Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to
FIGHT COVID-19
Repurposing and Retooling to Make PPE
The Issue: Keeping Up with PPE Demands Amid COVID-19
As the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has unfolded, health care providers have sought help to source Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to enable health care workers to safely care for patients. At the same time, manufacturers have reached out to seek guidance on how they can retool or repurpose to contribute to the cause.
Ohioans' actions are critical to "flattening the curve" and protecting our communities and health care workers. The situation is critical and urgent, and we are moving quickly.
Download list of PPENews Releases:
OMAFC Coordinates Companies to Produce 750,000 Isolation Gowns
Ohio Manufacturing Alliance Helps Company Repurpose to Produce COVID-19 Testing Swabs
Ohio Manufacturing Alliance Launches Exchange to Help Facilitate Access to PPE
Ohio Manufacturing Alliance Achieves Early Success in Fight Against COVID-19
Who We Are
In response to the COVID-19 challenges, The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), Ohio Manufacturing Extension Program (Ohio MEP), nursing homes and JobsOhio have joined forces through the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19. This collaborative effort will engage manufacturers to see which companies have interest in repurposing their manufacturing operations to produce some of the most in-demand products in the fight against COVID-19, especially products for the health care industry.
The Ohio Manufacturing Alliance is guiding manufacturers to help them learn what types of equipment are most needed and how to adapt current products, operations and personnel to meet the need. Ohio MEP, with its partner organization MAGNET in a lead role, is providing engineering capabilities and technical support to make PPE alternatives when possible. OMA is managing outreach to manufacturers, and OHA and nursing homes are providing insights on the products most needed. JobsOhio is providing regional support and financial assistance, where appropriate, to accelerate production.
How We Work
Project Leadership
The Ohio Manufacturers' Association (OMA) – outreach to manufacturing companies to promote participation.
Ohio Hospital Association – outreach to health care community to determine needs and priorities.
Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Ohio MEP) and MAGNET – manage demand, supply and engineering support.
JobsOhio – outreach to manufacturing companies via its regional network and financial support to accelerate production.
Structure
The project includes three inter-related workstreams:
Demand Lead will act as the primary contact for all health care providers, first responders, or frontline health care teams in need of essential PPE to gather information such as products needed, priorities, quantities and specifications.
Supply Lead will serve as the primary contact for all manufacturers, suppliers, and vendors that have volunteered to gather information on companies’ geographic reach, capabilities and capacity, retooling needs and on-hand inventories of products and raw materials.
Engineering Team will:
- Develop or evaluate product concepts
- Re-design, "hack," or retrofit existing product or sub-components
- Look for and assess open-source designs
- Keep up to date on any government-issued standards or specs
- Rapidly prototype
- Test and/or see that new product designs or re-designs meet the demand specs
- Offer design-for-manufacturing support and guidance
- Support manufacturers as they retool
- Coordinate the fabrication of urgently needed products among small/disparate organizations (i.e., a statewide network of 3D printers)
- Coordinate with national consortiums of technical resources working to find and design PPE alternatives (e.g., America Makes)
What You Can Do
The Ohio Manufacturing Alliance can help your company play an important role in responding to the challenge of COVID-19.
If you are a manufacturer with the potential competencies and capacity to contribute, please complete a short survey.
Take Survey- Do you have a product that you could make that would qualify as PPE or needed hospital supply?
- Do you have raw materials like clear (or semi-colored) plastic sheet, gown material or cotton fabric that might be used to create any of these items?
- Do you think you have tools that might be useful to supply PPE or other needed supplies?
After you complete the survey, if you have PPE or related materials ready for the market you can list it on the Ohio Emergency PPE Makers Exchange with our confirmation that you are a retooled or repurposed Ohio manufacturer.
Or, if you have questions or are not a manufacturer, but have a comment, please contact us.
Resources
Alliance Partners
Ohio MEP Partner Organizations
Ohio’s Industry Sector Partnerships
JobsOhio Partners
