Countering COVID-19, Part I: Large manufacturers quickly shift priorities to flatten curve

Work being done on March 29 at the General Motors manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Ind., where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec VOCSN critical care ventilators. Photo by AJ Mast, General Motors

Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part series looking at how manufacturing companies, big and small, are shifting their business models to help the fight against COVID-19. Part II focused on larger manufacturers.

We live in a time of mass confusion. Since failing to take the idea of a mass coronavirus pandemic seriously from the outset, our federal and state governments are now scrambling, financially and politically, to find manufacturers to provide the tools for personal protective equipment (PPE) and hospital equipment.

I’m splitting this "Countering COVID-19" piece into a two-part series: This first part focuses on larger companies and the second part will focus on small businesses. The latter is critical because these places need things from the community to bridge the gap between yesterday and the next month or so when large-scale production starts en masse. This is important because we need to know what’s happening on a larger scale for both hope and to understand what’s coming - what’s actually happening, not filtered through the headlines ripped from inept political leadership.

How Large Manufacturers Are Helping Produce PPE and Hospital Equipment

General Motors has been working with medical device manufacturer Ventec Life Systems to make significant progress toward ventilator production. In fact, they’re almost ready to make new machines in Kokomo, Ind. They already have sources for the multifunction ventilator’s 700 components, have warned suppliers to brace for the production of 200,000 units, and are taking 1,000 current employees on a volunteer basis to assemble them.

After GM-built prototypes are validated and the Kokomo plant is cleared by the FDA, hopefully toward the end of April, GM and Ventec are looking to produce 10,000 ventilators a month, or 9,750 a month more than Ventec can currently build.

General Motors is also taking delivery of the machines to produce up to 100,000 Level 1 surgical masks a day at its Warren, Mich., plant. It plans to distribute the PPE through government agencies and local suppliers.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is immediately bringing one of its plants in China online to produce and donate at least 1 million face masks per month for police, EMTs, firefighters, and workers in hospitals and health care clinics. There is still potential for other FCA facilities in North America to switch production too. The company’s engineering and logistics teams in Italy are lending support to a local ventilator manufacturer, and it’s using that experience to expand assistance to and partnerships with more PPE and equipment manufacturers. It is even working on helping the overwhelmed trucking industry.

“This action is the first of a multifaceted global program being developed by the company through applying manufacturing, supply chain, and engineering expertise to support the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic,” FCA CEO Mike Manley said in a company statement.

Helping on another front, FCA is also assisting on more than 1 million meals to kids while schools are closed, starting in the area around its Midwest manufacturing bases before expanding throughout North America. The program will also focus on children who typically rely on school meal services.

Ford Motor Co., in partnership with 3M, got very creative to quickly scale up production of powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). My friend Bozi Tatarevic put together a nice piece for the website Road & Track on how they’re using off-the-shelf parts like blower motors used in the F150’s ventilated seats and battery packs from power tools to make PAPRs.

General Motors and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to convert the GM Kokomo, Ind., ERC building for the production of Ventec ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by AJ Mast, General Motors

Ford is also working with GE Healthcare to increase production of a “simplified” version of GE Healthcare’s current ventilator. In addition, some of Ford’s UAW workforce will be assembling 100,000 or more plastic face shields at Ford plants, and they’ll be tasking their own 3D printing machines to produce more parts for PPE.

After initially downplaying the virus on Twitter, Elon Musk is now promising ventilators to New York and stated that the failed solar panel plant the state had subsidized in Buffalo will start churning out ventilators when ready.

Grand Rapids, Mich., furniture manufacturer Steelcase has been extremely proactive and is making masks, shields, and barriers used when screening patients at local hospitals. It even has patterns and instructions for masks and shields available to everyone.

New England-based shoe manufacturer New Balance has tasked its American workforce with the design, development, and production of face masks, and it will soon scale up to multiple U.S. factories.

Nike has thrown its hat into the ring as well. “Companies like Nike need to do our part,” said company CEO John Donahoe. “So, our teams in innovation and manufacturing are exploring designs for personal protective equipment, or PPE, to support doctors, nurses, and others on the front line of this outbreak. … It’s been so energizing to see the quick-strike efforts of the cross-functional team to try to help with this critical need.” The Oregon company is working with the Oregon Health & Science University to determine needs.

Across the pond, billionaire inventor and innovative vacuum creator Sir James Dyson said his company has designed and built an entirely new ventilator, called the CoVent, in the span of 10 days. “This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently, and at volume," according to Dyson, who also stated that the new ventilator has been designed to "address the specific needs" of coronavirus patients. Dyson plans to donate 5,000 CoVents to help fight the global war on the pandemic.

This is nowhere near a complete record, but just a glimpse into what the giant manufacturers are working on that shows just how quickly companies can collaborate and supply chain priorities can shift when facing a pandemic crisis.