Smart Start Playbook Update:

Preparing for the

‘Next Unknown’

My office in Brampton, Ontario is connected to the Massiv Automated Systems plant that builds assembly lines for Magna and the OEMs. Massiv Automated looks different every time I walk through it – every Magna plant does as well – as updated protocols and processes from our Smart Start Playbook are implemented.

The mood in our plants is upbeat; people are glad to be working and they realize the changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic are all about keeping them healthy and safe.

Even more changes are in store for all Magna operating divisions, as the new Health Smart Operations Playbook rolls out and we prepare for a second wave of the virus.

The Health Smart Operations Playbook builds on the already rock-solid foundation of protocols provided in the initial Smart Start Playbook, including physical distancing, disinfecting and personal protection equipment.

The challenge: how to best modify our workplace as we better understand the risks of infectious disease transmission.

A Magna task force made up of more than a dozen technical experts and problem solvers from operations including sequencing, molding, painting, assembly and stamping, along with medical sciences and HVAC engineers, served as advisors on the latest set of protocols and recommendations. They include:

-The Smart Start Playbook and subsequent releases are solid, and the recommendations with respect to personal hygiene, disinfecting protocols, physical distancing and PPE usage must continue.

-Broadening the scope of work-planning activities to include COVID-19-related protocols and measures into our well-established Standardized Work, Periodic Work and Non-Standard Activities practices, in order to essentially address all areas of work in our plants.

-Enhancing ventilation, filtration and maximizing fresh air throughout a facility to reduce droplet transmission.

-Install infrastructure for long-term physical distancing and provide employee separation through the facilities.

-Emphasizing employee education and training with a focus on increasing awareness of the best way to manage activities inside and outside of the workplace.

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The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees will always be paramount, followed by getting back to work quickly and efficiently. While Magna workplaces have always been safe, the takeaway from the COVID-19 crisis is that even the greatest challenge gives us the opportunity to become safer.

Every Magna division and office around the world will undergo some degree of changes, and all will have to meet certain minimum standards.

The latest recommendations and changes to the way we work boil down to preparing for the “next unknown.” We need to be ready to respond, even more quickly, the next time some new crisis arises.

The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees will always be paramount, followed by getting back to work quickly and efficiently. While Magna workplaces have always been safe, the takeaway from the COVID-19 crisis is that even the greatest challenge gives us the opportunity to become safer, more productive and more resilient.

John Farrell, Cosma President