Developing a boutique manufacturing industry to meet a medical need is not something Tomago Aluminium engineer Brodie Fairhall imagined he would be doing eight weeks ago when he had the idea to create face shields for frontline COVID-19 workers using 3D printers.
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But now Mr Fairhall, who works to solve complex problems for Tomago Aluminium, heads the Open Manufacturing Alliance whose 307 members have 3D printed 50,000 face shields.
Mr Fairhall said once he decided to develop face shields, with support from Tomago Aluminium who granted the engineer use of some of its plastic products to test prototypes, he met some resistance to supplying them because "so many people were trying to do the same thing".
The engineer said it "made sense" to form the alliance of individuals and medium to large companies, some with hundreds of 3D printers, who were each working to fill a gap in demand for PPE (personal protective equipment).
"There were so many hoops to jump through. People on the ground were telling us they needed equipment but procurement officers were telling us they didn't," Mr Fairfall said.
"The 3D community was so keen to help and individuals were making the shields, but ironically we couldn't give them away, as hospitals weren't sure if they were allowed to use them from individual suppliers."
Once the alliance received the Therapeutic Goods Administration's approval for a design, members began producing face shields that they could sell.
Mr Fairhall said the TGA tick of approval made all the difference.
"Once we had TGA approval and could sell the product, suddenly there was demand," he said.
Mr Fairhall said his role morphed from manufacturing product, to managing a huge team of volunteers.
"That was a challenging role and it's not my area of expertise. People were all enthusiastic but managing volunteers can be challenging."
Now that the alliance is operating well, Mr Fairhall said is keen to progress work with Newcastle organisation Sparkhaus, operated by health professionals who are working on creating a ventilator. Some of the parts will be made with a 3D printer.
Mr Fairhall said the COVID-19 outbreak has proven that the manufacturing sector is highly valuable for crisis response solutions.
"It is now obvious that we are capable of creating a model of quick response in the manufacturing sector, and this should help in future crisis situations where people will be able to learn from this experience, and understand and accept that it is possible to team up and manufacture products locally using innovation," he said.
Mal Muddle, Mr Fairhall's manager at Tomago Aluminium, said the company was "very happy" to sponsor Mr Fairhall with time and materials for the face shield project.
"A project like this is not anything Tomago ever thought we would be involved with, but manufacturers in Australia have to be innovative to survive, and supporting Brodie to create an innovative solution to a problem that would help frontline workers was something we didn't even have to think about," Mr Muddle said, adding that he thought it would be interesting to see the long-term impacts of boutique manufacturing in Australia.
"I think we now realise that there are industries and people who have skills that can ramp up and respond very quickly. Normally we don't ask locally for problems to be solved because we automatically look to China for cheaper parts or solutions. But this experience might change that," he said.
