Oleh Mahani Ishak mahani@bh.com.my

Hantavirus adalah suatu penyakit yang disebabkan virus Hanta. Wabak pertama ini ditemui ketika Perang Korea antara 1950 dan 1953. Di Amerika pula, ia pernah dikesan pada 1993.

Virus RNA ini adalah virus zoonotik yang berasal daripada jangkitan dari roden mamalia seperti tikus.

Jangkitan ini menjadi kembali popular, selepas terdapat kes kematian lelaki dari warga China, pada 25 Mac lalu.

Ia sekali gus membimbangkan masyarakat sekiranya virus itu merebak ke luar negara China seperti pandemik COVID-19.

Setakat ini, kadar jangkitan tikus akibat Hantavirus ini adalah rendah dan kajian kecil sudah dijalankan beberapa kali di Malaysia seperti Pulau Pinang, Klang, Perlis dan Kelantan, iaitu membuat uji kaji ke atas yang mempunyai virus itu dalam badannya.

Misalnya, Kajian Hamdan et al, pada 2017 dalam jurnal Tropical Life Sciences Research di Sarawak, menunjukkan jumlah roden terinfeksi virus ini masih kecil.

Bagaimanapun, Malaysia tetap perlu berjaga-jaga untuk mengelakkan wabak yang besar. Sementara Zana et al. pada tahun lalu, di dalam jurnal International Journal of Infectious Diseases, menunjukkan evolusi virus, di mana virus itu juga dikesan dalam tisu paru-paru kelawar.

Dijangka terdapat sekitar 150,000 kes setiap tahun dan separuh daripadanya berlaku di China.

Beberapa kes berlaku secara kecil, akibat virus ini di beberapa negara seperti India, Afrika, Asia Timur tetapi kematian ini tidak dilaporkan.

Tempoh inkubasi penyakit adalah satu hingga lima minggu. Sehingga kini, masih tiada rawatan khas atau vaksin yang ada untuk penyakit ini.

Kenali virus Hanta

Pakar Perubatan Kesihatan Komuniti, Fakulti Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, berkata virus ini berasal daripada genus Hantavirus, dari keluarga Bunyaviridae. Virus ini merebak terutamanya dari tikus (haiwan reservoir juga dikenali sebagai hos). Ia boleh mengakibatkan kadar kematian yang tinggi hampir 35 peratus dan kadar kematian adalah lebih tinggi dalam kalangan golongan lebih berusia.

Katanya, virus ini mengakibatkan gejala ringan seperti demam, sakit badan dan keletihan umum.

“Sehingga ke manifestasi parah iaitu pendarahan teruk dengan kegagalan buah pinggang dan kesukaran bernafas jika jangkitan ke paru-paru terjadi.

“Dua kesan utama iaitu demam berdarah dengan kegagalan buah pinggang (Haemorrhagic Fever With Renal Syndrome) yang berlaku di Russia, China, Korea, dan Eropah Barat.

“Jenis kedua ialah jangkitan ke paru-paru (Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome) dan berlaku di Amerika (negara seperti Kanada, Amerika, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama).

“Cara merebaknya ialah melalui inhalasi aerosol tercemar hasil kencing, najis tikus, memakan daging tikus (negara-negara tertentu masih memakan tikus), dan jika digigit tikus.

“Kencing dan najis tikus terinfeksi berbahaya jika tercemar ke makanan, minuman, air mandi harian, tempat air bertakung dan sebagainya.

“Ini lebih mudah berlaku jika terdapat luka pada manusia yang berhubung dengan najis atau air kencing tikus itu,” katanya.

Perbezaan dengan Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Beliau menjelaskan, punca jangkitan penyakit COVID-19 adalah berasal dari kelawar, manakala Hantavirus dari tikus terinfeksi.

Katanya, sehingga kini tiada rawatan atau vaksin khas, di mana kaedah rawatannya adalah berdasarkan gejala penyakit, sama seperti COVID-19.

“Cara rebakan adalah berbahaya, misalnya coronavirus boleh merebak melalui titisan air (droplets) yang terawang-awang di udara, merebak dari manusia ke manusia lain.

Juga melalui sentuhan langsung dengan permukaan tercemar virus seperti meja, pemegang pintu dan besi yang mana virus ini ditinggalkan. Ini menyebabkan COVID-19 dianggap lebih berbahaya dan sangat mudah merebak secara langsung dari individu ke individu yang lain,” katanya.

Cara virus Hanta merebak

Virus Hanta merebak melalui kontak langsung, aerosol tercemar dengan hasil najis, air liur, air kencing, digigit tikus atau memakan tikus.

Pemindahan jangkitan daripada individu kepada individu lain adalah sangat jarang dan bukan diketahui sebagai punca jangkitan utama.

“Oleh demikian, kemungkinan virus ini merebak sebagaimana pandemik COVID-19 adalah sangat sukar berlaku setakat ini.

“Kedua-dua virus boleh menjangkiti paru-paru. Jika hantavirus ini menjangkiti paru-paru, kesannya kelihatan seperti Sindrom Penafasan Akut Teruk (SARS) seperti yang disebabkan oleh COVID-19 kemungkinan boleh berlaku.

Cara pencegahan

Dr Sharifa Ezat berkata, dalam mengekang penularan Hantavirus, seseorang harus mengelakkan daripada bersentuhan dengan najis, air kencing atau tikus secara langsung.

“Kita hendaklah sentiasa memastikan dalam rumah, pejabat, di keliling rumah, kawasan tempat tinggal, dan tempat bekerja tidak mempunyai sarang tikus atau mempunyai pembiakan tikus yang aktif.

“Sampah, barang-barang terbuang dan makanan jangan dibiarkan tidak diurus di sekeliling rumah supaya haiwan itu tidak mempunyai sumber makanan atau membiak.

Diingatkan juga supaya berhati-hati ketika menangkap tikus kerana tikus boleh menggigit, kencing dan virus ini akan merebak ke udara bila bercampur air dan udara terdedah,” katanya.

Kaedah lain

Katanya, memakai sarung tangan dan topeng muka

sangat digalakkan digunakan sewaktu proses pembersihan dan penangkapan tikus berlaku.

Sementara najis dan air kencing tikus jangan disapu atau divakum.

“Cara yang disarankan ialah nyah cemar najis, air kencing dengan pembasmi kuman (contoh kawasan disembur dengan Clorox), kemudian mengelap najis dan membuang kain atau tisu yang sudah digunakan,” katanya.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-covid19-pandemic-leadership-working-remotely-business/

Drywood termites are oftentimes a big problem, especially in coastal regions that are in tropical or semi-tropical zones. They seem to prefer coastal climates that are not too wet and yet breezy at the same time, and are the second most destructive termite type after subterranean termites. They nest inside wood that is often a part of a building’s foundation or structure. Or else, they nest inside wooden furniture and this often damages the furniture beyond repair. Their colonies are small, usually less than 1000 individuals, and scattered, making locating their nests quite hard.

Usually the only times they are detected is when they swarm, or when they eject their feces in the form of small pellets that can be seen on the floor. Species belonging to Cryptotermes, Incisitermes, and Kalotermes are some of the more common ones

been infesting wood in houses.

Kalotermes flavicollis drywood termites, a common termite pest of the Mediterranean region. Notice the fecal pellets, the main sign of drywood termites.

The fecal pellets are merely an indication that drywood termites once existed in the wood nearby, but not necessarily proof that they still exist there (the colony may have died out). The main way to be sure is if the fecal pellets continue to increase in number or after wiping away all the previous old ones, new pellets continue to appear. This would indicate an active colony.

Learn more about the signs of drywood termites here.

Preventing Drywood Termite Infestations

Prevention is always better than cure, so the saying goes. Well how do you prevent drywood termite infestations in the first place? A bit different from subterranean termites because they don’t travel through soil, drywood termite prevention mainly focuses on treating wood either pre-construction or post-construction, by applying chemicals, pressure treatment, or installing barriers, all of which have their pros and cons.

Chemical treatment may wear or leach off after some years, and if they are applied unevenly due to inadequate drilling, protection is of course not guaranteed. Last but not least, these chemicals used to treat the wood may also be toxic, so make sure to discuss thoroughly with the pest control company if you are going for preventive measures.

Drywood Termite Treatment Methods

Once it has been determined that an active drywood termite infestation is occurring, treatment is often best left in the hands of a reliable termite control service, due to the difficulty in locating and eradicating them. Treatment methods are basically of two forms:

• Localized treatment
• Whole-structure/building treatment

Maybe you wonder what the differences between these two methods are.

Localized treatment is much cheaper than whole-structure treatment, but is limited to the particular areas of application. In military speak, it is like “precision bombing”, so it’s essential to get the accuracy right for the exact location of the colony. Whole-structure treatments would be much more costly, and be likened to “carpet bombing”; crude but quite effective nonetheless.

Localized treatments include the usage of chemicals injected, sprayed, or pumped into the wood, or more rarely, the use of heat, microwaves, or electrocution. Chemicals need not be toxic, and can comprise natural substances like orange oil or neem tree oil.

A relatively “safer” chemical used these days for localized treatment is Chlorantraniliprole, of which, a commercial brand called Altriset which contains Chlorantraniliprole, has proven quite effective. Chlorantraniliprole is quite new, and was developed by DuPont. In various tests it has been found to be only minimally toxic for mammals, while still being highly toxic towards invertebrates like termites and other insects, thus making it an increasingly popular choice for termite control.

Localized treatment for termites which basically just means treating a small area.

The efficacy of all such localized treatments all depends on whether the nest location is accurately detected. If yes, the treatment will certainly be successful in killing the termites exposed to the treatment agent used. But if not, then it’s just a waste of time and money, even if a small number of termites did get eliminated by the treatment. Also, the wooden structures will get damaged due to drilling or excessive heat/microwaves,electric current/etc. applied.

Whole-structure treatment involves treating the entire building with either heat or fumigation. Fumigation (or tenting) is often effective but costly, and you would need to vacate the building along with all your pets and plants for at least several days. The chemical sulfuryl fluoride is sprayed into the building, and this is effective in simultaneously getting rid of all infestations of drywood termites lurking within the building.

A house totally covered up for fumigation

Heat treatment involves heating all the wooden structures in the building to temperatures above 50°C by pumping in hot air and maintaining the temperature for more than 30 minutes. Heat treatment is less of an inconvenience compared to fumigation; you just need to vacate the building for a few hours. But its drawback is that the heat often is not dispersed evenly, and some areas of wood behind tiles or concrete may not be heated sufficiently. Also, the heat may damage some of the less heat resistant components of the building, such as the outer rubber casing of wiring.

Credit to : https://www.termiteweb.com/drywood-termite-control-and-prevention-methods/

https://www.business.com/articles/5-ways-to-drastically-cut-business-costs/

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/smes-against-wall

https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/116095/how-to-take-care-of-your-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

By Guest Contributor on April 3, 2020

OPINION

March 2020 was a month unlike any of us have experienced before. Beyond the transition to working remotely and the seemingly endless video meetings and webinars, we’ve collectively learned a lot about coronaviruses, environmental stability, inactivation, transmission routes, how to perform wellness checks of employees,  and have fielded dozens of questions from food industry stakeholders and the media. This tragic pandemic has led to partnerships and collaborations towards many common public health, food safety and risk goals.

The current challenges to ensuring the health and safety of employees and customers has never been more difficult. There are likely unintended positive food safety impacts that are being seen across the food system. We guess that employee handwashing practices are likely at an all time high with all the added focus. Extra attention to proper chemical use to clean, sanitize and disinfect both food and non-food contact surfaces, especially high-touch surfaces, is almost certainly happening. 

Although much of what we know about COVID-19 is emerging, many media outlets are sharing consistent (and evidence-based) messages that food safety professionals have been teaching and preaching for years. On a more personal level, hearing our kids belt out new handwashing songs, watching Tik-Toks on social distancing, and now all know a little something about epidemiology – flattening the curve — is heartening. There is even a slick new website, Wash Your Lyrics, that you can use to generate your own song and handwashing poster with everything from Styx to Post Malone to the Grateful Dead. It’s been truly amazing to see how in the face of adversity some amazing advancements in enabling and supporting behavior change can happen. Of course we would have preferred there be no pandemic, but this is now the new normal. 

Since food manufacturing, foodservice, food retail, agriculture and transportation are all classified as essential critical infrastructure, the collective food industry has a responsibility to respond. It is with great thanks and admiration to these organizations and the numerous individuals that run them who are helping the rest of us get through daily life by ensuring we have safe food which is essential for our survival. We are also trying to find any positives that may result such as better reporting, and creative approaches to food manufacturing and sales.

After conversations over the last few weeks at GFSI in Seattle, then AFFI-Con in Las Vegas we thought it might be time to take a minute to share some of the ideas and recommendations  because it’s never too late to start planning for what comes next and being ready for the next challenge including the potential for seasonal reemergence (and don’t forget a pandemic flu is likely in our future as well). How can food safety professionals learn from our current situation to establish sustainable practices? Here is what we have so far. The list is not all inclusive but includes  ideas we feel merit further consideration, action and diligence: 

Management Team:

• Implement an employee health and wellness program that supports pro-active restriction and or exclusion.  
• Have a pandemic response plan incorporated into your organization’s Business Continuity Plans which should include key aspects of service limitations, increased cleaning/sanitizing and disinfection, etc.
• Designate roles within your organization that will connect to global, national, regional and local regulatory authorities to monitor the situation and to deploy adequate control measures to continue operations. 
• Identify backups for each job position and if possible alternate production sites to offset production delays.
• Promote remote work for non production or essential roles. Digital food safety management systems (FSMS) are a great tool to facilitate and maintain adequate processes and controls are being met even from a remote location.  
• Consider providing transportation for employees that use public transportation.

Perishable Food:

• Reduce food waste by lowering par inventory levels.
• Identify if/what products in your inventory that can be frozen without quality compromises, and used at a future date. Think about consolidating inventory in preparation for staff reductions 
• When closing a facility, divert safe food to local food banks or shelters – donate as much product to them as possible as long as it has not passed its expiration date.
• To assist locations in returning to normal operations (post pandemic) discard perishable products near the end of useful life. 

Refrigeration Recommendations:

• Reorganize inventory and condense products into fewer refrigeration units. 
• Empty refrigerators should be turned off, as empty refrigeration space places more stress on the cooling system that could lead to unnecessary wear and tear. This also conserves energy and allows for deep cleaning to take place as well as preventative maintenance to ensure optimal functionality once placed back into service.

Technology:

• Adopt Digital Food Safety Management systems (DFSMS) based on HACCP guidelines that enable real time refrigeration temperature monitoring and alert based operational compliance reporting. These systems have the ability to consolidate multiple important critical food safety reporting activities by providing visibility and awareness across an entire organization 
• Implement the use of infrared handheld thermometers as a pre-screening tool  to measure temperatures of individual employees at the start/end of their shift. Screening methods and results should be based on CDC guidance and confirmed by a medical professional.   
• Investigate the use of advanced thermal imaging instruments to assess elevated body temperatures and in consultation with local health professionals and legal advisors, make decisions to protect employee health.

Communication Practices:

• Leverage technology to maintain internal communication (teleconference, video conference and webinar). 
• Keep handwashing and hand sanitizing and employee health top of mind for employees and family members via job aids and training 
• Encourage  customers to use order ahead options and delivery services.
• Promote the use of cashless payment at operating locations. 

Operations Planning:

• Incorporate the use of a daily set of health assessment questions as part of temperature monitoring  (are you sick, have you been around anyone sick, do you live with anyone that  is sick) based on the CDC guidance for employee wellness.
• Decide when to close dining rooms, restrooms and seating areas and reassessment plans for reopening. 
• Protect cashiers by providing physical barriers between them and customers
• Clean and disinfect credit card pin pads and touch screens between each customer at indoor self-checkout locations.
• Clean and disinfect outdoor touch screens/credit card pin pads at routine intervals.
• Eliminate self-serve items, buffets, and areas that encourage high touch surfaces and when possible package foods that are sold individually. 
• Designate continuous cleaning and disinfection of high touch surfaces in the entire facility (door knobs/handles, handrails, phones, light switches, hand sinks, paper towel dispensers, restrooms, credit card pin pads and touch screens, etc.) to one or more employees
• Have liquid hand sanitizer stations as well as sanitizer wipe stations in operating locations so employees can sanitize hands when hand washing is not feasible 
• Designate employees to monitor customers entrances to ensure that all consumers are prompted to use sanitizer prior to entering.
• Set up que line placements (e.g., X every 6 feet) and signage  to ensure customers are able to stand 6 feet apart IF a line is likely for pick-up service. 
• Place signage encouraging anyone who feels ill to not enter and provide alternatives as to how to help them with food essentials (delivery, curbside pickup).
• Consider transition from traditional paper and laminated menus to a digital format, when re-opening. Further consider systems that allow the customer to use their own device to access menus.

Production Planning:

• Review your operations production and operating hours, should they be shorter or different from normal operating hours. 
• Reduce or rethink your menu to take advantage of alternate labor models or product availability. 
• Consider simplifying your menu items to less complex products, this would support a more sustainable labor pool that may have less formal culinary training as well as reducing the amount inventory which should help control food waste during such an unpredictable event.     
• Divide employees into small function-based teams and stagger production times or production areas to promote adequate social distancing.

We have all had people ask us where to get information and stay up to speed with the newest and emerging information about COVID-19. Here are links to the most accurate resources that we are using daily to answer our food safety questions.

Credit to : http://www.foodsafetynews.com

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world?ocid=ww.social.link.linkedin

Now, more than ever, we need open data. Tackling what lies ahead of us is a complex task and we need to leverage our collective intelligence.

Source: Covid-19: With Data, We Can Respond Better

Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) telah dilanjutkan sehingga 28/4/2020. Ada yang seronok dan ada yang monyok. Biasanya, pekerja lah yang seronok. Cuti. Gaji jalan. Tapi keseronokan ini mungkin tidak berpanjangan. Majikan? Biasanya monyoklah dalam situasi ini.

Apa yang perlu dibuat bagi memastikan kesinambungan syarikat terus berada dilandasan yang betul dalam keadaan sukar ini?. Ada beberapa cadangan oleh pakar yang mungkin boleh membantu Boss Boss semua.

Ada beberapa isu yang menyumbang kepada kesukaran SME untuk terus bertahan. Salah satunya ialah pergerakan terbatas rakyat Malaysia.

Bagi SME yang terlibat dalam industri servis, keadaan ini memberi impak negatif yang besar sekali.

Jom kita lihat beberapa perkara yang boleh SME buat sebagaimana yang dicadangkan oleh salah satu Badan Perkaunan Terbesar di dunia, CPA Australia:

Sentiasa Bersedia Dengan Maklumat Terkini.

Di Malaysia, setiap hari pihak berwajib akan mengeluarkan pelbagai arahan dan kemaskini data terbaru. Disebabkan kita berada dalam keadaan separa lockdown (boleh dikatakan), tiada makluman awal oleh kerajaan untuk setiap arahan baru. Tugas anda. Sedia dengan smartfon untuk dapatkan maklumat terbaru. Pest Control Industry misalnya, sampai kehari ini sewaktu artikel ini ditulis, belum ada arahan jelas dari kerajaan sama ada servis boleh dilakukan ataupun tidak. Penantian satu penyiksaan.

27/3/2020, PM telah membentangkan pakej stimulus yang baru. Banyak sangat insentif dan arahan terbaru yang melibatkan Boss Boss SME. Sila ambil perhatian. Coronavirus adalah kisah cinta yang tiada penghujungnya selagi WHO tidak mengisytiharkan ianya berakhir.

Jaga Pekerja Anda

Disamping kita mencari jalan untuk memastikan bisnes terkesan pada tahap minimum, kebajikan dan kesihatan pekerja mesti diutamakan. Mengurus emosi, mental dan fizikal pekerja semasa krisis kesihatan sebegini sememangnya sesuatu yang sukar.

Sebagai Boss, jualan dan operasi perlu terus berjalan bagi mengelakkan aliran tunai syarikat nazak. Bagi SME yang terlibat dengan perkhidmatan pembersihan dan kawalan serangga, teknisyen akan tertedah dengan virus ini dimana-mana. Sangat penting bagi kita melengkapkan semua pekerja dengan PPE yang terbaik. Tiada ruang untuk berkompromi dengan virus pembunuh ini. Ingat!. Tiada pekerja, tiadalah bisnes.

Wujudkan Cross Functional Response Team

Tak semua SME di negara kita memiliki pasukan yang lengkap dari segi pengurusan dan operasi. Ada syarikat yang hanya memiliki 3-10 orang sahaja. Mungkin sukar untuk membentuk special task force. Tapi sebagai Boss, anda perlu memastikan pasukan khas ini diwujudkan sungguhpun ianya bermaksud anda, isteri, kerani dan penyelia sahaja.Kenapa?Inilah masanya kita perah kepala otak masing-masing untuk mencari jalan bagi mengurangkan impak negatif ataupun mencari peluang perniagaan disebalik bencana yang sedang berlaku.

Masa terbaik untuk mendamaikan pasukan Jabatan Jualan dan Jabatan Akaun. Salesman bertanggungjawab untuk membantu Credit Controller membuat kutipan bagi pelanggan yang bermasalah. Pihak akaun pula membantu sales dalam memperomosi jualan syarikat bila berinteraksi dengan pelanggan. Bagi insentif kepada mereka sekiranya berjaya mencapai objektif.

Secara umumnya, terdapat 4 elemen yang perlu diberi perhatian:

1. Sales-Sila fikirkan sesuatu yang luar biasa sekiranya bisnes anda tiada ruang untuk berurusniaga secara online.
2. Ada staff yang mencukupi-PKP yang dilaksanakan sekarang, kebolehan mereka untuk datang bekerja perlu diberi perhatian. Apatah lagi kalau mereka tidak boleh bekerja dari rumah. Contohnya kerja pembersihan dan kawalan serangga.
3. Rantaian Bekalan– PKP juga menjadi sebab utama kita gagal untuk dapatkan barang dari pembekal tepat pada waktunya. Pastikan anda menyimpan stok yang BERPATUTAN. Jangan terlebih sehingga menjadi blood clot terhadap aliran tunai kita.
4. Kewangan-Terutamanya bagi mereka yang tidak mempunya cash reserve yang mencukupi sekurang-kurangya 6 bulan perbelanjaan. Kalau syarikat anda kaya seperti Apple atau Nestle, abaikan tip ini.

Semak Kedudukan Kewangan Syarikat. Sihat atau Tenat?

Jika anda betul-betul tahu kedudukan kewangan syarikat anda, ianya akan memudahkan anda membuat keputusan yang tepat disaat sukar. Tiba masanya anda berkepit dengan akauntan syarikat sepanjang masa bagi melihat secara harian keluar masuk duit syarikat.Prioriti adalah kuncinya.

• Gaji pekerja
• Bayaran kepada pembekal
• Simpan stok secara bijak
• ansuran bank dan lain-lain

Stimulus Package yang diumumkan oleh PM mungkin memberi sedikit kelegaan kepada SME. Malah Bank Negara Malaysia menambah sedikit lagi bantuan selepas pada pengumuman itu.https://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=en_press&pg=en_press&ac=5022. Seterusnya, PM umumkan pakej rangsangan ekonomi khusus untuk SME buat kali KEDUA

Dalam erti kata lain, sambar aje apa sahaja yang kerajaan berikan.

Tapi, itu bersifat sementara. Perancangan komprehensif dari syarikat akan menjadi penentu hidup mati dimasa akan datang. Perbelanjaan yang tidak perlu, kita K.I.V dulu atau batalkan terus. Bonus Hari Raya?. Bonus Hujung Tahun?. Tuan-tuan jawablah sendiri.

Buat Semula Bajet atau Sales Forecast Tahunan Syarikat.

Dengan krisis global yang tengah kita hadapi hari ini, kebanyakan SME akan mengalami sasaran tersasar. Bergantung kepada industri apa yang anda ceburi. Pembekal hand sanitiser, topeng muka, bahan disinfectant dan kelengkapan berkaitan sudah tentu tersenyum lebar. Stok Habis!!! Harga pun naik berkali ganda. Rezeki mereka lah kan.

Tapi, bagi yang terlibat dalam industri peruncitan, saloon, bengkel, latihan dan pelancongan, pastikan MD atau CEO duduk semeja dengan pasukan pengurusan yang lain bagi mengkaji semula unjuran pertumbuhan syarikat.

Penurunan jualan selama 3-6 bulan, kekurangan bekalan dari pembekal, pemberhentian pekerja dan lain-lain kemungkinan perlu diberi perhatian yang serius.

Bertindak SEKARANG Untuk Perbaiki Aliran Tunai.

Banyak perkara boleh kita lakukan untuk memperbaiki aliran tunai syarikat. Antaranya ialah:

• Sewa je, tak perlu beli bangunan baru, equipment baru atau kenderaan baru.
• Offer Discounts. Pelanggan bayar lebih awal dari masa yang sepatutnya, kita bersedia bagi diskaun. Kurang sikit keuntungan. Tapi aliran tunai terjamin.
• Untuk pelanggan baru, lihat dulu semakan kredit. Kalau rekod pembayaran buruk, pastikan kita meminta bayaran deposit yang tinggi atau yearly in advance payment. Kalau mereka tak setuju?. F.A.C. Find another customer. Dalam tempoh sukar sebegini, tak semua pelanggan adalah pelanggan kita.
• Perbaiki Inventori Anda. Pastikan apa yang ada didalam stor kita adalah moving items dan bukannya blood clot.
• Hantar invoice tepat pada masanya. Ada syarikat SME yang kurang peka dengan strategi ini. Lagi lambat anda hantar invoice kapada pelanggan, lagi lama lah anda perlu tunggu untuk dapat bayaran. Ingat! Dalam keadaan krisis sebegini, semua syarikat tak kira pelanggan atau pembekal akan tetapkan prioriti bayaran mereka.
• Berbaiklah dengan pembekal anda. Mudah-mudahan pembekal dapat memberi terma kredit baru kepada anda. Dari 30 hari ke 90 hari. If you have mouth to ask, people got heart to consider.
• Gunakan Bayaran Elektronik. Sebagaimana kita mahu duit pelanggan cepat-cepat berada dalam akaun kita, begitu juga pembekal. Pastikan tiada lagi red tape yang memerlukan pelanggan bayar melalui cek. Online kan je.

Kreatif. Berfikir diluar Kotak.

Anda tiada pilihan. Kalau sebelum ini kita hanya bergantung sepenuhnya dengan jualan offline, kini anda WAJIB mewujudkan platform online untuk meningkatkan jualan. Jadikan Shopee atau Lazada sebagai rakan niaga anda.

Saya bagi satu contoh. Syarikat Pest Control dalam keadaan sukar sekarang bila PKP dikuatkuasakan. Tetapi, meandangkan semua tempat sekarang ini memerlukan perkhidmatan nyah kuman(disinfecting services), bisnes akhirnya bernafas seperti biasa. Kena cepat bertindak.

Bagi syarikat perkhidmatan hygiene, inilah masanya untuk anda menjual barang-barang hygiene seperti hand dryer, air freshener dispenser, tissue, hand soap dan lain-lain secara online. Masa untuk berjinak-jinak dengan Pos Laju atau syarikat courier yang lain.

Begitu juga pemilik kedai-kedai buku atau restoran, Tanpa perniagaan secara online, anda mungkin gulung tikar. Tak pun bergulung dalam tikar sebab pekerja mintak gaji atau pembekal minta bayaran. Pilihan ditangan anda.

Sebagai contoh, Pest Control Operator(PCO), syarikat pencucian, Car Saloon, syarikat pengurusan landskap dan juga Hospital Swasta yang mula menawarkan perkhidmatan nyahkuman(disinfectant service). Strike while the iron is hot.

Ini paling penting. Berbincanglah secara baik dengan staff anda. Ya, kerajaan telah meletakkan garis panduan supaya tiada pemberhentian atau pemotongan gaji. Perlu diingat, biasanya mana-mana kerajaan pun akan memberi fokus kepada rakyat bukan syarikat. Syarikat tidak boleh mengundi.(bukan politik ye)

Jangan Lupakan Pelanggan Anda.

Pastikan SEMUA pelanggan kita tahu kewujudan dan kekentalan syarikat kita mengharungi waktu sukar ini. Sentiasa berhubung dengan mereka. Tawarkan apa jua bantuan yang boleh kita bagi untuk mengurangkan beban mereka. Keikhlasan kita akan menyebabkan nama syarikat sentiasa dibibir mereka sepanjang masa. Untung-untung boleh dapat kontrak baru sebab pelanggan kesihan dekat kita. Email, whatsapp, panggila telefon ataupun online questionnaire boleh memberikan impak positif yang besar kepada kita.

Sebagaimana kita memerlukan pembekal dalam kitaran bisness kita, begitu juga pelanggan. Tawarkan diskaun menarik bagi pelanggan yang melunaskan bayaran lebih awal dari tempoh kredit. Ataupun berikan kemudahan bayaran installment bagi membantu pelanggan membayar duit kita. Rugi sikit takpe, janji aliran tunai kita berdaya saing. Ingat, during crisis, cash is King!.

Kesimpulan.

Saya suka mengambil kata-kata keramat ini.

Pandemik ini pasti berlalu. Anda perlu kuat dan bijak. Jangan berhenti mencuba sesuatu yang baru demi meneruskan kelangsungan syarikat anda.

Tough Time Never Last

Tough People Do

Robert H. Schuller

Yusnaizi M.A. seranggahidup.com