What Must We Do to Reopen the Economy?

With factories shuttered and workers sitting at home as the Covid-19 virus spreads, a return to normal may seem distant. But auto-parts supplier Lear Corp. wants businesses to get ready for that day, so it’s sharing a free guide on steps and best practices to take when it’s safe to resume operations.

Lear’s 51-page “Safe Work Playbook” outlines protocols ranging from advanced social-distancing practices to on-site health screening of workers, visitors, and contractors. It offers advice on setting up a “pandemic prevention team” to coordinate stricter operations and virus responses across a business.

Lear also recommends that plants and work sites be 100 percent disinfected and that training programs be set up for workers. The guidance is based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“This has been a difficult time for everyone, and re-establishing a workplace where employees feel comfortable performing their jobs safely is a multifaceted challenge,” Lear CEO Ray Scott writes in the manual’s cover letter. “It is our hope that by sharing this resource we can help [other] organizations accomplish the same goals.”

Several of the auto companies to which Lear supplies seats and electronics systems have announced plans to resume production, only to then announce delays. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said Monday it intends to progressively restart manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada beginning May 4. The company said previously that its North American plants would be closed through at least April 14.

Lear isn’t claiming to know all the answers in today’s fast-changing situation. That’s one reason behind one of the first things readers will see, front-and-center on Page 2 of its playbook: a legal disclaimer.

—With assistance from Gabrielle Coppola.

Copyright 2020 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.