Enterprises in Shanghai Lingang new area resume production amid epidemic control
By
Xie Weiqun, People’s Daily
Machines
at Tesla’s gigafactory in Lingang new area of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone
started humming again on Feb.10, after silence in the previous half a month
amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Before
entering the factory every morning, nearly 2,000 employees of the carmaker who
arrive by shuttle buses or private cars must have their body temperatures
checked.
The
gigafactory which plans to build 500,000 Tesla models each year is a miracle in
the automobile industry, as it was built in only some 10 months.
On
Jan. 7, the factory delivered its first batch of Model 3 sedans. According to
an employee at a Tesla Store in China, customers will have to wait for months
before their orders are delivered.
However,
the American automotive company had to postpone its date of production
resumption which was scheduled at Jan. 31 because of the epidemic, despite its
plan of capacity expansion and quicker delivery of products.
Epidemic
prevention remains vital while the resumption of work is also urgent. Pledging
to help enterprises overcome difficulties, the Lingang area administrative
committee has sent its employees to enterprises above designated size to help
the latter enhance epidemic prevention and guarantee smooth resumption of work.
Sun
Xiaohe is a staff member of the high-tech industry and scientific and
technological innovation department of the Lingang new area administrative
committee. After being appointed as a coordinator for Tesla on Feb.5, Sun
immediately got in touch with the company and worked for epidemic control and
risk prevention plans.
“Tesla
has taken a slew of measures to prevent and control the epidemic. For instance,
it has placed disinfection cabinets every 200 meters and separated employees at
factory cafeterias. Besides, it also prohibits the gatherings of three
employees and above during off hours,” Sun said.
However,
there were still problems that couldn’t be solved by enterprises alone, such as
the huge demand for masks and thermometers of the factory when it resumed work.
Thanks to the assistance offered by the management committee, 10,000 pieces of
masks and two infrared thermometers were allocated to Tesla before it resumed
production.
What’s
more, Tesla was also facing the severe challenge of guaranteeing accommodation
safety for its employees who come from different parts of the country. Most of
them live in rented houses, and some with their roommates. Such problem was
also bothering other enterprises in the new era, posing risks for personnel
management.
To
solve it, the management committee unveiled 16 guidelines to control epidemic
and support enterprises’ development. Besides, the committee also requisitioned
5 apartment buildings that have not yet been put into use. Over 100 employees
who used to share apartments and 500 newly-recruited employees of Tesla have
moved into the buildings.
Tesla’s
resumption of work was followed by its upstream and downstream enterprises,
which has reassured many who had placed orders for Tesla models.
So
far, about 800 enterprises in the Lingang new area have gradually restarted
production, and 77 out of the 78 enterprises with a value of over 100 million
yuan ($14.23 million) have set their engines rolling. The implementation of key
investment projects has also been accelerated. On Feb. 13 alone, 12 such
projects were inked, with total investment of more than 20 billion yuan.
The
aerial photo taken on Dec. 7, 2019 shows Model 3 sedans parked at the
gigafactory of Tesla in the Lingang new area in Shanghai. Photo by People’s
Daily Online
Enterprises in Shanghai Lingang new area resume production amid epidemic control
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