Safe Work Environment is most important in Covid Times

Companies took extra care of employees to give safe environment to work

Covid 19 has taught us many important lessons during the period it has been around. Organisations also learn important things as Work from home was a perk or a benefit given by companies to their employees, and today it has become a way of professional life.

But not all jobs can be done from home especially the ones that need a manufacturing set-up. Organisations with manufacturing plants have been more vigilant and precautious about the safety and well being of their blue collared employees.

The unlock phase in India started in June with guidelines from the centre and state authorities. It was these phases that gave a relief to the economy that was taking a beating due to the lockdown. Organisations with manufacturing plants opened in a phased manner to ensure that they were able to continue production and cater to the market needs.

Maneja is a manufacturing hub of Gujarat and houses many plants in that area of Vadodara. Companies like Schaeffler India (FAG Bearings), Bombadier, ABB etc have their plants located in Maneja.

These organisations have been taking utmost care to ensure that they are able to respond to their customer requirements alongwith taking care of employee safety and health.

Most organisations today have a Crisis Management Team or a Covid 19 Corporate Task Force team to ensure that they have been mapping daily cases and developing response reactions to the rising number of cases. Organisations have been working very hard to ensure employee safety and at the same time keeping employability in place.

The entire plant management activities have had to go through a reform owing to the COVID 19 pandemic. For example, at Schaeffler India they have moved from lean manufacturing and tight working layouts to working in clusters to ensure that there is less interaction between employees.

Each of these clusters have a designated person to monitor strict adherence of safety protocols. Many such measures have been undertaken and operating models updated based on COVID Unlock.

At Schaeffler India’s Maneja plant, being one of the largest facility, the company has implemented a number of safety measures, including:

• No entry without a self-declaration of self and family health condition and status of residence address classification. i.e. containment / non-containment zones.

• Reorganizing workforce in shop floors in smaller clusters with a designated person in each cluster to monitor strict adherence of safety protocols and instructions for safe operations.

• Over 50 sanitizer dispensing kiosks evenly distributed across all shop floor and office space entry points.

• Distribution of reusable cloth masks for each and every employee.

• Social distancing markers and guidance on safety protocols at all common points i.e. entrance, cafeteria, restroom facilities etc.

• Installation of partition screens as an additional safety measure on cafeteria to ensure protection of staff.

• Plant level entry and exit route revised to maintain safe social distancing during entry and exit.

• Regular communication and visual references of all safety protocols. • Under these extraordinary circumstances, the company has also provided additional Covid19 insurance cover for all employees, including shop floor and production staf