COVER STORY | C OVID-19
The companies
identi ed a need
for additional face
shields to protect
NHS staff from liquids
or droplets which can
be sprayed, coughed
or sneezed in their
direction. By coming
together, the rms have
managed to access supply
chain knowledge, fabrication
tools and equipment, design
skills and user feedback.
“We have an ethical and
moral responsibility, if we can,
to step up and to meet these big
challenges which are facing us,”
said Peter MacDonald, Director
of 4c Engineering.
“Our profession
encourages
engineers to step up
and to use their skills
and knowledge to
support each other
simply because we
can.”
The design of the
face shield is robust,
practical, safe and
simple enough to ensure
a quick production and
manufacturing time. The foam on
the face-shield gives a standoff
which means that any glasses or
masks that are worn underneath
will t comfortably.
At the beginning of the project,
the team were hitting just over ten
minutes per person per visor, and
by the fth day, they managed to
get to just under four minutes per
person per visor. Now, they have
completed 2,000 face shields for NHS
requirements, and another 1,000
have been manufactured which are
allocated to local care homes and
home care organisations.
At the moment, they are working
on a new concept for the face shields
which will feature a design that will be
more reusable and more suitable for
cleaning.
Dr. Jonathan Whiteside, Clinical
Lead, Department of Critical Care
from Raigmore Hospital, expresses
his gratitude for the two companies
and their help in supporting them
through this crisis: “We were
delighted to be approached by
4C Engineering, who were able to
source materials locally, and produce
much needed protective visors.
These have been put to immediate
clinical use in our Intensive Care Unit,
providing staff with the necessary
protection and allowing them to
continue to provide high quality care,
during these dif cult times. Our
whole team are extremely grateful
and are proud to be supported by
local businesses working together
and helping us care for our patients in
NHS Highlands”
These are just some of the
examples of how design and
engineering is playing its part in the
ght against Coronavirus. Eureka!
will certainly be documenting many
more over the next few months. !
14 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2020
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK