DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION HERE: English 21007 Presentation
Proposal for Production of Medical Face Masks within the United States
Simon Au
The City College of New York
ENGL 21007: Writing for Engineering
Professor C. Rodwell
May 3rd, 2020
Summary:
The purpose of this proposal is to provide a possible quick and cost-efficient solution to the current shortages of medical face masks within the United States during this pandemic. We are asking for assistance in funding and volunteers for an experimental test on the production levels and quality of products produced from this plan. Mimicking the manufacturing lines of the production powerhouse, China, the plan is to create a simplified version of these lines using modified versions of currently owned machinery to create a temporary factory to alleviate some of the shortages the United States face. Although the budget will change due to influences regarding the crisis, the plan is estimated to currently be around seven to nine million dollars. If successful, there are plans to expand across the States and possibly create a permanent business with exporting capabilities within America.
Introduction:
It has been nearly five months since the start of the Covid-19 crisis within the United States. Starting in Washington on January 21st, 2020, the virus spread across the country and it became apparent that the United States was not prepared for this type of disaster. News outlets such as MSN and Fox News began reporting the hoarding and massive crowds in every supermarket across the country, buying the essentials they need to make it through the pandemic. However, with the influx of shoppers, the demand increased yet the supply cannot keep up, creating shortages on all sorts of goods. This problem only worsen over time as the supplies are created outside of America, meaning we have little infrastructure in the country for production. This is where the problem regarding the shortages originated. With more and more patients arriving to seek medical assistance, the reserves of medical equipment began to dwindle. Crucial supplies such as face masks and medical gown that protect the first line defenders are rapidly being used up and new imported equipment cannot arrive fast enough or are faulty upon arrival, wasting the government millions of dollars.
The proposal I am making today not only saves millions of dollars and lives, but also goes along with the President’s plan to bring production back into America and to resolve the growing unemployment rate we are facing right now according to the Department of Labor. This is why today, I am proposing a plan to create a temporary makeshift factory within the United States to create the medical supplies the first responders need and to provide work for the unemployed while looking into the possibly setting a foundation for a permanent production business within the United States for the future.
Proposed Program:
What I am proposing to you today is to relocate the machineries commonly found in textiles and clothing manufacturers across America and to reassemble them in a makeshift factory to suit production of PPEs, predominantly face masks. Many of these factories located in the United States are currently closed due to lockdown as they are not considered essential workers, meaning the machineries they have are left unused during these few months. By adopting and modifying Governor Andrew Cuomo’s idea of loaning unused equipment, the factories in which the machineries are taken and the government will benefit since factories are being paid and the government can begin manufacturing with the equipment. By looking into the production lines of China and other manufacturing giants, the main machinery required for face mask production are:
1) Ear Loop Welding Machine (Manual Ultrasonic Spot-Welding Machine)
The welding machine shown above is crucial in connecting the elastic ear loop bands to the fabric masks. It involves a person stepping on to the pad below the machine, which then causes the heated press on top to slam down on to the elastic band, welding it together. However, this machine can only be bought from China and is currently high in demand. To supplement this machine, a simple heat press machine from clothing lines can also weld the bands to the fabric.
2) The Material Frame (Automatic Roll Unwinding Rack)
The material frame is the start of the production line, holding the fabric needed for the mask. Basically, there are three rollers where you can place the fabric to unwind in the production process. All three rolls will merge and will arrive to the pleating machine. This machine is commonly used in textile productions and could easily be found in sweatshops and clothing factories throughout the states.
3) Pleating Machine
These machines are also found within clothing factories and the main function is to fold fabric into different shapes before a metal cylinder flattens and creases the fold.
4) Fabric Die Cutting Machine
This machine is used in multiple production lines, with the main function of cutting out exact shapes of products. It can be found in almost any production plant but looking into textile factories for this machine works best since its designed to cut fabric. However, there needs to be modifications to set the right dimensions for a mask, which are usually 7 inches by 4 inches.
Each one of these machineries would then be brought to the makeshift factory site and they should be lined in the order of the material frame, the pleating machine, the die cutting machine, and finally the ear loop welding machine which is replaced by the heat press machine. The packaging process should be handled manually along with testing reliability of the product.
Innovation Process:
To accomplish this project, the plan needs to be broken down into several phases for convenience.
Phase 1: Locating and Acquiring the Equipment
In this phase, the plan needs to be approved by the government and aid in funding is secured. Negotiations with factories and businesses will have to take place with the help of government mandates similarly to Governor Cuomo’s order to seize ventilators. This step is the hardest one, as the machineries are then dismantled and transported to destinated areas.
Phase 2: Hiring Employees or Recruiting Volunteers
With the equipment secured, the plan moves on to recruiting the necessary number of employees for the assembly line to function. For machines to work as well as order in the workplace, there needs to be skilled laborers and management.
Phase 3: Testing the Efficiency of Assembly Lines
Assemble the production lines and test the efficiency of each layout to figure out which one works the best. Measure average production speed and the time needed for the manual labor aspect of the manufacturing process to figure out average output. The layout with the best output will be used in the final production line.
Phase 4: Production of Medical Face Masks
With the assembly line at its most efficient design, mass production to meet States’ demands will take place. There will be testing on the product to see if the quality meets FDA guidelines and data will be tracked for a month to see whether a permanent factory can be established and if its successful enough to open more makeshift factories.
There are also a lot of other variables that need to be looked at during these four phases. For the first phase, location, cost of machinery, and time are important factors. To limit cost and time of building a factory, we could simply use the unoccupied schools and government buildings for production. School has been closed for the remainder of the school year and the average gym or auditorium of public schools can provide enough space for 6-8 assembly lines. Machinery can be seized via government mandates and those that are in the United States such as the Spot-Welding Machines can be replaced by Heat Presses, which cost around $800 to $1300 each depending on the size. Other expenses that are included are materials such as the fabric rolls which averages around $3700 per roll, the elastic straps which averages around $4.50 per 160 yards, and nose wire which cost around $5 per 50 feet. For phase 2, consideration for wage cost as well as cost of running the machineries are needed. Although we cannot give an exact estimate, it could roughly be rounded up to $16000 in electric costs. Wages according to payscale.com mentions around $10-20 hourly rate for factory workers. If there needs to be around 37 employee per assembly line, there is an estimated wage expense of $4440 on an eight-hour shift day not counting management. Finally, shipping and transportation costs need to be included which cost roughly $2 million dollars for trucks and boxes.
Considering all these variables of the plan, if the production is successful, this plan would effectively lower the cost by margins compared to building a factory from scratch and be time efficient since importing machineries currently have long waitlists.
| Task Schedule | ||||||
| Phases | Dates | |||||
| Phase 1 | X | X | ||||
| Phase 2 | X | X | X | |||
| Phase 3 | X | X | X | X | ||
| Phase 4 | X | |||||
| 4/20 – 4/26 | 4/27 – 5/3 | 5/4 – 5/10 | 5/11 – 5/17 | 5/18 – 5/24 | 5/25 – 5/31 | |
Conclusion:
To conclude, this project has the ability to produce the needed supplies in a cost efficient and quick way compared to traditional ways. If the government were to stick to these tradition methods of planning and building factories, it would take months before the first masks are produced within the United States. Including the lack of manufacturing infrastructure within the United States, this would drag out to possibly years. Due to the pandemic, there is limited time before the reserves run dry, meaning a plan such as this proposal must be set in motion to not only move manufacturing back into America but possibly lives. Therefore, please consider aiding us in making this proposal a reality.
Appendix:
PPE: A abbreviation which means Personal Protective Equipment. It is commonly used today to refer to the face masks, gowns, and face shields that medical professionals use when interacting with the sickly.
Welding: The action of joining parts by heating and pressure or hammering. In this case, welding is needed to seal the layers of fabric as well as to bind the elastic bands to form the ear loops.
Pleat: The action of folding something. In this case, the masks are folded to create the three-fold designs found on the medical masks.
Nose Wire: A metal wire within the masks to allow the masks to bend in the shape of your nose.
Die Cutting: The process of cutting objects into an exact shape or copy. In this case, it allows you to cut the fabric to the exact dimensions of the face mask.
References:
Automatic Aluminum Foil Industrial Fabric Die Cutting Machine Paper Die Cutter. http://www.autodiecuttingmachine.com/sale-7577849-automatic-aluminum-foil-industrial-fabric-die-cutting-machine-paper-die-cutter.html.
Automation, A. S. C. E. N. (2020, April 6). face mask making Ultrasonic Welding Machine. Medium. https://medium.com/@ascen.ltd/face-mask-making-ultrasonic-welding-machine-3cb43d410dc.
Beijing Silk Road Enterprise. Manual Ultrasonic Spot Welding Machine. Manual Ultrasonic Spot Welding Machine , Ear Loop Blank Disposable Face Mask Machine. http://www.nonwovenmaskmachine.com/sale-10654354-manual-ultrasonic-spot-welding-machine-ear-loop-blank-disposable-face-mask-machine.html.
Gerson. Die Cutting Press Machine Manufacturer For Sale. Gerson machinery. https://www.shoesmachines.com/non-woven-face-mask-die-cutting-machine.html.
Guangdong Ruihui Intelligent Technology Co. [Hot Item] Automatic Fold Face Non-Woven Mask Making Machine. Made-in-China. https://ruihuimachinery.en.made-in-china.com/product/kSvmFuPXMqYw/China-Automatic-Fold-Face-Non-Woven-Mask-Making-Machine.html.
HeatPressNation. All Heat Presses. HeatPressNation. https://www.heatpressnation.com/collections/view-all-heat-presses?msclkid=8c6ed368eb3a1d7e0f118dd9399a30db.
Makwell Machinery Co., LTD. (2020, March 11). Automatic production line of plane mask machine. Makwell. https://www.makwell.com/blog/2059/.
Post, N. Y. (2020, April 29). German, French healthcare workers bare all to protest PPE shortages. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/world/german-french-healthcare-workers-bare-all-to-protest-ppe-shortages.
US $4000.0: CNC cutter fabric cutting machine for sublimation fabric textile/Automatic Cloth CNC Oscillating Knife Cutting machine: wood engraving machine: engraving wood machinewood machine – AliExpress. aliexpress.com. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32799955186.html?src=google.
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