PMI Annual Report Explores 5 Ways Pandemic Year Transformed Industry

May 14, 2021

Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) released the 2021 PMI Annual Report.

Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) released the 2021 PMI Annual Report, which details the industry and explores how the pandemic year transformed five aspects of plumbing manufacturing: workplace safety, remote working, product innovation, supply chain, and diversity and inclusion.

  • Workplace safety
    • To keep workers safe, LIXIL implemented a policy to quarantine any employee exposed to potential COVID-19 infection from the workplace for 14 days, with full pay. Because of the shortage of COVID-19 testing, LIXIL chooses not to wait for a positive test, instead quarantining individuals who exhibit symptoms or who are found via contact tracking to be near others who test positive.
  • Remote work
    • Kohler Co. observed many positive consequences of shifting into remote work.
  • Product innovation
    • While causing challenges on production lines and causing a shift to remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities for the plumbing manufacturing industry to address a newfound concern many people now have: the spread of infectious viruses. This change in public awareness has caused a spike in the sales of touchless plumbing products.
  • Supply chain
    • Rapid and unexpected developments caused by the pandemic have forced companies to monitor their supply chains continuously. 
  • Diversity and inclusion
    • As race and social justice issues took center stage after the murder of George Floyd, PMI member UL stepped up its diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts to support its colleagues. UL’s D&I team worked with the corporate sustainability group to establish a matching program for racial justice to impact the Black community overall.

The report is prefaced by a letter from PMI Board of Directors President Todd Teter from House of Rohl and PMI Immediate Past President Joel Smith from Kohler Co. Read the entire report here: https://www.safeplumbing.org/communications/pmi-annual-report-2021.

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