After the report of the first COVID-19 cases in 2020, most companies, supply chains, and even economies were disrupted and people were forced to adapt to a “new normal.” Even worse, COVID-19 caused millions of infections and deaths in all parts of the world. It spread very first and new strains were detected, prompting most countries to take containment measures.
One goal of manufacturing business owners is to keep their workers safe during the pandemic. Your employees are an important part of your business and you have to be sure that they are safe for the survival of your business. Here are some of the tips you need to ensure their safety.
Identify All the High-Risk Employees
More information about COVID-19 is being released and recently it emerged that some groups of people are more vulnerable than others are. For instance, individuals above 55 years and those with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are at a greater risk than young and energetic people. So, you have to identify such people and take the necessary steps to protect them.
Allocate tasks that can be done at home, such as answering calls and online marketing to high-risk persons. Ensure that people allowed to work at the factory are tested regularly. Those who contract the virus have to be treated and given time to recover.
Enforce Self-Distancing Rules in the Production Facility
Maintenance of the right social distance is among the methods recommended for containing COVID-19. Therefore, you must enforce the strategy in your manufacturing facility.
For example, you can ban all forms of meetings, including lunch breaks, tea breaks, and all other groupings in your facility as a way of enforcing this rule. Adopt online meetings and supply meals to your workers in their workstations with minimal contact.
Further, redesigning the work area may also help your workers maintain the recommended social distance when working. For instance, you can lengthen the packaging area so that it can hold more workers and allow them to maintain the recommended social distancing of six feet when working. Safety experts also recommend improvement of the ventilation in working facilities.
Restrict Access to the Facility: Iskander Makhmudov
It is already proven that people have been contacting COVID-19 through contact. Therefore, you can protect your staff by restricting access to your manufacturing facility. For instance, you can reduce the number of people who work in the facility and subject those allowed to work there to regular tests. Quarantine those who contract COVID-19.
To make the restrictions effective, work with your suppliers to adopt a dependable protection protocol. For instance, you can make it a rule that all deliveries have to be made by people who have been tested for COVID-19 within 24 hours. You can also reduce contact through automation of the loading.
COVID-19 effects are severe and manufacturers must be innovative about their manufacturing operations. According to Iskander Makhmudov, every manufacturer has to put the health of his/her employees first so that they can feel valued and influence them to work hard for the success of their enterprise.
The above tips will help you protect your staff, increase sales and profitability. That means that COVID-19 should not kill your manufacturing business.
