The contribution to the fight against the spread of coronavirus is a partnership between the Vaal University of Technology Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park (VUTSGSTP), and Tsidi and Friends, a Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) project incubated under Centre of Footwear and Entrepreneurship (CoFE) at VUTSGSTP.
The VUT Sebokeng Technology Station (TS) management team and the Technology Transfer Innovation (TTI) specialists discussed, at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, ways to contribute their skills and expertise to combat Covid-19. The TS team identified their areas of competence, where they could assist and have the most significant impact utilising the TS capabilities and speciality areas.
“The team identified areas that they could be able to produce for, and they decided on personal safety equipment such as face masks and face shields. Furthermore, since they had the skill, they opted for advanced medical equipment such as a Bird ventilator. This machine is powered by oxygen or compressed air at a range of supply pressures. It is a non-rebreathing ventilator designed to deliver the driving gas with or without entrained air to the patient. Inspiration can be cycled automatically, or patient-triggered,” VUT said in a statement.
“The team took time researching these areas and even consulted with several specialists from other universities and industry, so that they do not encounter any hiccups during the production of face masks and face shields.”
The daily production is taking place at one of the VUTSGSTP facilities, the Centre of Footwear Entrepreneurship (CoFE). The VUTSGSTP staff are assisting on the production side, while the staff from Tsidi and Friends are providing the necessary human resources and production skills such as sewing, snipping and folding. Training was provided to the Tsidi and Friends operators to familiarise them with the mask-making procedures.
“The decision to convert the footwear factory into a mask-manufacturing production line was initiated by the TS team to support the mask production fully. This decision required the rearrangement of all the sewing machines to comply with the Covid-19 safety protocol and the team compiled the necessary safety induction material conforming to the regulations. Additionally, for a more technical nature, the team was required to convert the leatherworking sewing machines to cloth-working units.”
“The delivery of 700 masks to the VUT community marked an achievement in their first week of operation. The production rate was improved from 40 masks on the first day to 200 masks on the fifth day. Continuous improvements are implemented for the manufacturing process to increase production.”
