Personal Instead of Virtual Contact

Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, Mr. Schiffhauer!

You’re very welcome. I actually received an inquiry from WDR television recently. They asked me to take part in a piece about hiking, completely unrelated to my work – but I declined. I do enjoy hiking but I don’t really care for so much personal attention. But I am happy to report from Remscheid to my Bauerfeind colleagues all over the world.

You had just started as the Site Manager a few weeks earlier when Remscheid became one of the first areas with a very high incidence rate in spring 2020 – also compared with Zeulenroda and Gera. How did you cope at the time?

It was a turbulent time that required a lot of organizing. First, we implemented the hygiene rules as quickly as possible. From April to June, we switched to reduced working hours. That wasn’t something we had experienced before so it took some adjusting. We got through the summer almost without any infections, but from September, several colleagues fell ill unfortunately.

What does that mean for you as the site manager?

On the one hand, it’s my responsibility to make sure we’re able to deliver as usual. If several colleagues from one department have to self-isolate, for example, it’s a challenge to ensure that with a minimum number of staff, this doesn’t create bottlenecks for other departments. On the other hand, I want to be there for my colleagues with an open ear and, most of all, motivate them in this difficult situation.

How is that currently working for you?

I do my best but it’s really tough that I cannot have as much personal contact with my colleagues – simply walking through the manufacturing hall, having a chat and giving someone a pat on the back when something has worked well. Of course, this is the type of contact we’re trying to minimize at the moment. And that’s hard but necessary unfortunately. That’s why we introduced a traffic light system in the manufacturing department.

What does this traffic light system control?

It controls our internal COVID-19 arrangements, depending on what’s happening with infections in the city and our site, of course. Zeulenroda and Gera have also implemented it. If as many colleagues as possible now also make use of the offered testing and vaccinations, I’m confident that we’ll get through the next months without too many problems.

We feel the same way and wish you all the best!

Thank you very much. I’d just like to add one last thing: thank you so much to the team in Remscheid! We’ve done so much together to cope with this situation as best we could – and we will continue to do so.