COVID-19 has become a global crisis, evolving at unprecedented speed and hitting levels not experienced in recent history. By the close of April 2021, COVID-19 had surpassed 152 million infections and 3.1 million deaths worldwide. The manufacturing niche has not been spared either. By December 2020, over 600,000 manufacturing jobs in the US had vanished as factories experienced severe disruptions in the supply chain, and demand for their products plummeted. Now, it is time to shake off COVID-19 effects and steer your facility back to success, but how? 

This post will explore the five best practices that you can use to rejuvenate your facility after COVID-19 and accelerate to success. Keep reading and adopt the strategies to your manufacturing system because you never know what, when, or how the next disaster will strike.  Let COVID-19 be a lesson to help you strengthen your facility’s foundation to withstand future disruptions.

Plan for Your Recovery 

For your recovery from COVID-19 to be effective, you need to plan appropriately. Good planning can help catapult your manufacturing facility ahead of competitors as the globe continues fighting the pandemic. To plan appropriately, here is a checklist in the form of questions: 

• Do you know your liquidity position?
• What is your labor position? Are your employees ready to get back to work? If there is a shortage because of COVID-19, do you have plans to fill it?
• Have you reviewed the company’s supply chain network? 
• What is the current demand for your products?
• What is the current production capacity? What is the state of your critical facilities, from conveyor belts to motors? Do they need specific maintenance to optimize their production?

Relook, Rethink Your Supply Chain

When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, most countries responded with curfews and lockdowns that strongly affected supply chain networks. If your facility relies on raw materials that come from a country under total lockdown, it is time to relook and rethink the supply chain. For example, did your facility only source barley for beer manufacturing from abroad? Well, it might be time to consider alternative suppliers, including different options for beer making. What about oats, which might be readily available in your area? 

As you rethink the supply chains, you might want to expand the focus into system redesign. For example, if you decide to work with different materials in your production line, is your material handling system suitable for it? What about the conveyors? So, consider reviewing the entire production line with the help of experts or technicians and even run trials to determine the expected production capacities.

Determine Your Critical Talent Skills 

You might have had a smoothly running manufacturing facility, but COVID-19 interruptions have redefined the workplace, making it crucial to rethink critical skills. The goal is to identify the critical skills and evaluate the jobs that have been directly impacted by the pandemic. Identify the weak points, craft a training plan to fill possible talent gaps, and bring new expertise aboard. 

In addition to getting the right talents into your facility, make sure to motivate the workers and motivate them to help the business succeed. For example, the marketing team might want to ride on the COVID-19 peculiarity to sell more. Therefore, the ads and packaging material might be changed to include information helpful in fighting COVID-19. It is all about innovativeness, and you need the right skills.

Explore Beyond Your Boundaries 

S

ure, you deal with a specific product, but what if the pandemic hit your facility hard and is threatening it with full closure? It is not the time to give up because that is not the spirit of an entrepreneur. To excel and perhaps fly when others are falling, you need to act smart. One strategy is thinking about the products that are in demand during the pandemic, such as tissue papers, bottled water, masks, and hand sanitizers. Let us take the case of hand sanitizers. 

Once hand sanitizers were determined to be an effective method of killing germs and reducing the risk of COVID-19 spread, the demand exploded, creating a serious shortage. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had to relax the rules for processing hand sanitizers so that more players could join. That was a perfect opportunity to jump ship and rake huge profits selling locally and abroad. That was just a single example. 

By looking beyond your boundaries, it becomes easy to ride on the wave of the latest demand. It is important to note that this strategy, although excellent, comes with some capital requirements. For example, if you run a detergent, beer, or plastic molding factory, it might be crucial to install new facilities, such as temperature controllers, speed reducers, and generators for additional production. Their installation would also come with some costs, but these should not deter you because the growing demand is likely to reward you with high profits.

Put Effort on Safety 

It is true that your focus is on getting the manufacturing facility back on track, but this is only possible if your employees stay safe. Therefore, review the company’s safety protocols, such as reducing contact with outsiders, acquiring safety equipment for your facility, and prompt treatment for the affected staff.  More importantly, ensure that your staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and are focused on staying healthy at work and away. 

To grow the trust of your staff, consider extending healthcare to their families through insurance. You might even want to provide COVID-related education to the employee's family members and society. With safer communities, businesses have a better opportunity to thrive!

Conclusion

As you can see, getting your manufacturing unit back on the recovery path requires good planning, having the right people and resources. To agree with medical experts, COVID-19 is likely to redefine the workplace, and this post has provided the starting point for adaptation. The five points we have highlighted should form part of your strategy for recovery, growth and success. Make sure also to regularly review the operational framework and initiate appropriate changes where necessary.