Well, sort of. Most manufacturing lines don’t operate at max capacity, and most factories don’t run full shifts. Typically, manufacturing lines run at 50-75% capacity at any given time, and busy lines run 2 out of a possible 3 shifts. So there is often room to increase to 150-500% production, if you can get the parts to support it. Your #1 point is right on. Most manufacturers don’t have that kind of parts inventory on the shelf, and their supplier would have to know about the demand well ahead of time to meet it.
7 Likes
I want one for every day use.
1 Like
I’m not familiar in detail with many different kinds of manufacturing, so I can’t really speak to all of them. My direct manufacturing experience is from the semiconductor industry, where, when things are good, your line is running 24/7/365, (minus a minimum of maintenance downtime) because depreciation on the tools means you’re losing enormous amounts of money every hour your line isn’t running. I would assume that the math works out more in favor of flexibility than full usage in industries with lower capital outlay for a production line.
3 Likes
That is actually kind of fascinating. Skips intubation and the trauma associated with it, but still uses what appears to be a standard ventilator (so not freeing up any of those.) I could see issues with access for suctioning, and if the patient is conscious the claustrophobia might be a thing, but in long term ventilation (this bug is reported to be weeks, not days to extubation) could obviate need for a trach, which is a definite plus. Less invasive. Interesting option. and yes, I am thinking out loud here.
8 Likes
True, and there are serious conversations we need to collectively have about this, but a large part of those conversations will be the fact that manufacturing things the old way is much more expensive. A smarter use of resources might well be having governments stockpile (cheaper) ventilators in advance, rather than trying to localize their manufacturing supply chain and making them more expensive.
2 Likes
…Which bring to mind that one of the uncommon times when what Trump says sounds kind of reasonable is when he says that they don’t need to use the Defense Production Act to force companies to tool up for corona virus because they are already trying without being forced. When a company has the option of shutting down because demand for consumer products is drying up versus tooling up to try to make medical equipment that there is a sudden, huge demand for, the choice is obvious. And no company is going to balk for moral or PR reasons in the way that companies had to be “forced” to make napalm to be used in Vietnam.
2 Likes
Some helmets have access ports.
One instalation video (saw it once, tried to find it again,) showed earplugs being fitted. I’m not sure whether this is to mitigate sound of the air rushing in and out, or to protect the patient from the constant noise of the machine that goes ping. and other auditory annoyances of intensive care wards.
4 Likes
I would assume it’s due to the positive pressure.
4 Likes
should be seeing same pressure on both sides of the eardrum, so no issue there. But I don’t have a better explanation, so??
4 Likes
Stockpiling is really important, but will you stockpile what you need for the next crisis ?
Thinking in term of cost is partially what put us in this situation, and labour is certainly most of the cost of manufactured goods but we can’t think all the time in economic terms and health shouldn’t be a place for profit and capitalisation.
3 Likes
That is actually reasonable.
If you don’t know what you need for the next crisis, are you going to make all manufacturers, in all industries move back to less efficient methods, so that they can change what they’re producing on a moment’s notice? I can see applying restrictions on supply chains for medical, military, and critical infrastructure manufacturing, and many countries, including the US, already do this for some of these cases, but applying it to consumer manufacturing would be a disaster.
3 Likes
Medical equipment manufacturing does tend to favor flexibility over maximum efficiency. Demand can vary month-to-month by as much as +/-50% in normal times, so maintaining some excess capacity is built into the system. Most companies would rather not use their full capacity per line vs. having to start a 3rd shift fairly often.
3 Likes
I propose:
5 Likes
Isn’t that the point of the DPA (that isn’t being used)?
Not so much to nationalize and completely take over the factory. More like place an order and PAY for it, directing that the government’s order is the next one to deliver, delaying others. In this way, it’s a guaranteed order, the factory should be making money, and maximizes output here.
Isn’t this just a recursive problem then? Something else I thought the DPA was supposed to address. Government places order from the factory, and its’ prioritized. Immediately asks, what parts suppliers need to deliver to make that happen, and repeats the process with those suppliers. Which should again guarantee the suppliers will be paid, increase production, and can maximize output. Repeat all the way down.
All the just in time manufacturing is a balancing game to avoid carrying costs. If a factory makes to much stuff, they’re sitting on inventory costs until they can sell it. If they buy to many supplies, they’re sitting on costs until they can build something and sell it. If they make to little, they lose sales. Everybody is trying to forecast demand, make just enough to get all the sales and minimize carrying excess inventory.
This spike throws that all out of balance. I thought that was a large part of the DPA goal. To act as an accelerant, quickly drive down through the entire manufacturing chain, guaranteeing the sales at each level all at once. Eliminating a bunch of risk in the forecasting and prediction at all levels.
2 Likes
Yes. This is a vastly better idea than nationalizing it and putting someone who doesn’t understand the details of their manufacturing process in charge of it.
1 Like
Dyson, steps up to claim the glory again, what is not mentioned is the ventilator is designed by a company called TTP
3 Likes
PEEP stands for positive end expiratory pressure. You can think of it as a back pressure that a ventilator applies against breathing out. It’s used to make sure that the alveoli don’t collapse on breathing out, but it has nothing to do with humidity.
7 Likes
There’s quite a bit one can do to be prepared regardless of the situation. Typically having 1-2 months worth of shelf-stable foods is easy to maintain as long as you’re good about checking the expiration dates and using/replenishing regularly. Always keep a good first aid kit, cleaning supplies, the only thing that i typically don’t keep any is bottled water because i find it to be extremely wasteful. To be prepared for more specific things like a pandemic i think the majority of what one would regularly stock applies but living through this current situation i might be inclined to keep a big ass bottle of alcohol and other disinfectants 
1 Like
Now they just need a supply of Emergency Medical Holograms to operate them.
2 Likes
