As we navigate this precarious period, we must remember to focus on what we can control instead of worrying endlessly about things outside our purview. To that end, we at AMT are endeavoring to assemble resources for our members and keep you updated with the goings on in the manufacturing community as they relate to the government response to the coronavirus pandemic. We anticipate an intense mobilization of our capabilities and it’s important we are prepared to meet that challenge. Below is a short status update on what we’ve been doing and how you can help.
WHAT’S GOING ON? On Friday, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act for the first time when it compelled General Motors to begin manufacturing ventilators. FEMA, who is in charge of coordinating the national response, is working actively to secure the medical equipment sorely needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic, including the procurement of some 60,000 coronavirus test kits and 500 million masks.
FEMA has a four-pronged strategy to increase the supply of critical medical supplies, which include personal protective equipment and ventilators.
Preservation – Making the supplies in the field last longer.
Acceleration – Figuring out where completed supplies and whether they need to be bought or transported faster.
Allocation – Working with industry partners to illuminate the supply chain to make better allocation decisions.
Expansion – The need to convert plant operations to produce critically needed supplies.
WHAT IS AMT DOING?
The initial focus of the government has been to find finished medical supplies. Only recently have they begun to ask manufacturers to increase production to respond to our country’s growing need. But we anticipate that the government will call on manufacturers to further adapt their capabilities to produce critical components and supplies. We hope to help define the scope and scale of that need and organize our community in preparation for that eventuality. To this end, we have prepared a brief survey here to collect information from our members that we can make available to FEMA.
At present, AMT is also working with several government and non-government groups to link the nation’s manufacturing base and tackle this crisis. In the process, we will document and share important manufacturing-related resources to help orchestrate the efforts of the manufacturing community, who are truly rising to the occasion in this time of crisis.
You can visit our resource page here, which will be updated regularly to serve as one of the best sources of information on the COVID-19 crisis for the manufacturing community – both in how we can help and on the advocacy work being done on your behalf to keep operations running smoothly.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP
AMT will continue to gather and share information with you as well as our industry, government, media and non-profit partners. We welcome your input.
