Most security companies are trying to strike a balance between normal business operations and ensuring employees’ health and well-being.
Needless to say, the
COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people work in different industries. This includes security, where most companies are trying to strike a balance between normal business operations and ensuring employees’ health and well-being.
The coronavirus situation is getting direr each day. By the time this article was written, there were 423,667 confirmed infections worldwide and 18,912 deaths, according to Worldometers. (Please keep in mind before the “curve” flattens, the numbers will keep rising.)
The disease has not only threatened public health in countries all over the world, but has also produced economic, political and social impacts. Calls for social distancing and fears of infection, especially in the hardest-hit regions, have forced businesses from bars and restaurants to offices and manufacturing facilities to shut down, and more and more people are working from home now.
The security industry, of course, is not exempt from the impact of the outbreak. While employee health is of utmost importance for security companies, all of them are at the same time trying to ensure normal operations and minimize disruptions to the supply chain. The following are what security companies are doing now to cope with the coronavirus, as stated on their websites, blogs and press releases.
Ensure well-being of staff
To ensure the well-being of staff and in keeping with guidelines issued by health authorities, many security companies are asking employees to work from home.
“Depending on the situation in each country where we have business operations, we have taken actions to reduce the risk of employees being exposed to the virus, including having employees working from home wherever possible,”
Axis Communications said.
“Our contingency plan worked as designed and our teams are working from home. So, unless you were hoping for a face-to-face meeting in a Genetec office, you should see no change in the service and support you receive from us,”
Genetec said.
When meetings are inevitable, they are held online. “Given the current restrictions, we are offering video calls and one-to-one meetings to all of our customers. Whether this be for sales support, technical support or other general queries, our team are happy to help in any way we can,” said Raytec.
Visitor and travel guidelines have also become more stringent. “We initiated a site entry restriction policy for external visitors to FLIR facilities … and we implemented a global employee travel ban until further notice,”
FLIR Systems said.
Minimizing supply chain disruptions
Companies also maintain that despite the ongoing situation, supply chain disruptions and therefore prolonged lead time are kept to a minimal.
“We are actively working to monitor supply chain continuity risks across the company. At this time, we have experienced minimal disruption in our supply chain,” FLIR said.
“Our factory is still open for business, and while we are operating with reduced numbers, we continue to receive, build, and ship new orders,” Raytec said. “Our goal is to minimize disruption to our customers and keep the majority of products on a relatively normal lead time.”
Obviously, some adjustments need to be made in order to minimize disruptions. “We are continuing to work hard to find solutions such as rearranging transport, working with multiple sources for raw materials and components in order to mitigate risk, monitoring stock levels across our supply chain in order to prioritize our efforts, keeping safety stocks throughout our supply chain and monitoring government directives,” Axis said.
Another impact of the coronavirus is cancellations of
trade shows and events where companies promote their products and solutions. To cope, a lot of companies have gone virtual. Genetec’s Connect'DX, a three-day live online conference and tradeshow, is an example. “We hope that you will participate in live Q&As and take advantage of educational sessions, trend panels and product demos available to you online,” the company said.