Cleaner, socially distant world has started in Quebec

Seven-week pandemic pause over for some

MONTREAL • Bell Textron Canada president Steeve Lavoie has a message for Quebec manufacturers preparing to reopen with strict sanitary measures: Be patient.

Manufacturing — along with non-residential construction and roadwork — was allowed to reopen across Quebec as of Monday after a seven-week pause that pushed many small firms to the brink of bankruptcy. About 176,000 manufacturing employees and 84,000 construction workers will go back on the job as activity resumes, according to the economy ministry.

As a supplier of helicopters to the Canadian Armed Forces, Bell Textron’s Mirabel site was deemed an essential service and allowed to stay open throughout the pandemic. It thus faced the task of being one of the first companies on the front line to adapt its production methods to the COVID-19 reality.

“I feel for the companies that haven’t reopened yet,” Lavoie said in a telephone interview Friday. “At first it can be a bit of a challenge. It’s been complicated, but thankfully we had employees with the right reflexes.”

After putting Quebec on “pause” March 23, Premier François Legault announced the gradual reopening of the economy April 28, giving employers about two weeks to prepare. Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said at the time he expected the restart would allow about 500,000 Quebecers to resume work.

Manufacturers initially will be limited to a maximum of 50 workers per shift, plus half of their remaining employees, per shift at any time on one site.

A 500-employee factory will therefore be able to operate with no more than 275 workers.

Those restrictions will be lifted as of May 25, though companies will still need to follow all COVID-19 specific provincial health rules.

Some employers now leave factory doors open to cut the odds of contagion for workers, said Véronique Proulx, head of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec, which represents about 1,100 manufacturers active in the province. Others have introduced wheeled Plexiglas banners to let trainers or supervisors move about the plant while remaining protected.

“Manufacturers are ready, but things won’t be perfect from Day 1,” Proulx said. “Communication will be key. Companies will need to make sure employees understand the new rules, and employees must also be given the tools to provide feedback.”

Cleanliness is now an absolute priority.

At Airbus Canada’s Mirabel plant, bathrooms are now cleaned six times a day, up from four times a day before March 23, according to an internal company document obtained by the Montreal Gazette. The daily routine now includes a “deep cleaning,” complete with disinfectant.

Factory floors at Airbus are cleaned twice a day, up from once, while doors and handrails are disinfected daily instead of weekly, the document shows. Cleaning frequencies for benches, lockers, water fountains and vending machines have also been increased, among other changes.

Sanitation efforts have also been stepped up at Bell Textron. Common spaces that were typically cleaned once a day now get cleaned three times a day, Lavoie said.

Bell Textron recently purchased an electrostatic cleaning machine to disinfect bathrooms, conference rooms and the factory itself. To cut infection risks, bathroom doors now remain open.

One of Lavoie’s first decisions after learning that the company’s Mirabel site had been deemed an essential service was to instruct all office employees to work from home.

To this day, up to 85 per cent of them still do so, he said.

“Productivity has been surprisingly good,” he said. “Telecommuting will definitely be part of the plan after the pandemic is over.”

Production has been divided into three shifts — day, evening and night — instead of two, limiting the plant’s population at any given time to about 360 workers, Lavoie said. Each shift has been assigned specific parking spaces, limiting contagion risks.

Before the pandemic, as many as 700 people could work simultaneously on the factory floor, Lavoie said. Bell Textron employs about 1,200 in Mirabel.

Once inside, all production employees whose job makes them unable to follow physical distancing rules wear disposable masks and face shields, Lavoie said. Two people at most typically work on a helicopter at any given time, which makes distancing easier to implement.

Common areas such as the cafeteria have also been redesigned.

There are fewer chairs, and every table now features disinfectant wipes.

Multiple lunch periods have been introduced, and the cafeteria’s capacity was cut to 120 people from about 500.

To ensure workers have all the lunch space they need, office employees must eat at their desks, Lavoie said.

“Our common areas dictate the limits that we set,” he said.

“We’re continually adjusting our procedures, our logistics to reduce risks.”

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