Not business as usual
A fast-moving virus forces changes, spurs ideas at all sorts of Pittsburgh-area workplaces
The global economy — and fear of the virus that causes COVID-19 — has burrowed into the daily life and decisions made by Pittsburgharea businesses in recent weeks. The virus is creating problems, as well as offering a few opportunities, but it’s the rare business person who has been able to entirely avoid considering its impact.
‘I hope it doesn’t get us’
On a street off the main square in Uniontown, above a lunch counter, there’s a muted flatscreen TV in Sam’s Coffee Shop. Owner Nasser Elayazra, who pours the coffee and sells Pennsylvania lottery tickets, is the one who put it on mute.
Mr. Elayazra said he was getting fed up with hearing so much about the new coronavirus quickly spreading worldwide.
“They just talk: corona, corona, corona,” Mr. Elayazra, who has run the coffee shop for 39 years, said with resignation. “Everywhere, every time, every 10 minutes. They make you sick before you’re sick.”
The 80-year-old Mr. Elayazra, a native of Lebanon, was speaking March 10, within a few days of cities banning large public gatherings to try to stop the spread of the disease, including the St. Patrick’s Day parade an hour and a half away in Pittsburgh, while the National Guard was dispatched to a three-mile “containment area” just north of New York City to clean schools and deliver food in a virus hotspot.
In Pennsylvania, there were 12 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus as of Tuesday morning, but they were still hours away in the eastern part of the state.
“We don’t want nobody sick,” Mr. Elayazra said. But “nobody is sick yet in Uniontown, Connellsville, Brownsville,” rural, post-industrial towns in Fayette County so far spared from the disease. Then he added, “I hope it doesn’t get us.” — Kris Mamula
Stepping in to fill a need
As Tacy Byham, chief executive of Bridgeville-based DDI, braced for the spread of COVID-19 from China to other regions where the company operates, she recalled how her company had responded after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
To help clients cope when that 2001 crisis rocked the globe, DDI — which develops training materials and assessments for hiring and promotions — created a course called “Leading in Turbulent Times.”
The aim was to help managers engage in sensitive conversations, such as how employees were feeling and how to move on.
Last week, as the novel coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, prompting businesses to send workers home and cancel live events, DDI made available a free course about how to lead virtual meetings.
“9/11 was in the back of my mind as we were stepping into this,” Ms. Byham said. “How many people are going to have to flip to be virtual? We cannot let the world be in a situation to sub-optimize productivity at a time like this.”
By last week, DDI already had direct experience with this challenge. With 200 employees, or about 25% of its global workforce based in China, the company got a jump on enacting a work-fromhome policy.
Its employees in China were on break for the Lunar New Year holiday in early February when reports of deaths from the disease resulted in government lockdowns and quarantines. The company instructed employees there to work remotely until March 2.
Beginning Monday, DDI employees in the U.S. will work from home, and many will likely tap into virtual meetings.
“We’re now at a pivot moment,” said Ms. Byham. “I really think businesses will never be the same after this.” — Joyce Gannon
Not all help is human
As schools and businesses send
people home, government officials cancel public events and health experts caution against shaking hands, Jorgen Pedersen thinks he has a solution for one way to slow the spread of COVID-19: robots.
Mr. Pedersen, president and CEO of Lawrenceville based RE2 Robotics, can imagine robots taking up manufacturing jobs or filling in for mail sorters and carriers or even acting as a barista.
RE2’s robots are tele-operated, meaning they need humans to tell them what to do. But those humans can be miles away. Already, the devices are used in situations that are unsafe for humans, like moving concrete slabs or maintaining oil and gas lines underwater.
If the virus continues to spread, robots could be a viable long-term solution, Mr. Pedersen said.
“There’s many tasks these [robotic] arms can do. It’s just understanding where in society is there a tremendous threat to spreading this virus and then are the robotics solutions that are available today up for the job of doing those tasks?” Mr. Pedersen said.
“I think that seeing how these robots could truly help us in a crisis like this could change the culture and ensure the future use of robotics for the greater good,” he said. “Then it’s no longer, ‘Oh, the robots are coming to get me.’ It’s, ‘Oh, the robots are here to help me.’”
In the short term, COVID-19 has presented its own problems for the company.
First, it’s not so easy for Mr. Pedersen to send his employees home. They can design and code remotely, but they need to be in the lab to build and test the hardware. If it comes down to it — which Mr. Pedersen hopes it doesn’t — he said the company could “get clever” to make sure production doesn’t fall behind.
Second, it’s not so easy for Mr. Pedersen to get laptops, something that is making it difficult to onboard the 25 new employees he plans to hire. At this point, the company is considering stocking up on laptops, gears, motors, electronics and any other hardware that could be needed in the near future.
“We still want to do everything we can to ensure that every project we’re working on is completed according to plan, independent of unfortunate circumstances like coronavirus,” he said. “We’ll incur some costs on the front end to ensure we deliver on the back end.”
— Lauren Rosenblatt
The summer games
The World Cup in men’s soccer isn’t being held this year, and that’s one less thing for Dick’s Sporting Goods to worry about, as the retailer deals with suppliers and vendors to try to stave off disruptions. The Findlay-based company is expecting some impact to its business due to COVID-19, primarily due to issues with shipments from China.
Last week, an analyst during the company’s earnings call asked if Dick’s Sporting Goods would take a hit if the summer Olympic games in Japan this summer end up being postponed.
“The Olympics, surprisingly, is not a big part of our business,” said Ed Stack, chairman and CEO. “It’s a little bit accretive, but if we have the Olympics or don’t have the Olympics, you won’t see it in our results.
“The World Cup is more of an impact on our business then the Olympics,” he said. “If this was a World Cup year and the World Cup was going to be canceled, that would be a bigger impact to our business.” — Stephanie Ritenbaugh
Another bump on the ‘startup roller coaster’
The COVID-19 crisis cost Pittsburgh startup founder Allison Howard a chance to present her sleep and wellness company on an international stage.
Nollapelli — a company that makes specialized bedding designed to help improve customers’ skin, hair and quality of sleep — was slated to pitch its products this month at South by Southwest, an international music, art, film and tech conference in Austin, Texas. It’s an important venue to raise awareness of startups.
As new cases of COVID-19 spread through the United States, organizers canceled SXSW before it was set to begin on March 13.
Ms. Howard, who found out the news through Twitter, was disappointed. Still, she’s staying optimistic.
“I think the worst case would be if they hadn’t officially canceled but nobody came ... because then we’re pitching to an empty room.”
Nollapelli, which works with startup incubator Ascender in East Liberty, currently has two hospitality customers and four pilot programs with hotels, spas and wellness resorts. It also sells directly to customers through its website.
Even before the SXSW news, Ms. Howard had learned that COVID-19 had already started disrupting her business plans. The company’s latest product — a pillowcase travel bag that reads BYOB, or Bring Your Own Bedding — was being produced in China and would take two months longer than originally anticipated to deliver.
Since Nollapelli hadn’t yet started marketing the bag, the delay shouldn’t impact the company too much, Ms. Howard said.
“I think it’s just part of the startup roller coaster,” she said. “Awesome things happen and terrible things on a daily basis. It’s not going to slow us down.”