The outbreak of COVID-19 is having a global impact. Today’s business reality is in a constant state of flux as companies educate themselves and adjust their business models to minimize risks presented by the spreading disease. COVID-19, the newest strain of coronavirus, was first reported in Wuhan, China, as a new type of pneumonia virus in December 2019. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. According to various reports, more than 2.5 million people around the world have been infected. World governments are imposing strict regulations to curb the spread of the disease. Many countries, such as the United States, Italy, and the UK, have imposed strict travel bans and even stricter bans on shipping and freight transport.
These bans, combined with the exponential spread of the disease and other factors, have severely affected the supply chains that move through China and its neighbors. The pandemic has not only threatened human lives but also disrupted manufacturing and supply operations. Many US-based manufacturers, like Birk Manufacturing, are combating these supply chain challenges while ensuring employee safety. This post makes you aware of the special measures we have undertaken to meet our manufacturing challenges and keep our employees safe.
A Quick Glance: Supply Chain Risk Management Plan and Employee Safety Measures
Birk Manufacturing has been at the forefront of thermal technology for more than 30 years. Birk’s products are integrated throughout multiple industries at varying degrees of functionality. Many of our thermal products and integrated systems are used in critical, no-fail applications deemed necessary as part of the defense and medical industries. Birk’s dedication to supplying the highest quality products on time is unwavering and we will continue to supply all our customers with products that meet the ISO: 9001, ISO: 13485, and AS: 9100 standards as specified per application.
While we are steadfast in our commitments during this time of crisis, we are also taking additional precautions to minimize employee health risk and to do our part to help our fellow global citizens minimize the spread of COVID-19. The following are some of the precautions put into place:
- At Birk, we understand that even though technology investments have a large role to play in our success, it is people who are most important. Thus, many employees have been offered the opportunity to work from home, with full virtual access to guarantee no interruption of engineering services or customer support. A strict health policy has been communicated to all employees, along with additional paid sick time to ensure employees keep themselves and their coworkers healthy. Additionally, we have created physical distancing-compatible workspaces and eliminated all in-person company-wide meetings until further notice.
- Over the past 30 years, we at Birk have prided ourselves on delivering the highest quality products on time. During this time of unrest, customer support is needed more than ever. In an effort to minimize employee risk and to continually provide customers with timely shipping, we have divided our manufacturing shifts. This measure allows for additional employee distancing and extended manufacturing hours.
- Birk’s commitment to excellence has always enabled us to maintain a very clean manufacturing facility in an effort to remove all FOD potential. However, we will be implementing additional cleaning and sanitizing measures to avoid any form of viral surfacing.
Since the news of the COVID-19 outbreak emerged, Birk Manufacturing has been continuously involved in devising strategies that minimize the impact of the virus on our people, resources, business, and clients. You can get in touch with our team to learn more about our working hours, probability of fast delivery, and adopted safety measures.