[Photos] Ford U.S. Manufacturing is Back in Business
Ford Motor Company on Monday began its return to vehicle manufacturing at several key plants in the United States. To help ensure that production continues smoothly in the days, weeks, and months ahead, the automaker is pledging routine employee testing for hourly and salaried employees in four key cities.
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24-hour testing available for employees in key areas
According to Ford, it has secured quick testing capacity for COVID-19 symptomatic employees in Louisville, Kentucky; Kansas City; Southeast Michigan; and Chicago. Test results are returned within 24 hours, allowing Ford to react quickly when necessary.
An example of this testing being crucial came midweek when Ford temporarily closed its Chicago and Dearborn plants after employees tested positive for the coronavirus. The stoppages were short-lived; production shut down at the Chicago plant on Tuesday and resumed Wednesday morning, and production in Dearborn was paused on Wednesday before resuming the same day.
“Fast and accurate testing is a key tool in the effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Ford Medical Director Dr. Walter Talamonti. “These contracts will allow us to test employees with suspected symptoms and have results back within 24 hours. If they test positive, we can quickly identify close contact employees who may have been exposed and ask them to self-quarantine for 14 days.”
Ford is requiring its employees and visitors to abide by its Manufacturing Return to Work Playbook, which requires daily temperature scans and self-wellness examinations and mandates that anyone entering a Ford facility wear a face mask.
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Photos: Ford U.S. manufacturing back underway this week
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.