GM To Make Face Masks For Frontline Workers

DETROIT, MI — General Motors employees — including several from the Detroit area — are making face masks for those on the frontline combating coronavirus, or COVID-19. After beginning a rapid-response project to produce masks March 20, the automotive company expects to be delivering its first 20,000 masks to workers by next week.

“Our team began looking at ways we could quickly utilize our talents and resources to help in the shared fight against COVID-19,” said Peter Thom, GM vice president, Global Manufacturing Engineering. “Working around the clock, our team rallied with incredible passion and focus to come up with a plan to produce masks that will help protect the women and men on the front lines of this crisis.”

Project kickoff to first mask in six days, 23 hours, 30 minutes

The core team assembled for the first time to kick off the mask-making project at 3 p.m. March 20.

“Because we wanted to move fast, the team set an incredibly aggressive goal: To have the production line up and running tests within a week,” Thom said.

The team — comprised of more than 30 engineers, designers, buyers and members of the manufacturing team — was asked to help develop the mask, source the materials and equipment, and plan the production process.

“The first people we called were those who work with fabric vehicle components,” said Karsten Garbe, GM plant director, Global Pre-Production Operations. “In a few days, the company’s seat belt and interior trim experts became experts in manufacturing face masks.”

The team leaned on GM's existing supply chain to source the materials needed for the project, items that included metal nose pieces, elastic straps and blown, non-woven fabric filter material. The company worked with JR Automation in Holland, Michigan, and Esys Automaton in Auburn Hills to design and build the machinery needed to assemble the masks.

For the project, the team selected the ISO Class 8-equivalent clean room at GM’s manufacturing plant in Warren. Work began at the Warren facility by removing existing equipment from the clean room. The team cleared approximately 31,000 square feet to accommodate the mask production lines. Crews then installed new electrical service lines to power the production equipment and assembly stations.

With the site cleared and prepped, production equipment and materials were then delivered to the Warren facility. Crews worked around the clock to install equipment and stage the production line. The team then tested each step in the production process, looking for opportunities to improve quality and production speed.

At 2:30 p.m. March 27, the project team had their first production-made mask in their hands.

“Not only did the team make their goal, but they over-delivered,” Thom said. “They actually beat our deadline, running the first mask through the equipment 30 minutes ahead of target. We’re excited because this means we’re even closer to being able to protect the healthcare teams who are working tirelessly to save lives.”

20,000 masks expected to be delivered on April 8

The projected production volume is just as aggressive as the project’s timeline. By March 30, more than 2,000 masks were produced by teams working through the weekend. The initial test samples will be used to ensure the quality standards are met. Once the quality measures are completed, the team expects to start producing masks for delivery early next week.

GM and the UAW will seek more than two dozen paid volunteers from Detroit-area plants to staff mask operations. In addition, GM has implemented a series of safety measures to protect these team members through physical distancing, enhanced on-site cleaning and pre-entry health screening.

The team expects to have 20,000 masks ready for delivery on April 8. Once the line is running at full speed, it will be able to produce up to 50,000 masks every day – or up to 1.5 million masks a month. GM is currently developing a plan for distributing the masks, including using some of this important safety equipment to protect employees in critical GM operations.

For more information on General Motors’ efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.