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Groupe PSA plans safe return to operations
French automotive operation Groupe
PSA has plans to get its operations
moving again, following the Covid-19
outbreak.
It announced the suspension of its
industrial activities until March 27,
2020, but the executive committee of
the Groupe PSA has taken measures
such as teleworking when the activity
allows it, or protective measures that, it
says, go beyond the recommendations
of the health authorities in the event of
a necessary presence on operational
sites. In this way, Groupe PSA's central
spare parts distribution stores
continues to support the maintenance
of vehicles, the rm notes.
Protocols applied to site workers
include; taking temperatures; wearing
masks on site with daily individual
supply; respecting safe distances
between people in meeting rooms, at
each station or in break zones, achieved
through markings on the ground;
Ventilator consortium
A consortium of UK industrial,
technology and engineering
businesses from across the
aerospace, automotive and
medical sectors has come
together to produce medical
ventilators for the UK, it was
announced on Monday this week.
The VentilatorChallengeUK
Consortium (‘the consortium’) is
led by Dick Elsy, CEO of High
Value Manufacturing Catapult, a
group of manufacturing research
centres in the UK. Over the
previous week, the consortium
reported it had been working hard
to investigate production of a
range of ventilator design options
to meet a high-level speci cation
for a Rapidly Manufactured
Ventilator System (‘RMVS’)
developed by clinicians and the
Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency
(‘MHRA’).
The consortium, which
includes McLaren, has evaluated
all requirements to design,
manufacture, assemble and test
components, as well as nished
medical ventilators. Companies in
the consortium have now
received formal orders from the
government in excess of 10,000
units. Production, which begins
this week, will now be
accelerated of an agreed new
design, based on existing
technologies, which can be
assembled from materials and
parts in current production.
The consortium also includes
another producer of medical
ventilators and it will provide that
rm with additional
manufacturing support and
assembly facilities in order to
scale up production of a second
existing ventilator design that has
full regulatory approval.
There are a range of other
projects aiming to increase
ventilator production in the UK.
French Proupe PSA has developed safe working protocols
that it intends implementing in its factories and more
keeping doors open (except re
doors) to avoid contact with handles;
cleaning and disinfection of tools
and work surfaces every 60 minutes;
a waiting time of three hours during
any exchange of parts (hand to
hand); lengthening breaks by 5
minutes to wash hands; separation
of 30 minutes between teams'
rounds to avoid staff crossing; and
even a doubling of bus collection
lines to guarantee passenger
spacing.
The company says it is
committed to launching audits to
ensure the perfect implementation
of its reinforced safety protocols in
the eld.
Rocol lubricants suit medical ventilators
With the Department of Health
calling for help from industry to
support the national effort for
Coronavirus ventilator production,
uid expert ITW Rocol says it
stands ready to support every
manufacturer planning to support
the ‘call to action’.
The company says that its
OT20 lubricant has been
formulated speci cally for use in
ventilators for hospitals and
operating theatre equipment.
The UK government has
revealed that, in a worst-case
scenario, the NHS will need an
additional 20,000 ventilation
machines to add to the NHS'
current volume of 5,000 adult
ventilators and 900 child
ventilation systems used in critical
care facilities. With the Health
Secretary Matt Hancock tweeting
to industry asking for help from
‘all manufacturers who can
support our National Effort for
Rocol's OT20 is suitable for use in medical ventilators
coronavirus ventilator production’
– Rocol advises that it has the
lubrication products available to
support all manufacturers turning
their attention to this matter.
The Rocol OT20 solution is a
‘ t and forget’ lubricant,
compatible with most plastics and
non-metallic seals that are used
on breathing apparatus in
hospitals for ventilators and
operating theatre equipment, as
well as with Ministry of Defence
aircraft and sub-sea equipment.
As an oxygen-compatible lubricant
primarily designed for use on
breathing apparatus, it lengthens
re-lubrication periods
6 April 2020, issue 1 - Machinery Classifi ed
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