Applications being used to protect front-line workers, ramp up production and retool production lines

The global supply chain is experiencing a level of disruption that has never been seen before. With the majority of medical supplies coming from overseas, smaller scale local efforts are racing to ramp up. We are living through an ‘all-hands on deck’ period in history where manufacturers around the world are leveraging technology to help fight COVID-19. In this post, we run through four examples of industrial applications that are being repurposed to help protect front-line workers, ramp up production and retool production lines.

1. Mobile carts for UVC disinfection lamps

There are several methods used to prevent the transmission of dangerous germs; hand hygiene is a big focus, contact prevention is another method with disposable gowns, gloves and masks, and more recently tools to quickly sanitize the environment are being used as a means to decrease transmission.

UVC disinfection lamps are used across many high-traffic areas (airports, malls, hospitals, schools, etc) to compliment standard cleaning cycles, as a disinfection process that inactivates microorganisms without chemicals. Vention’s heavy-duty carts provide UVC disinfection lamps with mobility, facilitating the movement across widespread areas and reducing the users physical exposure (when compared to handheld devices). See the design.

2. Guarding for employees and customers

The leading mode of transmission for COVID-19 is person-to-person contact, especially those within 2 meters of each other. Government initiatives are doing a great job limiting the number of opportunities for person-to-person contact with the closure of schools and non-essential businesses, but there is still a risk at grocery stores, pharmacies and doctor offices, etc.

Temporary barriers help protect employees and customers. Vention’s multi-purpose barriers are designed with a clear polycarbonate panel and a ‘pass-through’ hole to facilitate transactions and communication between employees and customers, while limiting airborne exposure. The modular barriers are mobile and easy-to-assemble, and their aluminum structure is durable and easy to clean. See the design.

3. Assembly workstations

Now more than ever there is a high demand for workstations that can provide design flexibility and ergonomic benefits for rapidly changing production needs. Organizations are doing everything they can to scale the production of masks and ventilators despite volatile supply chains and labor limitations. Although workstations have always been essential for manual assembly, inspection and packaging operations, their importance in an automated shop floor was often overlooked.

Today, engineers can design configurable applications for their unique manufacturing processes and create a custom modular workstation designed specifically for that - in a matter of days. See the design.

4. Mobile utility stands

With temporary hospitals being installed in parks and convention centers across the country, there is a pressing need to deploy mobile utility stands that can be quickly configured to receive up to 200lbs of medical equipment. Standing by the patient’s bed, modular mobile utility stands can be assembled in less than 20 minutes, configured by front-line workers and repurposed for future use. See the design.