How to re-track our short-term economy to Health Manufacturing?
Juniemoon said:
Why am I not hearing about this transition of our manufacturing resources to ptovide the healthcare materials we need to fight this? Am I just missing a public discussion/implementation of this process?
Yes:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/ford-gm-ventilators-coronavirus/index.html
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-ford-gm-ventilators-masks
sprout said:
Yes:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/ford-gm-ventilators-coronavirus/index.html
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-ford-gm-ventilators-masks
I see a lot of "may"s, "could be"s, and "have offered to" ... but it seems there's a lack of action by the president to actually give the go-ahead and put these plans into action.
I heard this morning that the Army Corps of Engineers are "just waiting for the go-ahead" to move forward. I thought they'd be building hospitals by now.
What I'm not hearing is "Trump has given the go-ahead", or "Ford will have X number of ventilators ready by X date". I'm really hoping this is just the "ramping up" period But if it's not happening because the President thinks moving forward makes him provably responsible for this virus and it's impact, then that's just sad ... and deadly.
China built TWO huge hospitals in ten days in response to the virus-- in early FEBRUARY. I just don't see that sort of action happening here.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-can-build-a-coronavirus-hospital-in-10-days-11580397751
Even as recently as today, Ventilator companies are trying desperately to make more ventilators. So far I can't find a company that has retro-fitted their production lines to make masks, ventilators, test swabs that are already desperately needed. Where's that American ingenuity and innovation?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ventilator-makers-ramp-up-production-amid-coronavirus-crunch-11584626858
I don't understand why we should need to rely on Ford to make ventilators. Why can't the damn ventilator industry step up? Why don't I see a parade of tractor trailers full of TP and hand sanitizer on every time I go out?
Red_Barchetta said:
I don't understand why we should need to rely on Ford to make ventilators. Why can't the damn ventilator industry step up? Why don't I see a parade of tractor trailers full of TP and hand sanitizer on every time I go out?
The subtitle of the article I posted sums up that the current manufacturers of masks, swabs, ventilators, gowns (and more) can't possibly produce the amounts of these products we're going to need very soon::
"Efforts to boost manufacturing of the crucial machines may not come soon enough or prove sufficient if cases surge, experts warn"
Cases are surging, A factory sitting idle is one that could be producting something we'll need to save lives -- particularly lives of the health care workers who then won't be there to take care of the rest of us.
Trump has signed the Defense Production Act, but will only invoke it "if we really need it". The numbers show that we will need more than we can currently produce nationwide. What does it take for him to see that "we really need it" now?
It could be another warning from experts that Trump decides to ignore, and his ignoring it will just add to the numbers of people we can't help and will make this trqgedy worse.
Ventilator-makers need to get the components that from lots of other places, including circuit boards from China.
https://www.wired.com/story/ventilator-makers-race-to-prevent-a-possible-shortage/
sprout said:
Ventilator-makers need to get the components that from lots of other places, including circuit boards from China.
https://www.wired.com/story/ventilator-makers-race-to-prevent-a-possible-shortage/
Well, Xi Jinping is such a pal in Trump's world, I'm sure he'd be able to help us out with those. Wherever we have to get components from, we should be working on making that happen. The act has been invoked several times since the '50s. Trump just probably doesn't want to tick off his big-business friends by telling them what to do. That's much harder than just letting a few more thousand "peasants" to die.
And/or because the open-endedness of "what will Trump do next" is how he approaches his reality TV shows.
Having been in old fashioned manufacturing of hard (industrial) goods, I can attest to the fact that it is not easy to change a plant to make a radically different product.
When it comes to machined parts, there is a world of a difference, between parts that are acceptable with 10/1000" tolerance, and parts that require 5/1000" tolerance. It can take 6+ months to train the lathe or machine center operators to reach the more stringent tolerance.
Also, with 'Just In Time' manufacturing methods, you forecast requirements to your suppliers, with a time line that can stretch over 12-18 months. If your requirements suddenly increase (in this case probably 10 fold), your suppliers may be unable to increase shipments for 3, 6 or even 12 months.
I used to have a division president, who would refuse unexpected orders, since they had not been forecast (because we, and our suppliers, would not have sufficient materials available, and accepting such orders would disrupt supplies to all the customers who had given us a forecast based on their needs).
Juniemoon said:
Well, Xi Jinping is such a pal in Trump's world, I'm sure he'd be able to help us out with those. Wherever we have to get components from, we should be working on making that happen. The act has been invoked several times since the '50s. Trump just probably doesn't want to tick off his big-business friends by telling them what to do. That's much harder than just letting a few more thousand "peasants" to die.
Trump keeps calling Covid-19 "The China virus", so I doubt Trump's diplomacy will go very far with Xi. From China's private sector, Jack Ma has donated tens of thousands of test kits and masks for medical workers to the US.
While it may not fill our biggest needs... it's a start.
Down here in Maryland two distilleries have switched from making booze to making hand sanitizer.
One is giving it away for free while the other is selling it at $4 for a 4 oz. bottle and $6.50 for a 8 oz bottle.
They applied for, and received, federal approval in 2 days. The application typically takes three weeks for approval.
Dave and Eric: Good news from both sides of the world.
Not so good news, NYC # of cases nearly doubled in one day today. Brooklyn's increase is zooming above other boroughs -- who knows why?
Good news: NYC put out a call for doctors and nurses to volunteer to work strictly on COVID cases, and got 1,000 volunteers in 24 hours. King County in Washington state has bought a hotel and a motel to house those exposed and showing symptoms, and a soccer field is being converted to a soccer field into a 200 bed hospital in one day..
These are the kind of things that make me crazy: From the Massachusetts Medical Association:
"Of high critical importance for all of us is PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). DPH made a request to the national stockpile and received less than 10% of the request. DPH is renewing that request.."
I realize things are going on we don't hear about, but why aren't we hearing about more action and innovation towards things like: "Where do we put people locally when the hospital is full?"
Dave: What's daily life like in Singapore these days?
Juniemoon said:
Red_Barchetta said:
I don't understand why we should need to rely on Ford to make ventilators. Why can't the damn ventilator industry step up? Why don't I see a parade of tractor trailers full of TP and hand sanitizer on every time I go out?
The subtitle of the article I posted sums up that the current manufacturers of masks, swabs, ventilators, gowns (and more) can't possibly produce the amounts of these products we're going to need very soon::
"Efforts to boost manufacturing of the crucial machines may not come soon enough or prove sufficient if cases surge, experts warn"Cases are surging, A factory sitting idle is one that could be producting something we'll need to save lives -- particularly lives of the health care workers who then won't be there to take care of the rest of us.
Trump has signed the Defense Production Act, but will only invoke it "if we really need it". The numbers show that we will need more than we can currently produce nationwide. What does it take for him to see that "we really need it" now?
It could be another warning from experts that Trump decides to ignore, and his ignoring it will just add to the numbers of people we can't help and will make this trqgedy worse.
I'm not sure I'd want to be hooked up to a ventilator made by Ford.
dave said:
Juniemoon said:
Well, Xi Jinping is such a pal in Trump's world, I'm sure he'd be able to help us out with those. Wherever we have to get components from, we should be working on making that happen. The act has been invoked several times since the '50s. Trump just probably doesn't want to tick off his big-business friends by telling them what to do. That's much harder than just letting a few more thousand "peasants" to die.
Trump keeps calling Covid-19 "The China virus", so I doubt Trump's diplomacy will go very far with Xi. From China's private sector, Jack Ma has donated tens of thousands of test kits and masks for medical workers to the US.
This. Also keep in mind Trump is about to ask Xi for $3 Trillion to hand out to all of us.
So he's officially invoked the Production Defense Act.. Don't have many details yet.
He may have mentioned some namufacturing retro-fitting offered up by American companies to produce PPE supplies at the briefing today, but no specifics at all.
I believe his first action has been to send the US Navy hospital ships, Comfort and Mercy, to Seattle and NYC Harbors. For a bunch of reasons, Forbes Magazine thinks this is a bad idea:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2020/03/20/navy-hospital-ships-coronavirus/#12ee18201b04
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Why is the Auto Industry shuttering plants rather than re-configuring that manufacturing capability to making the ventilators we'll need desperately tomorrow?
We need to look back to the war-time manufacturing economy of WWII, when factories across the board adapted to producing the tools and equipment needed to protect, arm, and support those on the front lines.
We may be able to house the sick in large venues like Madison Square Garden, the Javits Center, the dormitories of the colleges and universities emptied of students by creating makeshift hospitals with added beds, But if we can't protect the health care workers caring for them, or provide the personal protection gear and medical devices we need to keep as many people alive as possible, we are lost.
Why am I not hearing about this transition of our manufacturing resources to ptovide the healthcare materials we need to fight this? Am I just missing a public discussion/implementation of this process?