I handle projects for a global Automotive OEM. The COVID-19 situation prompted the Michigan Government to announce a statewide lockdown and our customer decided that all engineers should start WFH from March 23, 2020.
We swung into action and worked with the customer to enable VPN connectivity for all associates, while following a detailed process mandated by our customer.
While we waited for the VPN access, our engineers went above and beyond their call of duty. They drove to the customer’s premises and stayed in the car near the building so they could use their laptops and connect to customer’s network. Thus, they were able to perform code sync and return home to work. In Michigan, despite a lockdown, commuting was allowed hence we did not violate any provisions of the lockdown.
The nature of our work involves the use of multiple versions of hardware boards/clusters, which in the ordinary course would be time-shared, thus the lockdown required a workaround. We put in place a mechanism that allowed one engineer to access the hardware and complete the job. Then, the engineer would drive to their colleague’s home and pass on the board.
I am delighted and thankful to all my team members for their spirit during this tough time.
