The 2018 hurricane season is underway, but disasters can include wildfires, earthquakes, and plenty more natural and man-made events.
Plan for the obvious
If you’re in hurricane country, you know that high winds and flooding could be an issue. You have plans for coping with those issues, and you must make sure that responsible individuals have access to those plans.
OSHA has detailed preparedness information for a wide range of disasters.
Plan for what happens next
Manufacturers in Puerto Rico had to deal with unreliable electricity for months after the 2017 hurricanes. One of the consequences of this surprising fact was a nationwide shortage of saline packs that threatened lives across the country.
Will you need generators? Will a backup location for data be needed? You might be lucky enough to ride out the disaster and be back to normal in a day or two — Hurricane Florence turned out like that for many well-prepared companies. But you should be prepared for the long run.
Plan for the machinery
Your machines have environmental requirements, often including ambient temperature and certainly including not being underwater. The components’ environmental requirements should be in the components’ manuals.
If you’re using legacy Rexroth machinery, chances are good that you don’t know where your manuals are. Solve that problem by requesting manuals. Use the information to plan how to keep your machinery safe and functional.
Plan for the people
After Hurricane Maria, successful manufacturers worked out ways to communicate with their workers. Knowing that team members were safe and being able to communicate with them made a big difference. In some cases, getting people back to work was the priority. When facilities couldn’t open, getting emergency supplies to workers helped keep things together till the companies could reopen.
Updating the communication systems to take advantage of smartphones, tablets, and cloud storage can make the difference between chaos and calm.
Make sure you have disaster preparedness kits and a clear plan. Then make sure everyone is trained to use both.
Don’t forget to save our phone number in your phone if you use Rexroth electric motion control systems: 479-422-0390. We’re your fastest support for legacy or current components.