谈谈远见. 1月, just as the world was learning more about COVID-19 and what was happening in China, Waupaca铸造 created a cross-functional team to plan steps the company would take if the virus arrived in any of the states where it operates.

The COVID-19 action teams created a step-by-step approach along with an implementation plan to keep Waupaca铸造 running, Jon Loken说, 公司的安全和健康主管. 这一计划得到了回报.

“We developed a sequence of what we would do at different points (as state rules changed) and have followed that,他说. “随着我们的前进，我们已经做好了准备.”

Waupaca铸造 is just one of the hundreds of manufacturers in the New North trying to balance keeping their operations running while maintaining the 安全 of their employees. 大多数制造商被认为是必不可少的企业, 因此，根据威斯康星州的“在家更安全”命令，它们仍然开放.

职业安全与健康管理局, 以及疾病控制和预防中心, spells out the steps employers must take to protect their workers against COVID-19. 除了鼓励保持社交距离, frequently disinfecting personal and common workspaces is essential to stopping the virus. 如果能证明员工在工作中感染了COVID-19, 它被视为可报告的OSHA事件.

Federal rules also require employers to encourage workers to stay home if they are not feeling well and prohibit penalizing them for doing so. 阻止疾病传播, an addition to the Family and Medical Leave Act provides extra protection to workers who need to take time off if they are sick or must care for a sick relative or for a child due to school or day care closure.

保证员工的安全, Waupaca铸造 implemented several changes in early March as more Americans were diagnosed with COVID-19, 包括实施社交距离, 改变口罩使用规则, 消毒工作站和安装免提开门器. It also began staggering work shifts to reduce congestion in the cafeteria, 更衣室和其他地方. In addition, it installed Plexiglass dividers where workers couldn’t be 6 feet apart.

在沃帕卡，马里内特和密歇根州都有工厂, 伊利诺斯州, 印第安纳州, 肯塔基州和宾夕法尼亚州, Loken says it was vital to put the new 安全 standards in place company-wide.

“与我们的员工沟通一直很重要. 我们在二月初开始讨论发生了什么, 随着变化的发生, 我们已经解释过了,他说. “We want to help them understand these changes are all about preventing the spread of the virus.”

Loken says the last step of Waupaca铸造’s 安全 plan — daily temperature checks and requiring all employees to wear masks — will kick in if an employee tests positive for COVID-19. “我们希望这是我们可以预防的事情，”他说.

当工人生病时

而一些制造商则使用自动化和机器人, 哪一种方法可以帮助分散工人, 其他人没有这种奢侈. 例如，在肉类加工厂，员工在近距离内工作. Three meatpacking plants in Brown County — 美国食品集团, JBS USA Holdings Inc. 和Salm Partners都报告了COVID-19疫情.

JBS Packerland temporarily closed its Green Bay plant in late April after nearly 300 workers — about a quarter of its employees — became sick with the coronavirus. After President Trump ordered meatpacking plants to stay open in the first week of May, JBS Packerland reopened and said all employees will be tested for the virus before they can begin working again

美国食品集团, 也在绿湾, had more than 175 employees test positive for the virus as of the end of April. The company has not spoken publicly about steps it’s taken to stop COVID-19 from spreading in its plants.

When an employee tested positive for COVID-19 at Salm Partners in Denmark, company leaders quickly added more 安全 measures to keep other employees safe.

“我们的首要目标是保护我们的合作伙伴, 社区与客户,基思·林赛说, Salm Partners的总裁兼首席执行官. “Food production has been identified as an essential industry in our country, and we need a healthy workforce to continue producing products to feed the nation. We are enacting all measures at our disposal to ensure the 安全 of our people and the food supply of our nation.”

Salm Partners has added several health protections to keep its workforce of about 500 safe, including using a single entrance for all employees and visitors so temperatures can be checked, increasing the number of buses that bring employees to Salm to ensure social distancing and requiring all employees to wear face masks while in the plant. 林赛说，工厂的公共区域, 比如午餐室, are being cleaned more frequently and the chairs and 表 are spread farther apart to maintain social distancing.

Salm Partners也采取了免费的做法, 自愿COVID-19检测, 与布朗县卫生局合作, to all of its employees to not only create peace of mind for workers but also to help halt spread of the virus.

“We felt that testing would help identify people who carry the virus but show no symptoms and help our partners feel safe that the majority of people they’re working with have tested negative for the virus,林赛说。.

约有35名工人检测呈阳性. 他们被带薪回家自我隔离14天.

Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach credits Salm Partners for testing its employees — a step few others have taken.

“This is an extraordinary step and I want to thank them for prioritizing the testing, as it has allowed them to recognize people carrying the virus without symptoms, 这有助于保护他们人民的健康, 他们的家人和布朗县社区,他在一份声明中说.

培训时间

而高等院校则关闭了面对面的课程, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College kept its North Coast Marine Manufacturing Training Center in Marinette open. The training provided for employees and contractors needed to continue since they work at an essential business, Fincantieri Marinette Marine.

虽然有些培训已经变成了虚拟的, 其他关键的培训领域要求参与者到现场. 以下是NWTC为保持学生健康所采取的一些措施:

• Installed freestanding hand sanitizers in multiple locations at the facility
• 增加了高接触区域(如门)的清洁频率, 卫生间, 表, 椅子和柜台
• 禁止10人以上聚会, 这导致增加更多班次以确保合规
• 要求个人在设施内佩戴口罩
• Implemented facility and equipment disinfection prior to and immediately following training