Working together while keeping a social distance
07 May 2020
Thoughts from Matthew Aldridge, Managing Director, igus UK, as the Northampton-based company deals with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
The situation changes daily for us. My planning horizon is 5 minutes.
In these uncertain times, two things are crucial: the health and well-being of our people and ensuring companies and customers have the support they need to keep vital production lines running – from medical technology companies that are building ventilators, testing machines, laboratory diagnostic equipment or hospital beds to the food & beverage industry that is keeping us all fed and watered, generally any company that is keeping the economy going.
At present, deliveries to customers continue as usual. Production in our manufacturing plant in Cologne is running, and the Northampton facility is open as always, anything in stock is shipped in 24 hours. But this is a mere snapshot.
To keep it up, strong preventive measures have been implemented and are updated all the time. We started at the end of February, because we saw what had happened at igus China. I can count about 250 changes that we have made, both large and small. Some examples include: temperature monitoring for all staff entering our facility, disinfectant dispensers everywhere, regular cleaning cycles, staggered shifts to enable social distancing, 90% home office for all non-production colleagues and a daily update emailed to everyone for complete transparency, and hundreds of online training for the various tools and system changes.
In early April, we started working with National 3D Printing Society (N3DPS) who co-ordinates the printing of headbands for urgently needed NHS face shields. We donated enough visor material to make around 7000 face shields and function as a hub for any 3D printers to send headbands for assembly. Our main conference room is now a face shield assembly line and we are shipping around 500 units to hospitals every day.
Our customers reach us via all channels, with the state-of-the-art new digital possibilities, such as virtual visits by smartphone, desktop sharing or online chat. Rest assured, igus is here and ready to serve you, and keep your business running.
If you need anything else, please email me at: maldridge@igus.co.uk
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