Congratulations to our colleagues at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) who have been awarded the President’s Special Awards for Pandemic Service. These have been awarded across the whole field of engineering to exceptional projects that have helped address the greatest public health challenge of our age. The IfM was recognised for its work helping local hospitals to make the best use of their resources, streamlining logistics for sourcing and storing vital PPE, informing decision-making on emergency demand, and developing a ventilator sharing system to be used in emergencies.
Duncan McFarlane, Professor of Industrial Information Engineering at the IfM and CSIC Investigator, led the team as they engaged with senior clinical and management teams within local hospitals to understand their needs and implement effective and collaborative ways of working. This involved joining the hospital's regular operations planning meetings and running daily project reviews with key hospital personnel during the peak COVID-19 surge, as well as working directly with clinicians in areas such as COVID-19 test processes, ward oxygen supply, and equipment design.
The IfM team helped local hospitals make the best use of their resources and streamlined logistics for sourcing and storing vital PPE and other issues, enabling healthcare providers who were already feeling the strain to address pressing operational challenges.