Change of shift at a safe distance

More than 11,000 ERGO employees in Germany only are currently working mobile from home. However, to keep our business going, some staff have to go into the office – at the ERGO printing centre in Düsseldorf for example.

250 million printed items and about 50 million printed mailings per year: the ERGO printing centre in Düsseldorf is still operating flat out. However, the coronavirus has affected the daily routine there too.

Disinfection for changes of shift

Midday at ERGO-Platz 1. On the first floor, barely 100 metres from the canteen, it’s time to change shifts at the printing centre. The early shift has ended – eight colleagues leave the printing centre via thick steel doors. Unlike in regular times, they don’t meet colleagues coming for the midday shift on their way out.

A vacuum caused by the coronavirus. For two weeks now, non-stop operation has been interrupted by a half-hour breathing space, which is used to disinfect machinery and get everything ready for the eight colleagues who will start their shift in 30 minutes. “We in-roduced the break because of the coronavirus to keep the shifts physically separate and minimise the risk of infection”, explains Udo Schäfer.

No shutdown at the printing centre

The top priority is to keep the machinery at the printing centre working. Even in these coronavirus times, it’s business as usual in most areas. It’s clear from the noise levels that there is no sign of a shutdown. “It actually feels like there’s more going on here,” says Udo Schäfer. However, Udo has heard from colleagues that the company is currently receiving less physical mail than usual. “So maybe there’s a time lag and we’ll also be sending fewer letters to customers in a couple of weeks”, he adds.

Until then, the printing centre will be working flat out – within the coronavirus rules. “Continuous disinfection is obligatory, and we take great care to ensure that the number of people in the break room does not exceed the recommendations of the medical experts”, concludes Schäfer.

By Willi Lünstroth