Plexiglass sneeze guards separate the work stations, carts hold cleaning supplies and signs seemingly everywhere remind workers to social distance.
But Mark Bennett, who works in operations at the Lear seating plant in Flint, said the biggest change for workers when they return on Monday will likely just be the masks they have to wear. It’s a piece of personal protective equipment that the almost 700 workers at the plant, which supplies General Motors, will be required to wear almost the entire time they’re inside the facility.
The point is to make the workforce not only feel safe, but relatively comfortable in their return.
“We wanted people to come back and not feel like everything changed,” Bennett said Thursday, as he and other members of the Lear team conducted an open house for employees who were making their first visit back to the plant in almost two months.
In the intervening time, the facility, like so many others, has been shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the changes, such as the sneeze guards to divide work stations, were designed to be clear, relatively unobtrusive and easily cleanable. Workers will get a bag with supplies, including masks and a face shield, when they start back.
The restart at the Lear plant coincides with the resumption of production at automotive plants across the region. The preparation for the return to work shows significant attention to detail, following the Lear playbook for its facilities around the world. Cleaning is a big focus. If workers are not feeling well or they run a fever, the goal, for next week and beyond, is to first and foremost keep them from entering. If a worker thinks he or she might be sick during a shift, a quarantine area has been set up to get them off the floor quickly.
The open house on Thursday was a kind of dry run for what’s ahead.
“We just didn’t want any surprises. We wanted to be prepared and make sure the flow of knowledge is getting out to everybody so we’re ready to go. You know, even this open house I think is good practice for us to navigate the traffic and make sure everything we’ve got in place is functioning well,” said Plant Manager Tim Reedy, noting that
“we adapted every square inch of this facility to practice social distancing.”
Those social distancing plans were evident everywhere, even on the initial entry into the plant after a health check and temperature screening in a tent outside. Orange signs on the floor indicate this is one-way traffic or say “thank you for practicing social distancing.” Chairs have been removed from conference rooms to limit the number of people inside. Restrooms have a 10-person limit, with alternating sinks, urinals and hand dryers taped off. Plexiglas dividers will allow workers to share tables while they eat, the only time they’ll be allowed to take their masks off.
Even tour stops for the handful of media members on hand Thursday or the workers coming in for the open house featured blue circles on the floor spaced apart in a semi-circle so people would keep their distance.
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“For me, it’s always a little tough, but today was a good day seeing a lot of my team members,” said production coach Marcus Robinson, who was one of the people speaking during the tour. “You get the impression that a lot of people are looking at what we’re doing and the people that have come through like it. So for me, it makes me feel good that people are getting comfortable with it.”
That’s similar to what team leader Tee McFadden said she had seen. She’d been encouraging her co-workers to come for the open house.
“I tell them, ‘Don’t walk in Monday being blindsided. Come in today,’ so they can actually see and get their mind ready for Monday so they can feel comfortable at their work stations. They feel scared coming in, but they feel much relaxed going back out.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.
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