Lear’s “Safe Playbook” for Reopening Plants

What’s it going to take to safely restart production after the coronavirus?

Most companies are developing policies involving disinfectants, personal protection equipment, social distancing and health screening. The basics are fairly straightforward: Don’t come to work if you feel sick, stay at least 6 ft apart from co-workers and regularly clean common touch points.

But large-scale implementation for carmakers and their suppliers is a major undertaking. The facilities themselves can be massive, employing hundreds or thousands of workers who are constantly interacting with each other and handling various parts and equipment. Such coordination requires detailed guidelines.

Lear’s COVID-19 Mitigation Strategy

Southfield, Mich.-based Lear has developed a comprehensive strategy for its 261 global facilities—and it’s offering to share the policies with suppliers, customers and competitors.

                                                          Image: Lear

The recommended protocols and best practices are outlined in the company’s 51-page “Safe Work Playbook,” which Lear has posted on its website. Developed by a cross functional leadership group, the manual builds on guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

“This has been a difficult time for everyone, and reestablishing a workplace where employees feel comfortable performing their jobs safely is a multi-faceted challenge,” Lear CEO Ray Scott states in the manual’s cover letter. “It is our hope that by sharing this resource we can help other organizations accomplish the same goals.”

Getting Started

Lear’s plan starts with establishing local pandemic response teams, led by the plant manager and group leads to implement various tactics.

General recommendations can be adapted as needed to meet specific needs, enabling a plant to be reopened—when permitted by government orders—with the proper safety processes in place.

Managers are trained on the policies before returning to work. Others are trained on the first day they return. All training and protocols should be reinforced with in-plant signage, Lear notes.

Prior to reopening a facility, virtually anything employees can come in contact with needs to be disinfected. Everything from walls, floors, doors, desks and other surfaces to forklifts, transport vehicles and tools. Special attention areas include:

• Workstations
• Employee lockers
• Eating areas
• Restrooms
• Computer screens and keyboards

Lear provides a 12-point checklist on how and what to clean, recommended cleaning frequency and the type of disinfectant that should be used. When in doubt, clean it. The company also recommends maintaining a 30-day minimum stock of disinfectant supplies and PPEs.

There are separate step-by-step deep-cleaning protocols if a worker has tested positive for COVID-19.

Going to Work

On-site, drive-thru health screenings should be conducted of all employees, contractors and visitors before entering plants located in high risk areas (pandemic phase 5). There also are isolation protocols for employees who become symptomatic after they’ve entered the building.

At work, social distancing should be practiced throughout the day. This includes staggering shift start times, lunch and other breaks. In-person group meetings should be avoided.

If it isn’t possible to position workstations 6 ft apart, other safeguards should be taken, such as installing barriers and avoiding face-to-face body orientation. Employees working within 3 ft of each other should wear face shields.

Based on CDC findings, however, Lear doesn’t require or recommend that employees wear gloves. Exceptions include cleaning crews and isolation team members.

The company notes that touching your face with gloves on has the same transmission risk as doing so with bare hands. Moreover, wearing gloves can create a false sense of security, making people more likely to touch contaminated surfaces and less inclined to wash their hands. The proper removal of gloves also takes special training.

Implementation

Lear already is putting the playbook to use as it reopens plants in Asia. The same general protocols will be used as work restrictions are lifted in other markets.

But Lear says the manual is meant to be a living document that should be updated as needed. To this end, the company welcomes suggestions from other companies based on their own best practices.

Before implementing any COVID-19 policy, Lear “strongly recommends” that manufacturers consult with their own legal and safety experts.

PPE Production

In February, Lear’s AccuMED facility in Mocksville, N.C., designed a facemask in response to a shortage of personal protective equipment in China. Lear added production capacity for masks within three days.

The operation has expanded from three production lines to seven, with daily capacity of 25,000 units. Lear facilities in Europe, Mexico and the Dominican Republic also are ramping up face mask production.