Honda’s factory in the Chinese city of Wuhan is back to its normal levels of production and has implemented a series of new procedures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
The factory which Honda operates with local joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group was shut in late January when Wuhan was locked down and identified as the epicenter of Covid-19. Doors at the factory re-opened on March 11 but it wasn’t until this week that production returned to pre-virus levels, assistant director of the joint venture’s No. 2 final assembly plant, Li Shiquan, told Reuters.
Approximately 98 per cent of the 12,000 workers at the factory have returned to work and are putting in overtime to make up for lost production. Reuters reports that when it visited the factory earlier this week, there was a sign hanging from the ceiling saying the goal was to produce 1,237 cars that day, 17 per cent higher than the usual 1,060 vehicles it produces.
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“We have many customers who are waiting for cars so this week we have arranged for each worker to work 1.5 hours more,” Li said of the overtime.
Returning workers are being asked to report where they have been since the epidemic started and temperature checkpoints have also been setup. In addition, posters plastered around the factory tell employees to keep a meter apart at all times. The smoking and rest areas have also been shut at the factory to stop workers congregating. QR codes have also been stuck to pillars around the factory which workers scan with their phones and complete a form each day asking if they’ve been coughing or had any contact with unwell people.
According to Li, no cases of the coronavirus have been found at the Honda factory since produced resumed.
