WE ALL TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT.“

WHEN COVID-19 STRUCK SOUTH ASIA, BD INDIA MANAGING DIRECTOR PAVAN MOCHERLA FOUND WAYS TO KEEP HIS ASSOCIATES SAFE WHILE CONTINUING TO PRODUCE THE TOOLS HEALTHCARE WORKERS NEED TO COMBAT THE VIRUS.

- JACOB GOLDBERG

When India’s government imposed a nationwide lockdown in March to curb the spread of COVID-19, Pavan Mocherla had a decision to make. Businesses across the country were sending their staff home and shutting down operations to meet the strict terms of the lockdown and keep their associates safe. As Managing Director for Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) in India, he wondered whether he should do the same.

However, Pavan reasoned, BD is not like most businesses. As a manufacturer of medical devices such as disposable needles and syringes, BD could keep more people safe by staying open than by shutting down. “We decided as a company that we would put patients first,” Pavan says. “We wanted to make sure that our business was operational so that our patients didn’t suffer. If a patient needed a product, we wanted to make sure that product or that technology was available.”

With support from the Indian government, BD’s Haryana factory and its delivery centres across the country have remained fully operational throughout the pandemic, keeping hospitals well stocked. This has all been achieved while keeping BD employees safe. Associates with the ability to work from home were allowed to do so well before the quarantine measures were put in place. Then, during the lockdown, Pavan and his team adhered strictly to its policies.

“Only our service engineers for our equipment were allowed to work on site,” Pavan explains. “We worked with the government to obtain passes, and they continued to work and maintain equipment.”