AS MUCH OF AMERICA SETTLED INTO A SOCIALdistancing routine by staying home and only makingthe occasional trip to the grocery store or pharmacythis spring, warehousing and logistics professionals werewatching it play out in real time, all day long. Distributioncenter employees, truck drivers, delivery personnel, andessential retail workers remain among those most affected by safety protocols aimed at containing the spread ofthe novel coronavirus that hasgripped the country since mid-March. In this new environment,logistics workers have seen theirworkplaces retooled, processesredesigned, and interactions withsupply chain partners upendedas companies seek to balance theneed to keep people safe withthe need to keep the businessrunning.
“We have customers that rely
on us, even more now, to move
their goods around,” explains
Maryclaire Hammond, senior vice president of human
resources for transportation and logistics service provider
XPO Logistics, emphasizing the importance of maintaining
a productive supply chain workforce amid shutdowns and
quarantines. “We are spending 16 hours a day working on
this and doing everything we can to keep our employees
safe. We have to focus on safety, business continuity, and
also keeping our business solvent for the future … We’ve
got to keep the world moving.”
That means creating workplace guidelines for social dis-
tancing and deep cleaning as well as enhancing sick-leave
policies and other benefits. The changes affect everyone
across the organization and are vital to keeping the business
open as demand from particular segments of XPO’s cus-
tomer base grows, Hammond explains. Food and beverage
customers are among those seeing the greatest need; one of
XPO’s large wholesale grocery customers has predicted it
will need 50% more capacity over the next few months, for
instance, and has turned to XPO to fill that transportation
void, according to the company. And in early April, XPO
said it was handling 40% more shipments from its facilities
to the hospital community.
As a result, Hammond saysthe company is on a communications campaign to educateemployees about the steps theyneed to take to stay safe whilereminding them of the vital service they are performing duringthe pandemic.
“We have to communicate,communicate, communicate—we can never communicateenough. Especially at times likethis,” Hammond says. “Ourdrivers, our warehouse people,
fork truck operators, customer service [personnel]—they
are all on the front lines, and we are reminding them of all
the good they are doing.”
NEW SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Like other designated “essential” workplaces, XPO has takensteps to enforce social distancing in its facilities, includingmarking floors to indicate six-foot distances in work areasand at building entrances, creating barriers where necessaryto keep people apart, staggering break times, and removingchairs from break rooms to keep gatherings to recommended minimums. Early on, XPO removed all biometric logindevices from its facilities and implemented extra cleaningsat the beginning and end of each shift, Hammond says.
BY VICTORIA KICKHAM, SENIOR EDITOR
DISASTER RESPONSE SPECIALREPORT
30 DC VELOCITY MAY 2020 www.dcvelocity.com
Companies grapple with employee safety issues while trying to meet the needs of a
fast-changing marketplace during coronavirus-related shutdowns and quarantines.
Logistics firms face unique
challenges in role of
front-line, essential workforce
