East London Plant puts plan of action to protect its people
From the very onset of the manifestation of the COVID-19 pandemic here in South Africa, Mercedes-Benz South Africa has embarked on a highly focused campaign to ensure the safety of every single one of our valued employees. A local crisis management team was established to ensure that the manufacturing Plant and other connected facilities are safe for workers to return to, strictly in full adherence to the regulations handed down by the government.
Using a trackable technical implementation plan, the East London Plant team commenced with the deep cleaning of the East London Plant to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 guided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) prescriptions as required by the Department of Employment and Labour on handling Hazardous Biological Agents.
Measures put in place to inhibit the spread of COVID-19:
• Sanitiser pumps were installed on all gate entrances and office doors.
• Social distancing was effected through floor and desk markings.
• Expert risk assessment opinion was sought to ascertain the level of risk on the MBSA and DTBSA zones where the 1.5m social distancing rule was impossible due to space limitations.
• All biometric access points at the gates and on entrances were disabled to avoid touching contaminated surfaces.
• An induction process for all employees was held at the East London Plant and online. Parallel to the induction, employees were provided with Personal Protective Equipment including facemask, safety goggles, sanitisers, and face shields.
• A process of decoupling of shifts was also undertaken to reduce the number of employees that come into contact with each other before and after shifts.
• Regular communication updates, as well as safety and hygiene rules, are sent to employees and relevant stakeholders via emails, posters, SMSes, and broadcasted on Plant screens.
The local crisis management team continuously monitors the situation and adherence to the new rules regularly.
