Daimler India Commercial Vehicles resumes operations with safety measures

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) on Thursday said it has resumed plant operations in a phased manner.

The company said it was able to restart operations at the plant in less than 24 hours after receiving permission from local authorities as it had started intensive preparation even before the lockdown in India came into effect in March, DICV said in a statement.

Commenting on the resumption of operations, DICV Managing Director & CEO Satyakam Arya said :"Being part of the Daimler global network allowed us to see the implications of Covid-19 well before the lockdown was announced here in India. We immediately initiated a Crisis Management Team (CMT) to steer us safely through this difficult situation."

The CMT consists of representatives from across the organisation and holds virtual meetings with DICV's top executives on a daily basis, the company said.

It has initiated hundreds of health, safety and sanitisation measures over the last few months, ranging from mass cleaning of DICV's 400 acre Oragadam plant, near Chennai, to renovations of facilities designed to ensure social distancing norms are followed, it added.

"The CMT has also taken charge of tracking the health and safety of the company's over 4,000 employees, plus overseeing the company's extensive CSR contributions," the statement said.

The company is ramping up gradually with a minimum workforce of essential employees to start with, then a planned move to full capacity as and when the lockdown ends, it added.

"Dealerships across the country have already begun to reopen as local restrictions ease, ensuring BharatBenz customers have access to the free service and warranty extensions the company began offering at the start of the crisis," DICV said.

BharatBenz is a brand of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles.

Arya said, "DICV's number one priority is health and safety of our stakeholders, from our employees and customers to our dealers and suppliers."