Bentley extends its COVID-19 safety measures

Bentley Motors has welcomed a return to production following an extended winter shutdown and a comprehensive review and extension of its stringent COVID-19 health and safety measures. In parallel, Bentley's critical role of providing support to the local community continues with colleagues requested to help with the vaccine deployment within Cheshire and local care programmes plus the donation of laptops to schools.

To enable a safe return for its 1,800-strong manufacturing workforce, Bentley has increased its rapid antigen testing programme four-fold to ensure all colleagues returning to site are tested and COVID-safe before full production resumes.

This means administering 1,800 tests within a two-day period, taking the total number of antigen tests provided by Bentley to nearly 15,000 since May of last year. As a mark of the success of Bentley's testing programme, there have been no proven cases of on-site transmission yet recorded.

But to be sure its Crewe site is as safe as it can be, Bentley has also sought external validation at the beginning of this year from the Imperial College London and also from independent occupational health specialists, Optima Health.

They confirmed that Bentley's 250 comprehensive and wide-ranging hygiene and social distancing measures introduced last year will remain in order to maximise the safety of colleagues on the production floor. This includes compulsory face masks on site, enhanced cleaning routines and one-way movement and traffic flows throughout.

Furthermore, a new site risk assessment app for all colleagues, designed, developed and deployed by Bentley has been launched. This encourages extra vigilance especially in light of new COVID variants, details the thorough safety measures, including home self-assessment before the working day starts, and acts as a two-way dialogue between colleagues and health and safety representatives to heighten wellbeing.