BASF India – Rajesh Naik, director, manufacturing

With the lockdown, BASF India suspended manufacturing at its sites, with the exception of maintaining services for customers involved in the production of essential supplies (and with approvals from authorities). After relaxation, it reopened offices, warehouses and production sites in a phase-wise ramp up, focusing on employee health and safety of operations. The nationwide lockdown had impacted operations and capacity utilization in the first quarter. This improved over the next quarter across our business segments. This situation led to discussions with the industry, stakeholders and government to exchange best practices and also voice concerns.

Covid-19 reemphasized the need of focusing on the core aspects of manufacturing, viz: safety of people and operations, through sound emergency response preparedness and execution. Since chemical plants cannot be shut down abruptly, safety and maintenance had to be followed. Restart involved planning and execution. The company also saw opportunities to explore digital services to offer remote support.

Before resuming operations, the company communicated to employees plans of a ‘return to work’ framework to maintain safe operations. It set up the infrastructure required such as contractors, service providers, etc. during the lockdown to cultivate positivity among colleagues. This confidence helped them ramp up operations.