Automotive

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on the global automotive economy. It is currently estimated that light vehicle production will fall 20% in 2020, though this forecast could change depending on when global lockdown restrictions are eased and whether further lockdowns are deemed necessary by Governments around the world.

In anticipation of lockdown restrictions being gradually lifted, the automotive sector will face a number of challenges as it seeks to reopen and rebuild. These are likely to include getting the workforce back to work safely, getting facilities post-COVID-19-ready, and securing resilient and robust supply chains. Organizations will also be keen to increase resilience of their operations as they move forward through the recovery phase and beyond.

To support the rebooting of the automotive sector and your journey to resilience in these challenging conditions, we highlight below a selection of industry-relevant solutions and services.

Available on the IATF global oversight website, the IATF issued a communiqué in April announcing global waivers and measures in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Rev. 3 of this document is currently being drafted and will provide clarity on a new initiative, referred to as IATF Monitoring Events, which are conducted remotely, and may apply to IATF certified organizations in certain circumstances.

Whilst the IATF does not currently permit remote audits, it may be possible to retain certification of your other Management Systems; for example, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management, ISO 14001 Environmental Management, ISO 50001 Energy Management, ISO / IEC 27001 Information Security Management, and others, via remote audits.

BSI remote audits enable us to continue to deliver your audit program how and when you need it. The same trusted experts can engage your team members wherever they are based and enhance your audit using immersive technologies.

A remote audit is carried out in the same way as an on-site audit, but the auditor engages with you via technology. It can still cover document and record review, tours of your premises, interviews with workers and presentation of findings by using a range of technology platforms.

As manufacturers gear up to reopen their plants, the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce will be front of mind. There are a number of measures that can be taken to help minimize the risk of infection and support wellbeing, including health and safety management, workplace hygiene and the implementation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management is designed to reduce the risks of work-related ill-health (and injury) and to provide safe and healthy work environments. It provides good practice in health and safety risk management, which, if implemented correctly, will help organizations protect their workers.

In addition to navigating a new Health and Safety landscape, the automotive sector is now also navigating a range of hygiene challenges. Organizations must adapt quickly, adopt new working practices and meet new regulations whilst ensuring they are trusted to protect people and provide a healthy and safe environment for the benefit of workers and customers alike. Our new BSI Hygienic Premises and Workplace Hygiene programmes address these challenges. And the BSI hygiene certification schemes enable certified organizations to apply the BSI Mark of Trust “Kitemark” certification to their premises and facilities, be it showrooms, garages or manufacturing sites, to build trust with employees, the general public or other visitors entering your site.

As lockdown restrictions begin to ease for the manufacturing sector, employers are asking how they can protect their employees in workplaces where guidelines on social distancing are difficult to achieve. BSI’s guide to masks and face coverings for use in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic summarizes the main characteristics of the four most common categories of mask and face coverings available.

We are currently offering complimentary access to the COVID-19 section of our Supply Chain Risk Exposure Evaluation Network (SCREEN) tool. This powerful online tool will empower businesses to be more resilient through the pandemic

SCREEN is a web-based, comprehensive global supply chain intelligence system available by subscription, which includes valuable information for companies to anticipate, quickly respond to, and avoid supply chain disruptions.

The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the current fragility of global supply chains, wherein the failure of one link in the chain has the potential to cause extensive disruptions throughout. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 outbreak about how to better mitigate disease spread and absorb delays to manufacturing and global shipping will shape how organizations and supply chains are effectively able to respond to other disruptions in the future.

Reports are constantly monitored and updated for accuracy by BSI’s intelligence team, providing users with the confidence that the information found within SCREEN is the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available.

To build your resilience, understanding and prioritizing the risks to your business is essential. The international standard for business continuity provides a framework to help. ISO 22301 specifies the requirements for a management system to protect against, reduce the likelihood of, and help ensure you’re best placed to recover from disruptive incidents.

Successful certification to ISO 22301 helps; identify and manage current and future threats to your business, take a proactive approach to minimizing the impact of incidents, keep critical functions up and running during times of crises, minimize downtime during incidents and improve recovery time, and demonstrate resilience to customers and suppliers.

Keeping your information secure and IT systems and networks operating effectively during a disruption, such as the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), can be a challenge.

At a time where remote working is often required to enable your organization to operate at acceptable service levels, the risk to information security can increase. People may be using home networks, opting for local storage if connections are slow and for many this is a whole new working style.

This means information security policies and awareness training has never been more important. And that’s where standards may help; by offering best practice and practical guidance for businesses and individuals to build their resilience.

Including, ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management, BSI’s range of information and cybersecurity solutions could help minimize disruption now and in the future.

To help overcome travel restrictions, until 3 July BSI training courses are now available online via our interactive live tutor-led classrooms with Connected Learning Live, including IATF and core tools training.

Our world-class learning programmes are delivered to you through an engaging and interactive experience, regardless of your location. The same high-quality training course is led by an expert BSI tutor – delivered online to your desktop wherever you're located. You'll have the same activities and interactions.

We continue to deliver services to test and certify products to help ensure they are safe, secure and trusted. Our laboratories remain open with measures in place to help ensure the safety of our staff.