3 tips for avoiding contact on the shop floor

Manufacturing companies face the challenge of maintaining production despite the current corona crisis. In order to avoid a production stop, employee protection must be a top priority. By avoiding contact on the shop floor, the transmission paths of the corona virus can be reduced.

The problem is that due to the many machines on the shop floor, workers often have to stand close together to communicate and the recommended safety distance of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained. This leads to the fact that:

• The risk of infection for employees increases.
• Work must be interrupted to communicate with colleagues.
• For fear of infection, avoid contact with colleagues and important information is not forwarded.

The problems can best be tackled if several measures are taken simultaneously in order to combine the synergy effects of the individual solutions.

1. Voice messages

Equip workers with mobile devices such as industrial smart watches and noise-cancelling headphones. This allows voice messages to be recorded at any time and sent to colleagues or a group of colleagues on the move, no matter where they are located. They can respond immediately to resolve problems as quickly as possible and ensure information exchange.

Advantages:

• There is no need to look for the right colleague first.
• Information reaches the right contact person immediately, which saves time and money.
• The workers can communicate and have their hands free to work.

2. Organizational measures

Increase the breaks between shifts so that the workers do not meet each other when changing shifts. In addition, production employees can be divided into small groups so that they can work as far as possible in isolation from the rest of the company.

Advantages:

• Contact avoidance with minimal impairment of the process flow

3. Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words. Workers can use mobile devices to send photos to the right colleagues and receive instructions, confirmations or suggestions on how to proceed.

Advantages:

• Misunderstandings are prevented.
• Communication is accelerated because a situation does not have to be described in a complicated way.
• Danger potential can be quickly documented.
• The personal contact between different departments, such as quality assurance and production, can be significantly reduced.