Skip to main content
Global Edition
Friday, March 29, 2024

GM Fairfax employees working in Indiana to make ventilators

Credit: 41 Action News
Duration: 02:28s 0 shares 1 views

GM Fairfax employees working in Indiana to make ventilators
GM Fairfax employees working in Indiana to make ventilators
GM Fairfax employees working in Indiana to make ventilators

FOUR INMATES HAVE DIED.GENERAL MOTORSWORKERS FROM RIGHTHERE IN THE METRO --TRAVEL TO INDIANA TOBUILD LIFE-SAVINGEQUIPMENT AMID THISPANDEMIC.41 ACTION NEWS ARIELROTHFIELD LEARNEDABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE- AND WHAT SAFETYMEASURES ARE IN PLACEWHEN THEY RETURN TOTHE ASSEMBLY LINE.USUALLY A-J JOHNSONWOULD BE SPENDING HERDAYS INSIDE GENERALMOTOR'S FAIRFAX PLANT.INSTEAD OF KANSAS CITY,KANSAS, SHE'S INKOKOMO, INDIANA.WORKING ON a device SHEquickly LEARNED HOW TOBUILD -- A VENTILATOR.AJ Johnson/ EmployeeGoing from cars toventilators, very different.Back home I do qualityengineering work and herewe've worked on assemblingsome of the smallest partsthat you can imagineJOHNSON IS ONE OF 37FAIRFAX EMPLOYEES WHOagreed to temporarily relocateto Indiana to HELP G-MFUFILL A CONTRACT WITHTHE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND HUMANSERVICES.The goal?

TO PRODUCE30-THOUSANDVENTILATORS BY THE ENDOF AUGUSTDavid Stillwell/ EmployeeIn a two week timeframe wetook basically an officecomplex and turned it into aproduction facility.

Beginningin week three we were runningtest units to validate thestandardized work was right.And week four we werecranking them out."A DIFFERENT PROCESSUNDER MUCH DIFFERENTCIRCUMSTANCES.David Stillwell/ EmployeeIt's definitely different.

Ournew normal will have to beimplemented.

There are thingswe are doing now that wedidn't do before.Ariel Rothfield/ 41 ActionWhen this Fairfax plantreopens, employees willundergo many of the someprocedures that David Stillwelland A JJohnson experiencedin IndianaEveryone will be required tostand six feet apart and gothrough a daily healthscreening, includingtemperature checkGlasses and masks mustalways be on.AJ Johnson/ EmployeeThere are a number of thingsthat have changed just in thedaily ongoings up in here inKokomo that are going tocome home.

And we'll expectthose things here back home.AS THE FOCUS SHIFTSBACK TO VEHICLEPRODUCTIONAND EMPLOYEES PREPARETO RETURN TO WORKTHESE TWO SAY THEY'LLNEVER FORGET THE LIFE-SAVING MACHINES THEYHELPED BUILDDavid Stillwell/ EmployeeThe first ventilators that wesent to a hospital in Chicago,they brought the boxes up andeveryone got to sign the boxesWhen I signed it, I signed oneteam.

One country.REPORTING IN KANSASCITY, KANSAS.AJ Johnson/ EmployeeTo see everyone signingthose, to see the messagesbeing sent, I don't think therewas an empty spot on any ofthose boxesARIEL ROTHFIELD.

41ACTION N

You might like