Ford Motor Co. is teaming with major medical equipment manufacturers, including the 3M Co. and GE Healthcare to make face shields and 3-D print respirators, and to boost production of ventilators by using existing parts such as fans for the F-150 pickup's cooled seats.
Concerns over a shortage of ventilators, personal protective equipment for health-care workers and more led President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act, opening the way for the government to call on private business to help. Automakers, including Ford, General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, have shared their intentions to do so.
"This was really understanding by the surge demand being placed on our first responders and medical professionals," Jim Baumbick, Ford's vice president of enterprise product line management, said on a conference call Tuesday. "Really, we just wanted to help accelerate in any way in getting a range of gear into the hands of the brave men and women that are fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines."
The effort — codenamed "Apollo 13" — leverages Ford's manufacturing and engineering expertise to assist 3M and GE Healthcare in increasing manufacturing capacity for powered air-purifying respirators and ventilators respectively by as much as 10 times current levels, said Mike Kesti, global technical director of 3M's personal safety division.
Respirators filter the air for health-care workers and last longer than the N95 face masks, Kesti said. The collaboration is looking to build devices that will last for up to eight hours, Baumbick said. Ventilators, meanwhile, help patients of the COVID-19 respiratory illness to breathe in severe cases.
The work to accelerate their production will take effect in the coming days and weeks, the companies said. Ford engineers are on the ground in their plants to assist.
The Dearborn automaker also is helping to design simpler versions specific for COVID-19 patient needs that may be able to be created in Ford facilities in Michigan by United Auto Workers-represented employees.
"UAW Ford members have a history of working together for the good of our Nation," Gerald Kariem, UAW vice president and director of the Ford Department. "We look forward to collaborating with Ford so that once again UAW members can find ways to improve the health and safety of all Americans during this national emergency."
Ford and 3M are using parts the automaker already has available such as the F-150 seat fans as well as electronic components and blower units to make the respirators. Temporary production suspensions at Ford have helped make more of such parts available, Baumbick said.
"We're leveraging the best of the parts bin we have available but also ensuring we have design commonality between the current product design and the new one so all of the consumables and hoses that are attached can be interchangeable between the units," he said. "The goal here being to increase very quickly the amount of volume given the demand. Time here really is the enemy. We need to move quickly."
Added Kesti: "We are confident this partnership will make a meaningful difference in the days and weeks to comes. ... We’re trying to be resourceful, agile and creative on how to make this work and build capacity."
Meanwhile, Ford is testing 1,000 face shields at Detroit Mercy, Henry Ford Health System and Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital. It plans to complete roughly 75,000 of these shields this week and produce more than 1000,000 per week at Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing in Plymouth.
The face shields fully block the face and eyes from accidental contact with liquids and can further limit exposure to the virus with N95 masks.
Additionally, 3-D printers at the automaker's Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford will produce disposable respirators. Ford intends to make 1,000 respirators per month and grow that production as fast as possible.
But first, the new supplies and devices will require approval from regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration. The agency has been using its emergency-use authorization powers to accelerate clearance of products to the market. Other bodies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency also will help to disseminate the devices, the companies said.
"We continue to work with associations, government agencies and stakeholders," said Tom Westrick, vice president and chief quality officer for GE Healthcare. "We are overwhelmed with the offers to help and the technical expertise from companies like Ford to urgently support all of our needs."
Bill Ford, the automaker's executive chairman, told NBC News' "Today" that the company's response was put in motion even prior Trump's call for companies to help on Friday. He added Ford has not discussed any sort of reimbursement or payment for the medical equipment being made.
Ford also is reacquiring 165,000 N95 respirators from China that the company had sent there earlier in the year and has committed to sending Henry Ford health Systems 40,000 surgical masks.
Ford additionally is evaluating a separate effort not involving GE Healthcare with the U.K. government to produce additional ventilators.
GM on Monday said it was looking at the feasibility of making ventilators at its Kokomo Operations in Indiana. It is assisting Washington-based Ventec Life Systems to ramp up production, and its suppliers who have been tapped in the effort say the collaboration is looking to produce up to 200,000 ventilators. Ford and GM are in contact to ensure their efforts are being done parallel to each other, Baumbick noted.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV also intends to make face masks at a plant in China for first responders and health-care workers in North America in addition to assisting Siare Engineering Italian Group increase ventilator production in Italy.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @BreanaCNoble
Read or Share this story: https://ift.tt/3blh1Oe
from Hacker News https://ift.tt/3blh1Oe
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.