Maintenance Technology August 2014 - (Page 33)

SUCCESSFUL TEAMWORK The plant's main production line was hit hardest. Fire-related property loss was estimated at nearly $5 million. itself was so hot that resin inside transfer piping melted, and electrical and communications cables were burned. Plant warehouse areas, which were filled with product and raw material, were covered in smoke and soot, and a layer of water covered the floor. As bleak as things looked, the situation could have been worse. "The fire response and evacuation worked like it should," says Rob Lee, Director of Engineering. "Everyone knew how to react and there was no injury or loss of life." All sprinkler and fire suppression systems engaged, which prevented the fire from creating a total loss. Recovery Though the fire shut the plant down, within 48 hours a plan was in place to restore production as safely and quickly as possible. The plant's existing disaster recovery plan was useful in this phase. "A disaster recovery plan is not cherished until it is needed," notes Lee. Three days after the fire, it was announced that the plant would rebuild and everyone would continue to receive full salaries and benefits. Creative scheduling was required to make that happen. This involved running three shift crews seven days per week. It was decided that everyone would receive 40 hours of pay regardless of the hours they worked, though some, like the mechanics, were needed almost constantly. "Scheduling disrupted our people's lives, especially on nights and weekends," says Statskey, "but they were good about it. We tried to be fair in how they were scheduled." Safety was paramount. Status meetings were held twice daily, including weekends, to assure safety and AUGUST 2014 avoid conflicts. Construction crews, the cleaning company and numerous contractors and outside agencies had to be coordinated. Motivated to return the plant to business, many employees volunteered before they were asked and performed jobs that they would not normally have done. They helped with cleaning, painting, sorting and emptying warehouse contents and conducting nighttime security patrols before the site was unsecured. Equipment assessments became a training opportuThe catastrophe could nity, and new skills such as environmental testing have permanently were learned and put shuttered the plant into practice. Leveraging in-house labor helped and put 110 full-time offset OEM and vendor costs "which saved the employees out of company a lot of money work. But it didn't. and kept the plant employees working," says Lee. To accommodate the plant's customers-all of whom were notified immediately after the fire-CCC sister sites absorbed Berwick production. The transfer of molds, tooling and salvaged materials to those plants was accompanied by product specifications and packing instructions, along with CCC engineers that assisted in the transition. "There were no great delays and our customers were very understanding," says Statskey. "One even offered to host a cookout for us." Employees salvaged and repacked what they could from the shipping and receiving warehouse, MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 33 http://www.MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology August 2014

Maintenance Technology August 2014