Manitou introduces return to work measures

Manitou Group has introduced a range of measures to uphold and supplement mandatory national protective initiatives in France, as the country returns to work in the Covid-19 environment.

The detailed set of protocols are designed to be common across all sites and gradually evolve as the lockdown is eased by the government.

One of the steps includes making remote working a priority, where possible. Numerous measures have also been applied to all sites that require employees to be present. On arrival at any Manitou site, a specific route must be followed and a social distance of 1.5m respected throughout the facility.

A mask provided by the company must be worn and changed every four hours, and specific equipment is provided if two employees cannot avoid working together. Offices and open spaces have been rearranged. Shared areas, such as locker rooms, restrooms, meeting rooms and company restaurants are subject to restrictions and strictly supervised use.

To ensure successful implementation of this system and respond to questions from employees when they return to the site, regular communications about these measures have been distributed to all those concerned via videos on the company Intranet, SMS, e-mails and posters, among others.

Manitou said that onsite activity has been gradually increased in production area to allow all the health measures to be taken on board and enable employees to report situations that poses a risk to health or comfort.

The company added that the challenge was now in finding the right balance between progressing the new measures gradually as lockdown is eased, in line with government announcements, and maintaining the safety of employees, who will return to the site in growing numbers.