WJI September 2020 Feature Sample

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2020

Industry

Champions

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2020

Industry

Twice now (2017 and 2019), WJI has presented the wire and cable industry’s “Rising Hotshots,” brief profiles of talented industry professionals aged 40 or under who were deemed worthy of recognition. This year, the feature was to return, with the subject being plant managers, but as the Covid-19 story began to become more dramatic and unsettling, it felt more appropriate to instead recognize staffers who were part of the response to Covid-19.

This section presents a feel for what the industry response entailed. It is not a traditional story of heroics, battling blazes or floods, but the need to respond to an insidious threat—one that was both invisible and deadly, and real.

The individuals presented here were nominated by their companies for doing what needed to be done. The two-fold focus—employee safety and maintaining production—often required working with outside sources. Nobody started out with a rule book to follow. Generating a game plan meant understanding the threat, determining what the biggest safety challenges were and devising a plan to solve them. And, last but not least, making sure the workforce understood the goals and was part of the solution. Collectively, many hours were logged.

If most of the profile accounts seem to have a common theme, it’s because the setting and challenges were largely the same. Yet each experience was unique. What worked best for one plant was not necessarily going to work for another. What follows represents a slice of the industry response. It likely will seem familiar to most readers, because in a way, it is every company’s story. Indeed, this section could have hundreds of such entries. It is not surprising that the staffers presented here rose to the challenge, yet they are inspiring. The stuff of champions.

Champions

HR director’s contributions extended beyond the company

Cindy Olson

Corporate Vice President of Human Resources Champlain Cable Years with company: 1

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Per the company nomination: Cindy has been a key contributor to our Covid-19 response and management plan. From the start of this pandemic, she monitored all state and federal guidelines while quickly implementing policy and procedures for all Champlain locations.

Cindy’s strong leadership was a standout. In early March, we began holding daily meetings to discuss what needed to be done. We mandated masks and encouraged working from home before the state of Vermont did, and she shared our practices with other local business and state agencies seeking direction. Her commitment and quick action led to a promotion from HR Director of our Vermont plant to Corporate Vice President of Human Resources for all plant locations. Congratulations Cindy, job well done!

“This experience certainly highlighted the reasons that teamwork is important. We, as a team, came together quickly to begin putting into place procedures to protect our employees. This was not a one-person or two-person show. It was a group effort. Our employees have been incredibly understanding and compliant with new protocols we have put in place as we’ve maneuvered these unprecedented work conditions.

They deserve a lot of credit here too.” Cindy Olson.

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INDUSTRY CHAMPIONS

The work continued: day after day after day Per the company nomination: Knock on wood! To date, Comtran has been Covid-19 free. The plant has been 100% operational and has not missed a shift, due in large part to Brad’s years of trust with our team.

Not only has the plant not missed a beat, Brad did not miss a day the first seven months of 2020. Against recommendations, Brad did not accept the request to work from home: he was in the plant each and every day. Like most small companies, we lacked a rigorous response plan for a pandemic like Covid-19. As the world initially panicked, he suggested that we poll operators on what they thought would keep them safe. That was weeks before CDC recommendations and months before the Governor’s orders. Brad nudged us to act early with masks, gloves, temp scanning and distancing well before the masses made the rush. We were able to secure PPE before the supply chain scarcity. That early and proactive involvement with associates made the transition considerably more comfortable, as did Brad’s method of daily walking and gauging.

“Trust your team! Covid-19 has proven to Comtran that our team comes first. We can trust that the team members are trustworthy, they don’t want to catch Covid-19, they don’t want to spread it. We intend to keep each other safe, and to satisfy orders!” Bradley Exoo.

Bradley Exoo

Human Relations Manager Comtran Cable Years with company: 31

It takes multiple departments to protect a workforce Per the company nomination: Helping to control the spread of Covid-19 and providing the highest level of protection for all employees requires a team effort. While this team included employees from all departments, the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) team was instrumental in developing and executing the control plan. From benchmarking with other businesses in the community, to distributing face coverings to employees, the EHS team took an active role. EHS Specialist Mayra Servin led the preventative practices across our campus. She ensured that all disinfectants used were compliant with CDC guidelines and created instructional handouts for employees to follow while cleaning their individual workstations. Mayra’s work, coupled with the efforts of the Learning and Development, Company Services and HR teams, provided the confidence and ability for operations to continue safely.

“Our response to this pandemic was a total team effort. I never envisioned that I’d be helping to implement protective measures to ensure the health of our employees from something like this. It was so rewarding to see all the different departments across the company work together to protect our employees. I’m proud to work for a company that truly cares about its employees and will take whatever measures are necessary to keep them safe.” Mayra Servin.

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Mayra Servin EHS Specialist

Encore Wire Years with company: 2

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