The Challenge
For the world’s largest equipment manufacturer, Oxford, MS is one of their most vital plants, and operational uptime is essential. Each month the facility produces the 1.1 million industrial couplings used in almost every bulldozer, dump truck, and excavator the company produces.
On a later Winter evening, a devastating tornado struck the plant, along with everything in its path, threatening company-wide production and leaving the organization faced with the possibility of the most severe production crisis in their history.
The Solution
However, despite severe damage, the business recovered quickly as couplers went back into production in a near-miraculous 13 days.
The recovery process began at 5:37 pm — before the tornado hit — when AccuWeather issued a tornado warning for a storm 18 miles away. At that time, no other weather agency had warned for the plant location.
The warning was received via text message by the plant’s health and safety coordinator. She then immediately moved 80 people into shelter per the site's Emergency Action Plan. At 5:59 pm, the tornado struck. With AccuWeather’s warning, no serious injuries occurred.
The recovery process began at 5:37 pm — before the tornado hit — when AccuWeather issued a tornado warning for a storm 18 miles away.
The Result
People are a company’s most important asset. All 88 staff members went home to their families after this dangerous tornado struck thanks to the only warning available, issued by AccuWeather. The warning triggered the plant's site safety plan, averting disaster.
Additionally, since there were no injuries - the plant’s staff was able to resume operations at a nearby facility within a matter of days, showcasing a business continuity success story.
AccuWeather’s business weather expertise enables companies to protect their people and property when severe weather threatens. Is your facility prepared to address the safety, business continuity, and other risks from the next storm? It may be already on its way.
Benefits of SkyGuard Warnings
- Proactive, site-specific alerts offer advanced warning well before severe weather impacts occur
- Alerts are delivered in a format that aligns with your organizational emergency management plan
- All-clear notifications are delivered when a threat is over, minimizing weather-related downtime
- Live one-on-one or group consultation is provided by our weather experts anytime, day or night
- Warnings are delivered via notifications from the SkyGuard mobile app, available on Android and iOS
