Guidance for Manufacturers Navigating the Post-COVID Environment

As manufacturers in Michigan start to return to their facilities, this new start brings with it many new challenges to navigate. To provide guidance during this time, The Center recently published several blogs with advice to help keep facilities safe, prepared and successful.

• Is Your Business Prepared – For Any Crisis? – Unplanned events can have devastating effects on small businesses. In some drastic cases, catastrophes can lead to the loss of important customers or, at worst, going out of business completely. To avoid this fate and minimize the potential impacts of a disaster, or prevent it from happening in the first place, planning is essential.
• A New Leadership Challenge: How to Support Your Workforce During COVID-19 – As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to heavily impact businesses, leaders are left wondering how they can ensure employees are feeling valued, engaged and secure in their roles. While the pandemic has already caused much disruption and distress for manufacturers as they consider what the future holds, there are still ways companies can work right now to strengthen both their business and their workforce to better position themselves for the eventual return to normal operations.
• Best Practices for Working from Home: Staying Successful at Your Home Office – We recently published a blog discussing how to keep employees feeling engaged and valued while working from home by prioritizing training. In addition to these engagement challenges, many are working from home for the first time ever and are struggling to stay focused and productive in such a different environment. For those who need extra guidance, there are resources that can help.
• When the Pandemic is Over: Using ISO to Plan & Prepare – For organizations that are compliant to ISO 9001:2015 (including AS9100D and IATF 16949), there are several requirements that can be used to assist in getting back to business as usual – and putting together a plan is one of them.
• Food Manufacturing in the Age of COVID-19: Updates & Guidance for Maintaining Food Safety – Public concern over health and safety is at an all-time high. Concerns about food are no exception as customers everywhere look for reassurance and peace of mind to know that what they’re consuming each day is safe. There are still many questions surrounding how to maintain food safety while working with or around food.
• Answers from the Experts: Advice for Restarting Operations After COVID-19 – With manufacturing facilities around Michigan starting to reopen, there are still many lingering questions about how to ensure a successful and safe return while continuing to advance processes. To provide assistance during this time, The Center’s experts have answered manufacturers’ most pressing questions.
• 10 Tips to Prepare for Your Virtual ISO Audit – If your organization is certified to ISO 9001, AS9100D or ISO 14001 and you have an audit scheduled to happen during the current COVID-19 restrictions, these tips are for you! ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 certified organizations with an “ANAB” logo – or “IAF” logo – may be a candidate for conducting what’s known as an “ICT Audit,” which stands for “Information & Communication Technology.”
• Planning for Profitability in the Post-Pandemic Period – While the many changes and disruptions that came from the COVID-19 pandemic were not expected as we entered 2020, leaders in all industries have worked hard to restore our nation’s prominence and success as the world continues to respond and recover. So, how does this impact the business activities of small and medium-sized manufacturers?
• Revamping Your Business in the Post-COVID-19 Environment – It’s hard to disagree that the business world has changed drastically and will likely never look the same again. If you own or manage a business, now is the time to start thinking about the next stage.

For more guidance on how to propel your business forward through COVID-19 and beyond, find additional insight here or contact our experts at inquiry@the-center.org.

Since 1991, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center has assisted Michigan’s small and medium-sized businesses to successfully compete and grow. Through personalized services designed to meet the needs of clients, we develop more effective business leaders, drive product and process innovation, promote company-wide operational excellence and foster creative strategies for business growth and greater profitability. Find us at www.the-center.org.