The MaskForce reached a scalable solution in 40 days to provide N95-style masks to Wisconsin health care workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
As the pandemic unfolded, a group of southeastern Wisconsin manufacturers, first responders, health care professionals and universities united to form the MaskForce, which to date has shipped more than 10,000 masks across the state.
Husco International, which led the effort, now produces 1,200 masks a day at its Waukesha headquarters – a feat that Husco leaders say could not have been achieved alone.
“No one person really has the full scope of being able to take a product like this and launch it by themselves successfully with all the different variables and considerations that need to come together,” said Austin Schmitt, Husco vice president of Advanced Automotive Systems.
Husco now plans to ramp up production to 10,000 masks a day, funneling all proceeds from mask sales back to the community via the Ramirez Family Foundation through the year.
Behind the MaskForce was a sense of urgency and contribution to the community, reminiscent of war-time efforts of the past, said James Schneberger, New Berlin Plastics president and MaskForce member.
“I have to think that in times of great need in this country, whether it be World War II or when people needed to step up to a cause that was bigger than the collective group, it maybe had a little flavor of that peppered in there,” Schneberger said.
From start to production, 40 days is an aggressive schedule for a project of this scale, especially amid the disruptive nature of the pandemic, leaders said.
The MaskForce team turned an idea into a design, which turned into a part, and returned to ideation within a 24-hour period, a process that took place several times throughout the project, Schmitt said.
The MaskForce began as a collaborative effort among 50 different organizations whose members met virtually on a daily basis. The professional expertise on those calls ranged from doctors to manufacturers, professors, material experts and others.
Although Husco has decades of experience designing manufacturing components for the automotive industry, the company, and several manufacturers who participated, had little to no experience producing medical equipment.
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The unique MFP01 face mask is sanitizable and includes replaceable components. Photo courtesy of Husco.[/caption]
From a design standpoint, Husco cast a wide net to capture as many opinions as possible to define the design and make sure their injection-molded solution was viable, said Pat Masterson, Husco vice president of corporate manufacturing.
Husco then broke the MaskForce into several groups, designating a series of smaller projects to teams led by Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton, Fitchburg-based Master Graphics, New Berlin Plastics, Hartland-based Midwest Composite Technologies and Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady.
“The plan we put together had to be a pretty small execution team and I think that’s the key for me when it comes to innovation,” Masterson said. “The difference between a good idea and a true breakthrough is that execution element.”
The various teams navigated the challenges of not being able to meet in-person, and instead having to compare designs, share input, and manage teams virtually. Without the luxury of in-person communications, each team was expected to be especially detailed in their communication, said Karl Held, New Berlin Plastics business development manager.
“Oddly enough, it lent itself to creating a faster-moving environment because it forced everyone to be precise in their directives and what the next steps were going to be,” Held said.
Held, whose team contributed molding expertise to the mask’s final design, said the process validated the importance of getting suppliers involved early on in design phases.
“Don’t hold your design so close to your chest that you make it as perfect as you can only to find out that it’s imperfect when it gets to the supply base,” Held said.
Schneberger also noted that MaskForce team members collaborated without an underlying sense of competition, the root of which is often commercial in nature or can be ego-driven, he added. Instead, communication lines remained open, which drove the tempo of the team’s execution.
“When you trust the people you’re working with, regardless of whether (they are) in the same company or not, it tears down barriers and opens the kimono,” Schneberger said. “It’s something that we should really reflect on and see if we can get at least a seed of that planted somewhere in our business culture.”
MaskForce leaders said their collaboration in a time of need accelerated the relationship building among organizations.
“The relationships we developed because of it, we probably wouldn’t have, or it would have taken longer to develop those,” said Ryan Martin, Midwest Composite Technologies chief executive officer. “And so, it was just a much better understanding of the landscape and building stronger partnerships with manufacturers, customers and suppliers.”
In fact, the cross-section of industries required those involved to gain a better understanding of processes and challenges they were not privy to, said Dan Sem, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Concordia University in Mequon.
Before MaskForce, Sem, who is also a biochemistry professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, was not familiar with the numerous injection molding and plastics companies in the state. Throughout the process, Sem and MaskForce members gained insight on new processes, pushing manufacturers, for example, to explore injection molding silicones with a flexibility suitable for the mask.
“I think we’re each pushing each other out of our comfort zones to innovate and I think these relationships are going to continue,” Sem said. “Why can’t we use that now going forward to innovate in health care and beyond COVID-19?”
