A spirit of mutual aid and respect for health measures allows us to continue production under good conditions, even for three-shift operations

Eric Lefebvre –
Production Manager at Tournaire for the past 28 years.

What is the impact of this crisis on Tournaire’s production? 

At Tournaire, the primary impact was the 30% employee absenteeism, so we had to adapt. The impact was also noticeable at our suppliers and subcontractors, as some had reduced or even stopped their activity. We also noted logistical breakdowns on planes and boats, as chartering was sometimes very complex to implement.

We have, therefore, reorganized all of our production opertions.

During this period of containment, we had 25 to 30% of employees absent, but, thanks to the mobilization of employees from offices who came to help with production, we had a production level of 85% compared to the usual production.

What steps have you taken to manage this crisis?

The first measure was health-related: we deployed all of the means of health prevention for our employees thanks to our crisis unit and our quality, safety and environment manager. Then we reorganized production to give priority to priority lines where we had huge demand, for example for the pharmaceutical industry. After the initial sudden and intense phase, we were able, on the one hand, thanks to the versatility of our teams (set up years ago) to assign staff to priority lines. On the other hand (having decided not to recruit staff from outside the company), we called on all the dynamic forces present in the company, whether in support services, industrial methods, design office or even the sales department, who came to lend us a hand in production on operator or packaging posts.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the production staff, team leaders, management, operators, drivers and setters who have really stepped up to the plate throughout this crisis.

I would also like to thank all of the support services that have helped us.

This mobilization of each department has created a dynamic, a surge of solidarity and I felt a very strong spirit of mutual aid between all of the employees present at the site.

What ave you concluded as a result of this period of crisis? 

We found that the employees present were very implicated and truly wanted to satisfy customers. I would like to stress this point: this created a real dynamic, an impetus of solidarity between the departments. The various departments were thus able to exchange ideas, they communicated in a better manner and understood each other’s difficulties. I would like to capitalize on this period of solidarity and communication, which was very enriching for everyone. We are thinking about how to maintain this permanent exchange and cohesion throughout the year, in a more serene period.

Some advice to your fellow directors in the region?

The advice I would give is not to be blocked by fear but to implement all of the necessary measures to maintain activity. Thanks to these measures, by communicating a lot in the field and making sure that the health measures are respected, we are able to ensure production under good conditions, including for three-shift operations.