SMART Preparedness for Apparel Manufactures for the New (Ab) Normal

Abstract

COVID -9 has caused a disruption which is unique. Even though it is a pandemic, it affecting the world at different times. When one part of the world is completely closed due to rising infections, the parts are going on as before. Of course the definition of ‘as before’ has also changed, it is now called ‘New Normal’. Normal because business is and has to go on as usual but the employees and staff of all organisations have to follow COVID prevention safety norms. That means that businesses have to adapt to the situation and follow new practices. Most labour intensive industries have floors swarming with workers, and in such cases, to keep a check on COVID safety protocols becomes a mammoth task. Despite awareness programmes, guidelines and manual surveillance, the chances of lapses are high. Technology can play an important role in such situations. The advance of technology is based on making it fit-in so that nobody even notices it and it becomes a part of everyday life. Even though COVID pandemic is a fairly recent phenomenon, technology companies are making solutions almost in real time to make work places safe. There are various levels of safety right from those entering a workplace to production floor layouts. There is technology available for biometric surveillance to keep health and safety officers in workplaces informed and also to keep those wearing the devices alert. Technology companies are already making soft wares for operating environments that have residual risks or require robust control measures to protect people from contracting the virus.

Keywords: COVID-19, Health & Safety, SMART technology, Labour, Apparel

JEL Classification: I15, J28, J81, O14