- Thread starter
- #1
What Do Hospital Gowns and the 2021 Ford Bronco Have in Common?
How Ford is juggling community aid while ensuring key product launches go smoothly.
While Ford plants are temporarily idled in terms of vehicle production, the automaker is using some of its facilities, as well as car parts and materials, to help medical workers and emergency responders during the health crisis. But that aid must be balanced with the fact key vehicle launches like the 2021 Ford Bronco, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, and new 2021 Ford F-150 will need plenty of parts on hand when the plants rev up again. To offer a specific example of a potential pinch point—and answer that question in the headline—the same airbag material is used both in the all-new Bronco and as the material for hospital gowns Ford is helping to produce for front-line workers. This could cause a shortage of said material when it comes time to make cars again, but Ford officials insist the company will be able to balance these needs and work with suppliers to meet the extremely varied demands with limited impact to its core business.
We got a peek into the juggling act during a media call with executives from Ford and some of its new medical-equipment materials suppliers. Unlike General Motors, Ford is not under government mandate, via the Defense Act, to use its plants to make medical supplies. But like GM, it had already volunteered to help before any government orders were given to anyone. In the U.S., Ford has worked with 3M to develop a new powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR). Production begins April 14 at the Ford Vreeland facility near Flat Rock, Michigan, which is being retooled to make at least 100,000 respirators. The newly designed PAPR includes a hood and face shield that covers the head and shoulders and supplies filtered air for up to eight hours. (The air-blower system is based on the fan in the Ford F-150's ventilated seats.) Ford is also helping 3M increase capacity at its own plants that make ventilators and respirators.
"We knew that to play our part helping combat coronavirus, we had to go like hell and join forces with experts like 3M to expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies," said Jim Baumbick, Ford vice president for enterprise product-line management. The aforementioned airbag material will be used to make reusable, silicon-coated isolation gowns with the help of supplier Joyson Safety Systems; the pattern for the gowns came from Detroit's Beaumont Health hospital and by this Sunday, workers will be able to make 75,000 gowns per week while continuing to increase production. By July 4, Joyson will cut and sew 1.3 million gowns, each washable up to 50 times.
Another Ford effort involved helping Thermo Fisher Scientific expand its production of sample-collection kits to test patients for viral infection. Ford sent some of its manufacturing experts from the Kansas City Assembly plant to the Thermo Fisher plant in Lenexa, Kansas, resulting in a tripling of output thanks to the adoption of some practices Ford uses to build its vehicles. The Ford team also helped set up additional machinery and adapt existing equipment to make vials from plastic instead of glass so they can be used for high-volume drive-through testing in the field.
In addition, the overall program, known as Project Apollo, has produced more than 3 million full-face shields for medical workers and first responders at plants around the world, while Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant in Michigan is being repurposed to make ventilators with the help of GE Healthcare, with production to start April 20.
A benefit of temporarily getting into the medical supply business is that Ford is making masks that its own global employees can wear when its assembly lines start back up, which Ford is exploring doing in the second quarter of the year if it it safe to do so. Among the affected launches is the Bronco Sport (pictured above), which is now expected in September, about two months late. However, the Mach-E, which is essentially sold out based on orders and deposits, is still slated to begin deliveries on time and by the end of the year.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/what-do-hospital-gowns-2021-ford-bronco-have-common/
How Ford is juggling community aid while ensuring key product launches go smoothly.
While Ford plants are temporarily idled in terms of vehicle production, the automaker is using some of its facilities, as well as car parts and materials, to help medical workers and emergency responders during the health crisis. But that aid must be balanced with the fact key vehicle launches like the 2021 Ford Bronco, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, and new 2021 Ford F-150 will need plenty of parts on hand when the plants rev up again. To offer a specific example of a potential pinch point—and answer that question in the headline—the same airbag material is used both in the all-new Bronco and as the material for hospital gowns Ford is helping to produce for front-line workers. This could cause a shortage of said material when it comes time to make cars again, but Ford officials insist the company will be able to balance these needs and work with suppliers to meet the extremely varied demands with limited impact to its core business.
We got a peek into the juggling act during a media call with executives from Ford and some of its new medical-equipment materials suppliers. Unlike General Motors, Ford is not under government mandate, via the Defense Act, to use its plants to make medical supplies. But like GM, it had already volunteered to help before any government orders were given to anyone. In the U.S., Ford has worked with 3M to develop a new powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR). Production begins April 14 at the Ford Vreeland facility near Flat Rock, Michigan, which is being retooled to make at least 100,000 respirators. The newly designed PAPR includes a hood and face shield that covers the head and shoulders and supplies filtered air for up to eight hours. (The air-blower system is based on the fan in the Ford F-150's ventilated seats.) Ford is also helping 3M increase capacity at its own plants that make ventilators and respirators.
"We knew that to play our part helping combat coronavirus, we had to go like hell and join forces with experts like 3M to expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies," said Jim Baumbick, Ford vice president for enterprise product-line management. The aforementioned airbag material will be used to make reusable, silicon-coated isolation gowns with the help of supplier Joyson Safety Systems; the pattern for the gowns came from Detroit's Beaumont Health hospital and by this Sunday, workers will be able to make 75,000 gowns per week while continuing to increase production. By July 4, Joyson will cut and sew 1.3 million gowns, each washable up to 50 times.
Another Ford effort involved helping Thermo Fisher Scientific expand its production of sample-collection kits to test patients for viral infection. Ford sent some of its manufacturing experts from the Kansas City Assembly plant to the Thermo Fisher plant in Lenexa, Kansas, resulting in a tripling of output thanks to the adoption of some practices Ford uses to build its vehicles. The Ford team also helped set up additional machinery and adapt existing equipment to make vials from plastic instead of glass so they can be used for high-volume drive-through testing in the field.
In addition, the overall program, known as Project Apollo, has produced more than 3 million full-face shields for medical workers and first responders at plants around the world, while Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant in Michigan is being repurposed to make ventilators with the help of GE Healthcare, with production to start April 20.
A benefit of temporarily getting into the medical supply business is that Ford is making masks that its own global employees can wear when its assembly lines start back up, which Ford is exploring doing in the second quarter of the year if it it safe to do so. Among the affected launches is the Bronco Sport (pictured above), which is now expected in September, about two months late. However, the Mach-E, which is essentially sold out based on orders and deposits, is still slated to begin deliveries on time and by the end of the year.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/what-do-hospital-gowns-2021-ford-bronco-have-common/
Sponsored
