How Germany Kept Its Factories Open During the Pandemic (German authorities gave all factories the option to stay open)

Strict safety rules, testing and contact tracing enabled plants to keep running without major outbreaks

By Tom Fairless of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"When much of Europe’s economy shut down in mid-March, business kept right on going at Ebm-papst Group, a fan and motor manufacturer based near Germany’s Black Forest.

Throughout the six-week national lockdown that now is gradually being lifted, the family-owned company kept its domestic factories running at 80% of normal capacity, said Chief Executive Officer Stefan Brandl.

Social distancing, ubiquitous face masks, in-house Covid-19 tests and contact-tracing when employees fell ill helped the company keep its plants open. Just 15 of its 6,700 employees in Germany have contracted the virus, the company said.

Large parts of Europe have been ravaged by the pandemic, but Germany has fared better. While it has seen roughly the same number of diagnosed infections as similar-size neighbors—Italy, Spain, France, the U.K.—it has registered only about one-quarter as many deaths.

And German authorities, unlike those in Italy and Spain, gave all factories the option to stay open through the pandemic. More than 80% of them did so, and only one-quarter have canceled investments, according to a recent survey conducted by the Institute for Economic Research, a Munich think tank."

"Businesses implemented strict safety rules early on. Managers involved unions and employees in safety planning. Regional governments moved quickly to test and trace chains of infection."

Here are different policies German companies have used:

-100 steps affecting many aspects of workers’ routines, including where to change into work clothes, where and how to eat lunch and how to check for Covid-19 symptoms.

-removing workstations to increase distances between staff

-one company began making its own began making its own disinfectant

-another firm developed and 3D-printed hundreds of door handle extensions to enable workers to open doors with their lower arms to avoid touching the handles

-Workers also are asked to check their temperatures at home and report any infection

- Longer door handles, which could be opened with an elbow

-Teams of cleaners roamed the floors, disinfecting door handles, elevators and machine buttons

-Shifts have been shortened by 15 minutes so departing workers never encounter those replacing them

-rearranged its canteen and workstations, and moved departments to different buildings to increase distance between workers. Employees work staggered shifts and wear mouth and nose protection