Last Monday the factory returned with a skeletal team to continue with orders that have been on hold since the temporary closure of the factory back in March. There is a limited number of the team in the factory at any given time to ensure we are adhering to the government guidelines of two-metre social distancing. The team are equipped with essentials such as glasses, masks or visors for their safety and the safety of their families. Safety is paramount.
Each team member has their temperatures taken upon arrival with a dynamic clocking in process which involves a one-way system throughout the factory optimising space and ensuring the teams do not cross-contaminate. In addition, we have marked up the entire factory with 2-metre guides to ensure the team have a reminder of the government guidelines.
The factory has always followed a cleanliness policy however, further measures have been implemented such as hand sanitiser, and hand washes have been installed to ensure extra cleanliness is taken seriously and adhered to by all team members.
All team members are happy to be back in work and are pleased they can do so in a safe environment; we spoke briefly to Mark Hacker, our Factory Manager who had the following to say:
“These are exceptionally unprecedented times, and it was a tough decision to make to reopen the factory as the health and wellbeing of our team is the number one most important priority for us. So, we have worked hard to establish a comfortable, safe working environment which adheres to the government guidelines. We are pleased our team are happy and safe and that we can continue to supply some of our key customers with their mailboxes at this difficult time.”
We also have a strict policy in place where we have implemented new enhanced cleaning and sanitising of the factory twice a day at 8 am and 2 pm. The canteen has been adapted to ensure there is a safe amount of room per team member while breaks have also been split to ensure there are no opportunities for cross-contamination.
As we continue to move through these challenging times and have high hopes for returning to a new normal over the coming weeks, we understand there will be guidelines in place for social distancing for months to come. We continue to support the government’s decisions, and we are continually grateful for all that the NHS and key workers are doing to keep us safe and save lives.
“Throughout this process, we have established excellent communications and a clear, organised and resilient approach. As we work through this next phase and look beyond that to our ‘new norm’ we are working in collaboration with our customers and their site openings to ensure we work with them on priorities. As we progress through our ‘cautious re-start’ after a pause of 3 weeks, some of our employees are currently shielding, self-isolating or have childcare issues. This means that we cannot yet have a full team in our factory as we adhere to government guidelines and the distancing Law in Wales. We are operating with a strict health first approach. This means that our lead time maybe a little longer than usual.
Our office teams are working from home and are highly effective. We are communicating and supporting each other through regular Teams discussions and welcome external virtual meetings with our customers with the option of demo sessions and training available. These are proving to be highly effective and enjoyable with very positive feedback.
We welcome suggestions and opportunities to develop relations with new and existing customers and look forward to professionally navigating our way, as we manufacture and provide our products for sites throughout the challenging weeks and months ahead.
We have seen so much positivity and collaboration recently, and this is the ethos of our business. We are always here to work with our customers, our suppliers and all our stakeholders. Despite the challenging situation we all find ourselves in, we will remain flexible and focused on producing a quality product, striving for high levels of service at all times.”
Alison Orrells MD & CEO of The Safety Letterbox Company
