This work was completed on March 29 at the General Motors manufacturing plant in Kokomo, Indiana, where General Motors and Ventec Life Systems collaborated to produce the Ventec VOCSN intensive care ventilator. Photo by GM AJ Mast
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series of articles that explores how large and small manufacturing companies can change their business models to help fight COVID-19. The second part focuses on large manufacturers.
We are living in a chaotic era. Since the idea of a large-scale coronavirus pandemic was not taken seriously from the beginning, our federal and state governments are now financially and politically scrambling to find manufacturers to provide tools for personal protective equipment (PPE) and hospital equipment.
I divided the “Counting COVID-19″ part into two parts: the first part focuses on large companies and the second part focuses on small businesses. The latter is crucial because these places need the help of the community to bridge the gap between yesterday and next month or so (when mass production starts). This is important because we need to understand both the hope that is happening on a larger scale and what is happening-what is actually happening, rather than being filtered out by headlines stolen by incompetent political leaders.
General Motors has been working with medical equipment manufacturer Ventec Life Systems to make significant progress in the production of ventilators. In fact, they are almost ready to make new machines in Kokomo, Indiana. They already have a supply of 700 components of the multifunctional ventilator, have warned their suppliers to prepare for the production of 200,000 devices, and are voluntarily recruiting 1,000 existing employees. Assemble them.
After verifying the prototype made by GM and passing the FDA approval of the Kokomo plant, it is hoped that by the end of April, GM and Ventec hope to produce 10,000 ventilators per month, or 9,750 more than Ventec’s current production capacity .
General Motors will also deliver up to 100,000 Class 1 surgical mask machines per day at its Warren, Michigan plant. It plans to distribute PPE through government agencies and local suppliers.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles immediately put on-line production at a factory in China, producing and donating at least 1 million masks every month for police, EMT, firefighters, and workers in hospitals and health care clinics. Other FCA facilities in North America may still switch production. The company’s engineering and logistics team in Italy is supporting local ventilator manufacturers and using this experience to help more personal protective equipment and equipment manufacturers and to establish partnerships with them. It is even dedicated to helping the overwhelmed truck industry.
FCA CEO Mike Manley said in a company statement: “This move is the first step in the company’s multifaceted global plan developed by applying manufacturing, supply chain and engineering expertise to support the global fight against the coronavirus. The fight against the pandemic.”
With the help of another aspect, FCA also assisted more than 1 million children’s meals during school closures, starting from the area around the Midwest manufacturing base, and then expanding to the entire North America. The plan will also target children who usually rely on school meal services.
Ford Motor Co., in cooperation with 3M, is very creative and can rapidly expand the production of electric air purifying respirators (PAPR). My friend Bozi Tatarevic put together a nice article on the Road & Track website, explaining how they use ready-made parts, such as the blower motor used in the F150 ventilation seat, and the battery pack in the power tool to make PAPR.
General Motors and Ventec Life Systems are collaborating to transform the ERC building in GM Kokomo, Indiana, to produce Ventec ventilators for the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by GM AJ Mast
Ford is also working with GE Healthcare to increase production of “simplified” versions of GE Healthcare’s current ventilators. In addition, some UAW workers at Ford will assemble 100,000 or more plastic masks at the Ford factory, and they will commission their own 3D printers to produce more PPE parts.
After initially downplaying the virus on Twitter, Elon Musk now promised New York ventilators and said that the failed solar panel factory funded by the state in Buffalo will start producing ventilators when it is ready.
Furniture manufacturer Steelcase’s Grand Rapids, Michigan has been very proactive and is making masks, protective covers and barriers for screening patients in local hospitals. It even has patterns and instructions for masks and protective shields for everyone.
New Balance, a shoe manufacturer based in New England, has commissioned its American employees to design, develop and produce face masks, and will soon expand to many factories in the United States.
Nike has also invested a lot of money. “A company like Nike needs to do our part,” said company CEO John Donahoe. “Therefore, our innovation and manufacturing team is exploring the design of personal protective equipment (PPE) to support doctors, nurses and other personnel on the frontline of the outbreak…. Seeing the rapid combat work of cross-functional teams to try to meet this key The demand is really exciting.” The Oregon State Corporation is working with the Oregon Health and Science University to determine the demand.
Throughout the pond, Sir James Dyson, the billionaire inventor and creator of innovative vacuum cleaners, said that his company designed and built a new type of ventilator, called CoVent, in a period of 10 days. Dyson said: “This new device can be quickly, efficiently, and mass-produced.” He also said that the new ventilator is designed to “meet the special needs of coronavirus patients.” Dyson plans to donate 5,000 CoVents to help fight the global pandemic war.
This is far from a complete record, but a glimpse of what the giant manufacturers are studying, which shows how quickly companies can collaborate in the face of a pandemic crisis, and supply chain priorities can shift.
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Post time: Oct-09-2020