from work. See below for details.

We will wait until the storm has passed to determine if we will re-open Monday. If possible, updates will be posted on this page. .

Our instructions to Clearpoint employees
Our email to Clearpoint clients

Also see this zip code map if you live in a surge zone:
Houston Evacuation Map

Thursday, September 11, 2008 | Update 7:30am

Employees who live in areas under mandatory evacuation are released from work. Areas subject to mandatory evacuation on Thursday, Sept 11 include these zip codes: 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586, 77598.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 | Update 4:45pm

We are implementing our disaster response and recovery plan for Hurricane Ike. Employees and clients will receive emails from their Clearpoint contacts today or tomorrow.

Copies of the emails are here:

Our instructions to Clearpoint employees
Our email to Clearpoint clients

Also see this zip code map if you live in a surge zone:
Houston Evacuation Map

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 | Update: 10:48am

We are monitoring Hurricane Ike and considering whether or not our disaster response plan is needed. If we implement the plan, we will email clients and employees and post updates here.

Monday, September 8, 2008 | Update: 10:18 am

We are monitoring Hurricane Ike. At the moment this storm seems likely to come our way. If we implement our disaster response plan we will email our clients and employees and post updates here.

If you are a Clearpoint employee, please make sure we have your emergency contact information, including a contact phone number outside the Houston area. Also, please inform us if you live in a mandatory evacuation zone.

If you are not sure whether or not you live in an evacuation zone, see this map:

Houston Evacuation Map

Watch this space throughout the week for announcements about Clearpoint's disaster response, as well as our open/closed status throughout the week. .