Research
Timeline of COVID Impact for HNI China
- Factory in China closed in January for Chinese New Year Jan 20-31st
- Originally planed to reopen on February 3rd
- Opening delayed to February 24th due to COVID
- Government approval and inspection was required to reopen
- Many of our suppliers were unable to open until early March
- Overall, we were closed for 5 weeks
- By the second week of March, we were back to full production
What We Did to Keep Business Running During the Shutdown
- All office employees either equipped with laptops or were allowed to use their personal laptops to install company software and VPN to enable them with the ability to work from home (many staff members had desktop computers and did not have company laptops)
- Leveraged resources in India, Hong Kong and Singapore where the offices remained open during the closure in China
- Leveraged our India & USA factories as back-up
- Design, CAD, quotations, sales calls, order entry, finance, etc. all continued to function
- Even members who had been in Wuhan and were in government quarantine (but did not have the virus) stayed in touch and continued to work
Changes Implemented
In order to return to work, we took the following precautions with all employees before they were allowed to come to the office:
- Telephone interview to assess if they were exposed to anyone who had the virus, if they had been to a hot spot or had any symptoms. Asymptomatic staff who may have had risk of exposure or have symptoms were asked to remain home
When staff arrive for work, before allowed entry, the following measures are taken:
- Temperature/check for symptoms
- Sign a document that covers:
- List where they have traveled to in the last 30 days (if they have traveled to a hot spot, they will be denied entry)
- Confirm that they have no symptoms
- Confirm that they have not been exposed to the virus
- Mandatory to wear a mask
- Sanitize hands
- Walk across sanitization mat on entry to the premises
Additional changes:
- No visitors allowed on the premises (including vendors and clients)
- Elevators closed
- Frequent spray sanitizer throughout the outside and inside of the facility
- Floor markers in place to mandate social distancing
- Cardboard separators on cafeteria tables to provide safety when dining
- Sanitizer mats at all entrance/exits to buildings
Strategies We Employed to Help Clients Meet Schedules
- Close contact with clients in order to prioritize orders (clients with pressing schedules prioritized over clients with delayed projects)
- Quick shipment options utilized (air shipment, full container load versus LCL)
- Loaner product
Current Situation in Asia
Countries open for business:
- China
- Korea
- Cambodia
- Japan
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
Countries in full lockdown
- India
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Malaysia