How has social capital changed through the remote work environment using this article? and impact on office politics and changing power structures?

Process Technology found itself facing the challenge of maintaining communication within the confines of social distancing. All photos courtesy of Process Technology- If you work in any area of manufacturing, then you're likely familiar with lean manufacturing principles aimed at the elimination of waste and continuous improvement of your production process. In this unprecedented time, when the COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges that most involved in the manufacturing industries have never experienced, it can be easy to allow the principles of lean to take a back seat. In actuality, however, organizations can benefit from practicing lean now more than ever. Process Technology (Willoughby, Ohio), supplier of heating and power solutions, found itself dealing with the problem of communication during social distancing. With face-toface meetings canceled in favor of virtual meetings, the company was concerned about fully understanding what was happening on the shop floor. Before the pandemic, Process Technology was employing the lean practices of gemba walks routine visits to the shop floor to identify wastefulness and opportunities for improvement. Bob Dragolic, director of operations, explains, "Early on, the Governor issued the stay at home order, so not everybody was showing up. Plus, we weren't supposed to gather in groups of more than 10. Our gemba was typically 12 to 15 people who would be wandering throughout the floor." Gemba is a Japanese word meaning "the actual place," yet gathering en masse on the shop floor was no longer a possibility. The company found the restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus unraveling the lean principles it was working so hard to promote within the facility. So the challenge then became how to conduct the gemba walks within the confines of social distancing. At first, the team members at Process Technology tried walking the floor and observing the boards individually, but it wasn't the same. By the end of the second week, the boards weren't being updated. Simply walking the floor and comparing notes was not proving as effective and after a few weeks, it ceased happening at all.