Swarnangka of TechNova shares his insights from Kerala deluge for the print industry

While the inevitable cannot be averted, there is always a way to find out if the zone where your business operates from is a flood-risk area. A word with your insurance agent will be beneficial and thereby help you pre-empt, and invest in safety measures suitably.

The aftermath of a natural disaster can sometimes be as immense, disturbing and stressful, if not more, as the actual disaster itself. Getting labour and talent to rebuild and fix becomes a critical challenge. At such times, companies that supply labour and equipment to repair and rehabilitate are quite handy. A list of these firms should be something all businesses must keep. 

It should be noted that re-entering a premise soon after a calamity can be very dangerous for one’s health. Even if you are careful about the visible threats like serpents and insects, it’s the invisible that’s of much concern. Since every workplace has pantries and bathrooms, waterworks are an important part of a business. When flooding disrupts these pipelines, there is naturally contamination of water which can lead to a host of health issues and infections, even fatal ones. Depending on the kind of damage control and repair, it is always advisable to be very careful about using or consuming any kind of water on the premises until the pipelines are fixed.

The TechNova team has been continuously visiting the affected plants in Kerala, working through weekends and putting in every little effort to ensure each customer’s unique challenges are addressed. We feel it requires not only free services and cost-effective supplies, which we, like every other vendor would provide but also a whole new way to realise and respond to the challenges. For example, the cleaning of machine surfaces is a major pain point that we foresaw and immediately designed a cleaning solution, specifically for Kerala.

Beyond assessing the insurance, maintaining and updating your inventory on a real-time basis is a boon during difficult times. It helps one estimate exactly how much one should spend on the business. When a flood strikes, there is always a possibility that some equipment may be unaffected and some may be partially affected along with the spares and raw materials. An updated inventory can be quite useful in gauging the extent of the damage.

It is essential to have a disaster plan in place, should there be a possibility of flooding during the monsoon. A simple way to create this plan is to have an actual map that clearly indicates where the service shut-off points such as fuse boxes and stopcocks, and protective materials like sandbags are located.

The electricity supply is a crucial part of any business and to keep the workplace safe in the event of a flood, it is essential to raise fuse boxes, electrical plug points and wires at a height of 1.5 metres or further up, above the floor level. Valuable electronic items are best stocked away safely on higher shelves when not in use.

Doors and exits may appear secure when it comes to keeping off dust and impurities but they cannot do the same for water that can seep in through the tiniest of cracks and ruin equipment worth a fortune. It is a good practice to secure the crevices indoors and also drainpipes with leak-proof materials to ensure that the floodwater does not make it to the workstation.

Protecting a business is everyone’s responsibility as much as building it is. A good way to start could be to educate every member at the workplace to follow small safety steps like turning off the gas and electricity supplies when not in use. They can also be instructed on how to keep data safe from physical damage. This could involve moving portable equipment such as computer drives to a higher and safer level. TechNova has been actively promoting safety training seminars across the country with evangelistic zest as we found it a latent need of the industry.

The aftermath of a natural disaster can sometimes be as immense, disturbing and stressful, if not more, as the actual disaster itself. At such times, your first need may well be the companies that supply labour and equipment to repair and rehabilitate affected locations and keeping the contacts handy as a list may help rev up the efforts instantly.

While choosing an insurance package, minutely deconstruct the coverage plan. If something is not included in the standard, it makes all the more sense to approach the insurance company collectively as an industry and detail the need for inclusion.  Depending on the level of risk that an industry could be vulnerable to, the right kind of insurance goes a long way in recovering losses.

A disaster can upset a lot more than just property and equipment. What gets affected is often morale. However, what is hugely inspiring to see amidst the Kerala deluge is an unwavering resolve of the print fraternity to rebound and reach out.

TechNova is, in various ways, deeply but silently involved in the rebuilding of the Kerala Print Fraternity. We are humbled by the way our customers have allowed us to be by their side in these difficult times and it is, at the moment, our first mission as a company, to mobilise all efforts. We take this as an opportunity to create a new Kerala.

Kerala – Our regional manager Binu Punnen will do everything possible to help and can be reached on 9847342011.