How can GM make ventilators?
Last month, GM announced that it would use a parts plant in Kokomo to make ventilators, adapting a Ventec design; the idea was to help severely affected COVID-19 patients. The Ventec people only make one ventilator per hour at their own plant, so GM had to bring in their own people to speed things up—and that included opening up parts manufacturing to GM’s huge supplier base. Ventec’s own suppliers simply weren’t up to the challenge.
On the Chrysler site Allpar, Allan C. described the process, noting that GM’s own production people played a key role in designing the assembly and test systems. After each ventilator is put together, it goes through a 48-hour quality test with simulated lungs to make sure it’s been properly made. The tests slow down the process quite a bit, but are seen as necessary.
Two types of ventilators are made at this plant: one for intensive care, and one for mobile use by individuals. The ventilator pictured is for critical care within hospitals.
GM reportedly spent weeks working on this project before announcing it; President Trump almost immediately denounced GM for the cost of the ventilators before ordering the company to make them as planned, for the originally announced price. Ford is also working on a ventilator project which has not yet borne fruit, and Tesla bought a bunch of CPAP units, slapped Tesla labels onto them, and told the media they were ventilators.
GM delivered its first batch of ventilators to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital near Chicago on Friday, April 17.
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, and lives in Farmingdale, New York.