Covid-19 is continuing to have a major economic impact on the world; all businesses have been affected in some way. Advanced Materials is no exception and times are very uncertain.
Despite this, our team has kept the operations going at Advanced Materials, helping us to continue to provide for our key customers. Continuing operations has not been easy, but careful planning and collaboration with our customers, suppliers and our team has meant we have been able to adapt to safely remain active and maintain supply, even when operating at a reduced capacity.
Maintaining production in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines
Silicone manufacturing requires skilled operators to be present on site at the machinery, therefore it was critical that we adapted our processes so that we could continue to operate safely. Our previous year’s investments in our Health and Safety and Human Resource processes allowed us to quickly perform COVID-19 risk assessments and adapt our infrastructure to ensure that the company could operate in accordance with government advice.
We are taking every precaution to protect our staff and customers, and we continue to monitor government advice and act accordingly. Workplace social distancing protocols are in place and we have cleaning schedules, regularly sanitise high-risk areas and provide PPE to all employees where it is needed.
Working from home
Working from home where possible has been a key action taken by Advanced Materials to keep our team safe while working during these times. A successful transition to working from home ensured our doors remained open and operations could continue safely.
Previous investments in our IT infrastructure is how we were able to seamlessly transition to a working from home environment. Having invested heavily in a major upgrade of our IT systems in 2019 moving from our internal network to a more secure and flexible hosted network meant we gained the ability to securely access information from approved devices and locations remotely.
This new flexibility set us up for our office staff to work from home in just a couple of days after the lockdown was announced. The new cloud-based IT infrastructure has also provided us with invaluable cybersecurity, protecting us more strongly from cyberattacks.
Improving how we operate and how we serve our customers
While we have been working hard to keep Advanced Materials operational in recent months, we have also taken action to develop the way we operate to help improve the service we provide to our customers.
We have examined how we can target greater efficiency and better performance, including identifying areas of weakness and acting to strengthen them. Action plans are in place to continue our commitment to continuous improvement and ensure we stay at the forefront of the silicone manufacturing industry.
Furthermore, while mindful of the impact of the pandemic on our cash flow, we have increased our stock of materials so that we are prepared to keep supplying our customers with any silicone products they require.
The excellence of our team and strengthening for the future
As the lockdown restrictions are gradually lifted, we can slowly start welcoming back our team in a safe and responsible way, and bring our new silicone manufacturing machinery online.
The Advanced Materials team deserves enormous credit for their flexibility and making it possible to continue operating. The team has been supportive of the changes we have had to make during this time and staff have shown that they can adapt and maintain standards in extraordinary conditions. They have been nothing short of outstanding and we look forward to a prosperous future.
Witnessing this commitment is particularly gratifying in the year that we mark 21 years since the foundation of the business. Now is not the time to throw a party, but we are proud to reach such a milestone and it is good to know that we have the processes, personnel and technology in place that will help us keep going for another 21 years and beyond.
To find out more about Advanced Materials’ silicone rubber manufacturing services, contact us on +44 (0)1903 713566 or sales@amsilicones.co.uk.