The coronavirus situation is, of course, also impacting our day-to-day work in the assembly department at Muller Martini's head office in Zofingen. In spite of all the problems, we are all doing our best here to ensure that the prioritized customer orders to be delivered are completed on time.
At first glance, you might think that everything is running as usual in our compensating stacker assembly. The majority of the assembly work is being carried out as normal and the prioritized customer orders are being completed with full commitment. And yet nothing is the same as before the corona crisis. This is because the corona pandemic, with all the measures and necessary rules resulting from it, is omnipresent at Muller Martini. Company management responded very quickly, provided us with comprehensive information and acted accordingly to protect the health of our employees.
On the one hand, there are the well-known hygiene measures that must be observed. No shaking hands. Washing your hands several times a day and using the disinfectants available everywhere is mandatory. Wherever possible, the doors and rolling gates within the company are open so that you barely have to touch door handles. I'm really pleased that employees who qualify as risk patients due to their age or previous illnesses have been sent home.
All employees in assembly or in the warehouse, who cannot simply work from home, are following the most important rule: Keeping their distance. This works very well in our department because our workplaces are generously designed. We only had to reposition the material, so we can now work at least two meters away from our next colleague. Only when there is something to discuss, it's always important to remember to keep your distance. In the meantime, however, everyone's awareness has been raised and the new rules of conduct have become well established. Even during breaks or lunch, everyone ensures that people move around in groups of no more than two and that the safety distance is maintained. It's a little strange at first, but you get used to it.
This doesn't detract from the atmosphere in our team of twelve. Once the initial stir subsided, the coronavirus is still the number one topic of conversation. In addition to the numerous adjustments on the job, many employees are also feeling the effects of the pandemic in their private lives. But we're all trying to make the best of the situation.
The fact that we are able to carry out our work so smoothly is also due to the perfectly functioning IT infrastructure. The reason is that many employees from technology or other office departments are currently working from home. They are always available by phone or online if a question arises and I need to coordinate something. And the parts we need for the machines are all still in stock here in Zofingen. This means we can still assemble here diligently.
At the same time, however, a large part of our business at Muller Martini has come to a halt. Meetings with customers rarely take place anymore, project completions, deliveries and installation work are being delayed. So we're preparing for the fact that there'll also be adjustments here in machine assembly. I think it is important that we can continue to react flexibly with reduced working hours if urgent customer orders need to be completed. After all, it's of course crucial to keep the economic damage to us and our customers as low as possible.
In the hope that we all come out of this crisis in good health, I extend my warmest greetings.
Best regards,
Kuno Bühlmann
Employee in compensating stacker assembly
Müller Martini Druckverarbeitungs-Systeme AG Zofingen, Switzerland