Facilities prepare to return to production next week
Honda delivered 10 Odyssey minivans to the city of Detroit Tuesday following a local project to specially outfit the minivans to transport people potentially infected with COVID-19, as well as healthcare workers.
A team of volunteers at Honda’s R&D center in Raymond, including senior engineers and fabrication experts, quickly conceived and designed a method to modify the U.S. Odyssey at the center, where it was originally developed.
After seeing news reports about similar specially equipped vehicles modified by Honda in Japan, officials from the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit approached Honda in the U.S. during mid-April about the possibility of acquiring vehicles for use in transporting local residents and healthcare workers to COVID-19 testing.
“As of today, the City of Detroit has tested over 20,000 residents and employees for COVID-19. Transportation is a critical component of ensuring every Detroiter has access to a test. We are very appreciative of Honda for choosing Detroit to deploy these newly modified vehicles,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.
To protect the health of the driver from the potential for droplet infection during transportation, the Honda Odysseys have been retrofitted with a plastic barrier installed behind the front seating area, as well as modifications to the ventilation system to maintain an air pressure differential between the front and rear seating areas
The team of Honda engineers and experts in Ohio took the project from initial concept to completion in less than two weeks. All material fabrication and installation, and adjustments to the software for the Odyssey’s ventilation system, was done entirely in-house.
“We’re very proud of the efforts made by Honda engineers in Ohio to quickly devise a plan and modify a small fleet of Honda Odyssey minivans to support the people of Detroit in the face of this unprecedented global pandemic,” said Rick Schostek, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. executive vice president. “This project is one of many initiatives being undertaken by Honda and our associates to support communities throughout the country during this very difficult time.”
“Several members of our team have family members or friends working in the medical field to battle COVID-19 or know people who have family members battling COVID-19 infection and this became a very personal challenge to help potential victims and their families,”said Mike Wiseman, senior director for Strategic and Materials Research of Honda R&D Americas, LLC, who led the project. “At Honda, we believe the purpose of technology is to help people and make their lives better and we were humbled to make this commitment to potentially help save lives.”
The Odyssey minivan modified in Japan is a smaller vehicle than the eight-seat U.S. version of the Honda Odyssey that was designed, developed and engineered in the U.S. and is made exclusively at a Honda plant in Lincoln, Ala.
Honda North America also reported Tuesday some of the procedures being put in place as local associates return to work next week.
While Honda resumed production at its powersports facility in South Carolina Monday, the company’s U.S. and Canadian auto plants will resume production during the week of May 11. The local facilities include the Marysville and East Liberty auto plants, the Performance Manufacturing Center at Marysville, Honda Transmission Mfg. at Russells Point and the Anna Engine Plant.
Additionally, all furloughed business operations staff outside of California resume work Monday, May 11.
Honda created a call center of Honda HR professionals to help associates navigate their benefits, income replacement opportunities and changes to 401(k) plan rules related to the CARES Act, representatives said.
Many Honda office associates are working remotely from home or place of residence. In-office activity is limited to essential activities. For those essential associates working in Honda facilities, the company is taking additional steps to meet health and safety guidelines and support social distancing.
These measures may vary by location, but include: process adjustments to reduce associate interaction; temperature checks upon arrival at Honda facilities; requiring and providing face coverings at all facilities; staggering shift start times and lunch times to reduce congestion; changing seating layouts in the cafeterias and reducing capacity in all meeting rooms to reduce congestion; limiting physical gatherings and maintaining social distancing to the extent feasible; and adhering to the government recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting sites based on CDC guidelines.
A new temporary paid personal leave of absence program is available for associates who are impacted by COVID-19 circumstances and not eligible for remote work. This leave of up to 14-calendar days (10 business days) is for associates who qualify.