HYDERABAD: Social distancing norms are a must to combat the spread of Covid-19 and it is interesting to see the kind of effect it has been having on the industries in the State. According to the officials of major companies who have set up shop in Telangana, the social distancing norms are affecting their production capacities.
For instance, the mandatory six-foot distance norm is forcing the automobile factories to slow down the process of assembling various car parts.
A senior official of one such company said, “In any original equipment manufacturing (OEM) factories, two people each stand on the left and right side while assembling the parts.
However, because of the social distancing norms, we had to slow down the assembling process.” The official explained that during the process, it was possible for workers to manage five-foot distance.
“But because of the new social distancing norms, the work has to be slowed down as workers have to move to their designated marked places.” This delay in assembling the parts has been translating into the overall slowdown in the production.
“If earlier we were able to produce 300 cars in two shifts, the same number of cars takes 3-4 shifts to manufacture,” he added.
The situation is far more worse in the two-wheeler manufacturing units where small assembly processes take place, which does not follow a linear structure. However, few companies have been trying to bypass these rules by providing face shields and other protective gear to the employees, if the work necessitates close proximity.