Hero MotoCorp resumes operations, shares SOP with employees, dealers and vendors to ensure safety

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, is rapidly gearing up to commence operations, as per the guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the government of India. The operations are set to resume after a period of almost 43 days, when the company halted operations across its manufacturing facilities and made WFH mandatory for all its offices from March 22, 2020.

The decision by Hero MotoCorp comes in the wake of the relaxations put in place by the government on the countrywide lockdown and the necessary permissions granted by the local authorities. As part of its plans, the company says it will commence operations in a graded manner at three of its manufacturing plants – Gurgaon and Dharuhera (both in Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and additionally the Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana in Rajasthan. These manufacturing plants reopen from today and production at these facilities will commence from Wednesday.

The company’s restart Manual says that only the essential staff will come to work at all the other facilities and corporate offices, observing social distancing and all prescribed safety measures. The remaining employees across all locations in India will continue to Work from Home (WFH) till further notice.

Hero MotoCorp’s other manufacturing plants have also obtained the necessary permissions to reopen and these will commence operations after most of the supply chain partners of the company get the permissions to operate. In addition, the OEM’s R&D facility – the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) – has also received the necessary permission to reopen and will resume functioning soon.

The two-wheeler maker says that keeping employee well-being and safety at the core of restarting operations, a formal restart manual has been prepared and shared with all employees through email and webinars and its adherence has been made mandatory until full normalcy is restored.

Few key guidelines of the restart manual for employees include –

• Mandatory self-declaration of good health before joining and daily updates through Aarogya Setu and Hero App wherever applicable.
• Wearing of face-masks, face shield, digital attendance through Hero App, regular sanitization of personal items, work-stations and maintaining social distancing.
• No domestic or international travel, no celebratory or business gatherings.
• No visitors allowed to visit Company premises, neither are employees allowed to visit vendor or dealer premises.
• Thorough sanitization of all workplaces regularly, sanitization of buses, shuttles and other official vehicles after each trip.
• Mandatory WFH for: Employees above the age of 60; any employee with critical medical conditions and pregnant women.

Hero MotoCorp says that with the easing of restrictions in several parts of the country, most of the its extensive customer touch-points, including dealerships, workshops and the secondary network, are expected to open gradually from today onwards. A business restart manual has also been shared with all the dealer partners and they will restart operations as per the government guidelines, after obtaining the necessary permissions from the local authorities.

Supporting State’s and central government to fight Covid-19 pandemic
In the month of April, there were no vehicles manufactured and dispatched to dealers. During this time, Hero MotoCorp - along with other Hero Group companies - has been engaged in a host of social welfare work, setting aside a corpus of Rs 100 crore for the relief efforts towards Covid-19, including a contribution of Rs 50 crore to the PM-Cares fund.

In addition to donating over 2,000 motorcycles to authorities, the company has also been distributing meals, manufacturing and distributing sanitizers, face-masks, and developing engineering solutions for public safety. The company continues to expand the scope of these initiatives.

Hero MotoCorp has also specially developed two-wheeler first responder vehicles and the production of 60 such vehicles will start this week. These vehicles will be distributed to the local authorities in the remote and inaccessible areas across the country.

Dr Pawan Munjal: With meticulous planning and enthusiasm, we are set to recommence operations. I am optimistic that business and the economy will begin the trajectory of its gradual recovery from here.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Pawan Munjal, chairman, Hero MotoCorp said: “The health, safety and overall well-being of everyone in our large ecosystem has been the top priority for us at Hero MotoCorp. From the early onset of Covid-19, we have been proactive in our Business Continuity plan and this has helped us during the much-needed nationwide lockdown. It was our preemptive preparation that has kept us in good stead during these past 40 days. We are now ready to hit the ground sprinting as we commence the re-opening of our facilities. The wellbeing of the citizens continues to be our focus and the running of our economic engines is crucial to ensure their health and prosperity. With meticulous planning and enthusiasm, we are set to recommence operations. I am optimistic that business and the economy will begin the trajectory of its gradual recovery from here.”

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