We’re all trying to find new ways to respond to the needs of our customers.
For every person in America, this pandemic has drastically disrupted the status quo in just about every way. Like many other operations, Western Industries has gone to split shifts or remote work and we see our coworkers on computer screens more than we encounter them in person. Every move we make during the day is filtered through the lens of safety and social distance. And we’re all washing our hands. A lot.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is our attitude of finding new ways to make things happen. Innovation and problem-solving are part of an average day for WIC, and back when “normal” was still a thing, we employed rapid prototyping and computer-aided design to quickly fabricate products for our customers. Today, we’re doing the same thing, but we’re also applying these skills to help those serving on the front lines of this pandemic.
Using a few different plastics and foams out of our existing supply chain, we were able to come up with a design for a simple yet effective face shield. They snap together pretty quickly, and we were able to get them to MD Anderson cancer hospital. Once they get into the hands of the front-line people helping to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, they should be able to provide added protection for both the medical professionals and the patients.