London, 1 May 2020: Product data management specialists Quick Release_ and operational consultancy Newton Europe have joined forces to support the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium in the national response to COVID-19. Their combined expertise in operational excellence, supply chain mobilisation, and transformation programme management has played a pivotal role in rapidly increasing production of Penlon's ESO2 device — the first emergency ventilator to reach UK hospitals.
The Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium is a large group of companies that have come together to produce medical ventilators for the UK. The businesses involved come from industrial, technology, and engineering companies across the automotive, aviation, and medical sectors. Several companies are involved in the challenge, with Newton and QR_ working inside the Penlon group.
Based in Oxfordshire, the Penlon group achieved approval from the UK's healthcare regulator for its ESO2 device — adapted from existing anaesthesia products — last month. Penlon has since received a formal order from the Government for 15,000 machines.
Penlon and another specialist manufacturer, Smiths, are usually able to produce between 50-60 ventilators per week. Thanks to the scale and resources of the wider consortium, the companies are targeting a combined output of at least 1,500 units a week. This significant ramp-up in production has been made possible by combining specialist product knowledge and engineering skill with the physical assets and human resources of large companies such as Ford, Airbus, and DHL.
QR_ and Newton's responsibility can be broadly split into two areas. The first phase looked at identifying the fastest route to regulatory sign-off and then driving urgency behind the critical tasks. The consultancies then shifted focus to unblocking the rate-limiting parts or processes needed for high-volume manufacture — smoothing the way for factories across the country to build ventilators at pace.
To overcome the barriers of scaling production in such a complex and fast-moving environment, QR_ and Newton facilitated experts to design the right analytical tools, implement processes, and deploy effective communication across multiple businesses to quickly fix issues that could impact production. For example, when the team discovered a critical part was being produced below the required rate, they found a new supplier who could produce at a higher frequency, validated their capability, and integrated them into the consortium's production plan.
This is the single biggest manufacturing challenge I've ever seen — in fact, it's the challenge of a lifetime. Developing a new ventilator design and achieving certification is an achievement in itself. But assembling a consortium of 12 businesses, with nine new sites, over 2,000 people, building a global supply chain and scaling up from producing tens of machines to thousands per week — all in the space of two months — is unprecedented.Tom Wedgwood, Founding Director, Newton
"This was only possible due to the strong leadership and teamwork of everyone involved, as well as the group being aligned to a single goal," Tom added. "There were no egos, everyone shared information, and we all harnessed our different strengths. It's inspirational what can be achieved when there's the right team driving toward a focused goal. The work the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium is delivering will undoubtedly save lives, and I'm immensely proud of the role the Newton team is playing."
Sprinting a marathon is a fitting analogy for what the consortium has achieved in just four weeks: a more usual development and approval timeframe would be around 18 months, so delivering the first shipment in around 6% of the regular time is a credit to all involved.Ian Quest, Director of Consulting, QR_
"We focused on curating information that can inform and drive action, rather than merely report," Ian continued. "The foundation of this is product data quality, which is where our Bill of Materials management and validation work has paid dividends across the whole project cycle. Similarly, the lightweight Material Requirements Planning system coded from scratch in under a week focuses on what is needed to drive action, and no more."
"Of course, while systems and data flows can inform decisions, actions are driven by people. We've put a lot of emphasis on getting the processes right around change management and deviation sign-offs — assembly, training, and reference materials for those rotating onto the project. A dedicated PDM function has released engineers to focus on the product, not the data."
Newton and QR_'s work to define and manage the end-to-end process meant the Penlon consortium could be clear on how dozens of companies across the consortium would come together to increase production at pace.Dick Elsy, CEO, High Value Manufacturing Catapult (Head of VCUK)
"When the call came from the Government, it meant that specialist manufacturers such as Penlon and Smiths needed to significantly ramp up production of a complex device at a rate never seen before," Dick added. "Newton and QR_'s support in making data-driven decisions has quickly resolved any bottlenecks and meant the consortium companies have been able to get on with building the parts needed in record time. The Ventilator Challenge UK consortium is an example of the UK's finest engineering firms coming together in the fight against COVID-19."
About Quick Release_
QR_ is the leading Product Data Management consultancy — 250 professionals across three continents work alongside some of the largest, most innovative, and most prestigious vehicle manufacturers, aerospace technologists, and Tier 1 suppliers. Our mission is to enhance competitive advantage by bringing products to market faster and more efficiently — improving product data quality and flow.
Key firms involved in the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium
- Arrow Electronics
- Accenture
- Airbus
- BAE Systems
- Dell Technologies
- Ford Motor Company
- GKN Aerospace
- High Value Manufacturing Catapult
- Inspiration Healthcare Group
- McLaren
- Microsoft
- Newton
- Meggitt
- Penlon
- PTC
- Renishaw
- Rolls-Royce
- Siemens Healthineers and Siemens UK
- Smiths Group
- STI Limited
- Thales
- Ultra Electronics
- Unilever
- UK-based F1 teams: Haas F1, Mercedes, Racing Point, Williams
- Quick Release_