In Denmark – the home of Trackunit – schools are closed, while large gatherings have been banned and all but the most critical workers asked to work from home if they possibly can. There are similar stories in countries throughout Europe and across the globe as the number of people being contaminated by the virus continues to escalate at a worrying rate.

You’ve probably read the stories and personally experienced a shying away from handshakes and hugs when greeting friends and colleagues. At the same time, business seems to be grinding to halt, markets are falling and companies are expressing concern about cash flow and their staff as extraordinary circumstances are close to a crisis.

At Trackunit, we’re still hard at work

Despite the current environment, for us it’s business as usual. Even before the Danish government insisted upon it, we tested the feasibility of keeping Trackunit operating at full strength from the homes of its workforce. Now, even with emergency measures in place, Trackunit customer services is providing uninterrupted support to ensure that any sales or technical questions are answered swiftly and efficiently.

Likewise, in our production facilities and throughout our supply chain, it’s all systems go. We’re maintaining supplies of all hardware products together with spare parts availability; deliveries are going ahead as scheduled. As a management team, we’re tracking developments and ensuring that to the best of our abilities, our customers and employees are being taken care of.

Is All Downtime a Bad Thing?

In our personal lives, downtime is something we value. We use it to recover and recharge our batteries, refresh ourselves intellectually and physically, de-stress, pursue our interests. In fact, at home downtime is vital to our wellbeing.

Until fairly recently, manufacturing industry organized downtime for corrective maintenance usually during the summer for two – four weeks. This was time set aside as part of a wider factory shut down whilst workers took a holiday. Whole countries synchronized this period so that plant could be updated, repaired or restored and new systems deployed.

While the decisions about improvements were being physically deployed, the workforce took its own downtime away from the pressures of the everyday working environment. It does make me wonder whether this closing off of industry was actually beneficial, allowing the business to be thought about productively during an unproductive period.

Making the Most of Your Downtime During Coronavirus

This unanticipated period of downtime caused by COVID-19 is mostly unwelcome. But it could be usefully disruptive, forcing us to do things differently, perhaps enabling us to re-wire our synapses a little. Who knows how this may benefit all businesses moving forward?

One thing is for sure, markets will recover as coronavirus runs its course and the number being infected falls. We need to be ready for this upturn.

To help you make the most of this enforced downtime and prepare for the recovery, we’d like to tell you about some of the resources we have at Trackunit. Firstly, if you’re not already familiar with the efficiencies which data and tracking could deliver to the way you manage your fleet of construction equipment, why not book an online demo or a trial sign-up?

If you’re already a Trackunit user, take advantage of this hiatus to learn more about the features available to you by signing up for Trackunit Professional Training classes. The busyness of construction sites means that training is frequently postponed. Right now is a perfect opportunity to become familiar with the manual whilst things are working, rather than waiting for when they’re not working (and you’re pressed for time).

Whether you’re a customer or potential customer, there’s a wealth of thought leadership materials as well as practical solutions and user testimonials available to you in our Eliminate Downtime newsletters. You can download these from the website by clicking this link, and sign up for future editions and our Downtime events on the same page.

Whatever the coming weeks or months hold for us all as COVID-19 spreads, I wish you and those close to you all the very best. It is downtime, but not downtime as we know it. Let’s try and get as much out of this time as we can, and come out stronger on the other side.