A small group of Ford Motor Company workers have been undergoing social-distancing wearable device test that could be used widely once the company reopens its manufacturing plant. The testing is being done at Ford factory in Plymouth, Michigan where Volunteers are trying wrist bands that vibrates when they come closer than six-foot to each other, said company's spokeswoman Kelli Felker.
As health experts advised, it helps to maintain a safe distance between the workers to avoid the spreading of the coronavirus. Ford is trying to resume its production from next month after being shut down of six weeks. The wearable safety device could be used broadly under safety protocols executed by Ford. The company is also expected to fix a thermal imaging scan to detect if workers have a fever while entering the facility.
The automaker is working on measures along with United Auto Worker Union. "Ford and the UAW are working closely to identify different ways to keep our people safe while they are at work," Felker said. In one of these measures, workers are required to fill daily online survey on their health mentioning ones with whom they have come in contact with. These measures are expected to be practised when the company's auto factories reopen.
Ford working on to make mobile test centres
Ford factories have also been helping to produce ventilators and respirators that are supplied to hospitals battling against coronavirus. The company is working with Wayne State University to start a program that will test first responders, health care workers and correction officers quickly for the virus. Vehicles, drivers and equipment are being provided by the company to create mobile testing service in Michigan.
In this new program, test centres will be brought to people, instead of people going to test centres. They have made an in-house incubator provided with Lincoln Navigators and drivers. These incubators are equipped with tents, sanitation, power, and Wi-Fi to support mobile testing. These vehicles are fully equipped with medical staff and COVID-19 test kits provided by Wayne State University and ACCESS.
"As a community nonprofit with longtime partnerships with both Ford and Wayne State, we are pleased to expand this critical collaboration," said Lina Hourani-Harajli, chief operating officer of ACCESS.
These mobile testing centres will be capable of testing at least 100 people a day as a test result can be expected to return within 24 to 36 hours. Detroit and Dearborn have also opened drive-through testing sites where more than 3,300 police officers, firefighters and health care professionals have been tested at those sites.
