Team members from the Plastics Shop at Tech Ops – Tulsa, along with volunteers from the Composite Shop and other maintenance teams, are creating face shields at the Composite Repair Center, which is part of the world’s largest commercial aviation maintenance facility.
“It’s good to be able to contribute to the wellbeing of the country,” said Paul Long, an Aviation Maintenance Technician helping to create the face shields.
True to their efficient nature, Paul and his colleagues found ways to streamline production and increase output once they began making the face shields. Today, the team can produce a face shield in two minutes when all the necessary supplies are available.
The effort began during a call with the White House Office of Public Liaison, which connected American with Stop the Spread, a coalition of CEOs and business leaders working to help support the government’s response to COVID-19. Stop the Spread paired American with Adaptive Energy, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company with expertise in designing and manufacturing advanced scientific products. Adaptive Energy provided schematics as the team built the first face shield prototypes.
“American is committed to caring for our team members, customers and the communities we serve in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Erik Olund, Managing Director of Base Maintenance. “We’re proud to partner with Stop the Spread and support our team and other heroes on the frontlines of this crisis.”
The Tech Ops – Tulsa team produces approximately 200 face shields in a day, as supplies allow. The face shields will be used by team members performing tasks like temperature checks, and additional shields will be donated to medical facilities in need.