How is the Coronavirus, COVID 19, affecting your business? Is your supply chain in tact? Are your logistics and carriers still functioning? Is your production and office staff complete, or are you filling gaps?

A global pandemic like this, and national shutdown and cancellation like we are seeing can expose several weaknesses in our processes. These weaknesses ultimately lead to downtime, production gaps, and the inability to service or provide to our customers.

Setting up Control plans, PFMEA’s, Training and Development, Identifying Risks and Opportunities that can affect your business, and establishing networks of alternate suppliers can prevent slow downs and shut downs, and minimize interruptions.

The Coronavirus scare and reaction may be too overwhelming to mitigate all of the circumstances, mandated shutdowns, and national guidelines being implemented, but it does provide all companies with an opportunity for improvement to be better prepared in situations that might not be as extreme, but still cause interruptions to your processes and therefore loss of ability to deliver products or services.

If you have a quality management system in place, make it stronger, and more resistant to circumstances out of your control. If you don’t have a management system in place, get one. Even if you choose to not have a certified management system, like ISO 9001, at least put one in place, the benefits you experience, and reduction in redundancies and waste will amaze you.

Nicholas Witwer

President, The Witwer Group