December 2019, no one would have thought that the small outbreak in Wuhan would spread the way it did. Flu-like symptoms turned to hospitalizations, small infection groups turned into whole cities ravaged by the virus. The world completely changed within a few months; schools went online, businesses shut their doors, borders closed shut. We were left with an unstable and unrecognizable future, hiding away in our homes to stay safe. Many industries suffered greatly; the tourism sector dwindled due to border closures, restaurants closed for months, retail inventory sat in stores until malls could open again. As the pandemic raged on, many industries tried to revamp their procedures to try and cope. Some failed but others, thrived; coming out as COVID Heroes.
The transportation industry is essential to most industries so the pressure for them to bounce back was greater than most. Transportation in any sense, is very labour driven, in person job. There were very few procedures in place to accommodate to needing to have people out of the office to lessen the spread of COVID-19. Although the world still needed their goods, the trucking industry almost came to a halt with US-Canada bound border crossing dropping by 36% in April 2020. Transportation companies around the country and world knew they had to figure out how to transport goods efficiently while staying safe.
With the importance of transportation became a hot topic, more and more potential students flocked to Musket Transport’s sister school, CHET, to start their driver training. Many recognized the job opportunities as other sectors were laying off employees. To accommodate all the new students, CHET implemented both online and in person classes during both the day and night. CHET’s classes had only been previously available at night but the influx of students showed the need to create additional times. Working tireless off the back of 3 employees, CHET classes were fully equipped with temperature readings and an extensive health declaration for them to complete upon entry into the facility. Their hard work prevailed in both the student’s abilities as well as their health. There was not a single positive COVID test among any of the CHET students. Because of the smaller class sizes, students were given the unique opportunity to yard time practicing which resulted in many students passing their road tests on their first try. A feat that grew exponentially with the extra time and experience these COVID students were provided.
As an essential service, Musket Transport knew that the community needed them to be functioning as close to full capacity as possible. Aside from following the guidelines laid out by the government, Musket went above and beyond to work alongside their employees to create a safe workplace and to keep goods moving. When working from home became essential to abide by the 6 feet rules, Musket Transport created technology to support their processing systems and updated employee technology to create a seamless transition into working from. Those working within operations were all mostly able to perform their job functions easily and efficiently within their homes. Others that needed to work on site, Musket Transport provided temperature checks daily and ample space as to not come in direct contact with others. These procedures have helped stop any outbreaks despite the GTA being a COVID hotspot throughout most of the pandemic. Musket Transport drivers worked hard and faired the uncertain public to transport essential goods such as medical supplies, PPE, and food to the surrounding areas; making sure all who live within the area were taken care of. For their hard work, the Mayor of Mississauga, Bonnie Crombie, honoured Musket Transport with the COVID Hero certificate to recognize their impact on helping the community through COVID.
As we start to come out the other side, we are seeing some new advances in the trucking industry that may not have been possible without the push of the looming pandemic. More and more companies are moving to paperless and electronic processes which aides in lowering the industries large carbon footprint. The unemployment rate of drivers even decreased from 12% to 6.3%! Deliveries are becoming more and more contactless which decreases the chance of spreading viruses of any kind as well as keeps drivers safer from public interactions. Companies like Musket Transport and CHET have stepped up to the plate to be the COVD Heroes their community needed them to be. From the wise words of CHET’s operational manager, Philip Fletcher, “Lesson learned, one pandemic may look like a loss to most people, but if you look in the right places, there is a silver lining waiting for you.”