COVID-19 Update
Over the last six weeks, everyone at Mazak has been closely following the advice and guidance of the UK Government. We recognise that lockdown measures will ease over the coming days and weeks and I wanted to update you on the UK production and service provision.
What We’ve Been Doing
With the input and collaboration of our colleagues, we have been able to maintain a level of production throughout the past few weeks in order to complete pre-existing machine orders, and provide support to a number of customers operating in key sectors, such as healthcare and power generation. This has involved the implementation of a number of new measures at our European Manufacturing Plant, all of which were generated following detailed discussions between frontline production workers and senior management to ensure everyone felt comfortable and secure while working.
These measures included:
- A ‘one-way’ system around the factory to minimise contact and accommodate social distancing
- Splitting the factory into six zones, each featuring solo working bays with no inter-movement of staff
- A partial 2-shift working pattern with all employees given access to PPE and hand sanitiser along with a strict cleaning routine across the business
- A cap on the number of machining, sheet metal, sub-assembly, assembly, and office staff on-site at any one time
Looking to the future, we have taken contingency planning steps to allow production to further increase. Following the Prime Minister’s speech on Sunday evening, we will be introducing new and staggered shift patterns that will allow more staff to return to our factory while maintaining safe and socially distant working conditions.
Read our COVID-19 HSE Systems and Procedures Manual
What We're Doing for You
We know that many of you will also be preparing to restart or increase production in the coming days and weeks and that you may require on-going applications and technical support.
Restarting machines that have been left in idle mode or completely powered off requires a clear plan to ensure that your return to production goes smoothly.
We have put in place three initiatives to help you through the restart process:
- Separate restart protocols for machines that have been powered off or left in idle mode.
- An increased level of applications support available to customers, which can be accessed by phone on 01905 752 059
- A further increase in the number of technical support engineers who will be able to advise on any restart, machine checks or alarm issues. They can be reached at 01905 752 000.
Please don’t hesitate to use these services – if in any doubt check with us first. For other queries, please contact our Mazak office or your usual sales representative.
If you would be interested in hearing our own experiences about adapting to the current situation, we would be more than welcome to share what we have learned.
Ultimately, we will all have to adapt to a new version of normality. However, there are a number of very good reasons why the manufacturing sector is the backbone of Britain, namely its resilience, its ingenuity, and its flexibility. We are here to help you adapt to these new circumstances, and we will remain by you every step of the way.
We hope to keep any disruptions to a minimum. Please contact your local Mazak office if you have any questions.