Shielding Medical Workers from COVID Airborne Risks
-
The DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee (DMTN) developed face shield included a 3D printed cap and the shield was manufactured from plastic used in the Instrument Cluster manufacturing process.
Around March 2020, the spreading threat of COVID-19 idled the auto industry. Britt Autry, DENSO Vice President of Quality for the South Sub-Region and located at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee (DMTN), was one of hundreds of team members from various global locations who joined to help medical providers battle the virus.
“Locally, we contacted Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville to see how we could help. We held an emergency meeting Sunday, March 22, with 15 engineers to brainstorm COVID-19 support ideas, and we sketched a face shield on the whiteboard,” he said.
The next day, the group developed its first face shield prototype and began working back and forth with hospital staff on their suggested changes. Four days later, after a half dozen modifications from the hospital, the DENSO group sent 30 prototypes back to the medical facility for “road tests.”
DMTN’s Custom Design Receives Thumbs Up
Autry said medical workers gave feedback that DMTN’s shield “was better than anything on the market,” partly because their custom design wrapped the shield around the wearer’s ears, which is what the hospital had said it needed. With that “thumbs up,” the DMTN group raced to do what they do best: manufacture quality products.
-
A team of volunteer team members holds one of the first boxes of face shields to roll off the temporary production lines set up at DENSO in Maryville, Tennessee in 2020.
They mobilized all campus 3D printers for 24/7 running, then quickly built an injection-molding and stamping die to ramp up production to more than 3,000 shields daily by April 8. Autry said they worked with volunteers through that entire Easter weekend.
Eventually, DMTN supplied approximately 80,000 face shields to essential workers in hospitals, physicians’ offices, nursing homes, police and fire departments, and DENSO’s own manufacturing team members within 13 states and some locations in Japan, Canada, and Mexico.
-
Parkwest Medical Center nurses in Nashville, Tennessee show off their DENSO developed face shields in April 2020. More than 80,000 face shields were donated across the region to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The workforce was idled at the time, and it was a good use for some of our team members. But more than that, this activity spoke to the heart of ‘DENSO Spirit,’ which is the culture we try to build here,” Autry said. “It centers on using foresight, credibility, and collaboration.”
Autry said he knows firsthand that those face shields still are being used in some Maryville medical offices. “Recently, I was at a regular checkup and saw one of our face shields with the DENSO logo on the visor.”
“It makes me proud to work for a company so committed to activities like this. But we're not stopping there. We’re continuously studying this project to understand the strong collaborative motivation and challenging spirit, with thoughts to bring it into our daily jobs,” he said.
-
DENSO Guelph team member donates
face masks to local hospital.
Spirit Shines Up North
When local company, InkSmith, put out a call to action to the public to help 3D print the parts required to build personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic, DMCN Project Manager Mike Mansfield quickly got involved.
InkSmith had the existing tools and infrastructure to create face shields for front-line health care workers in Canadian hospitals but was struggling to produce the printed parts the face shields required. Mike started 3D printing face shield components and was able to deliver 50 sets of face shield components every two days. Once InkSmith got the components, they assembled and donated the shields.
“I think it’s important to do what you can when you can. Everyone has a skill or hobby or interest that can translate into supporting a need in their community,” said Mike at the time. “There are lots of things people can do to help. Just do what you can, when you can.” And that helped a lot.
In addition, 500 surgical masks were donated to Guelph paramedics and 1,500 surgical masks to Guelph General Hospital with support from Health and Safety Specialist Victoria McShannon. DENSO also donated nearly 2,000 N95 masks to hospitals in Michigan and North Carolina.