Tech university donates its first batch of face shields to local hospital

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) has donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to Kalafong hospital in Atteridgeville in response to the increasing need to fight Covid-19.

Various entities at the university have been manufacturing face shields and other PPE to help medical staff in Tshwane.

TUT spokesperson Willa de Ruyter said the institution was also investigating ways to increase the capacity to produce more PPE to support local hospitals.

“The first batch of shields were delivered to the Kalafong hospital in the past week. Staff are working hard to ensure TUT can continue to support our local hospitals during this pandemic,” said de Ruyter.

She said staff from the departments of architecture, industrial design and industrial engineering worked together to cut and assemble the face shields.

“While the expertise and equipment available at a university such as TUT are normally geared towards prototyping and testing, rather than mass production, the complex time that we are experiencing necessitates those who can, and who are prepared to, to act as a back-up in case supplies of PPE are disrupted,” she said.

“Every bit helps."

De Ruyter said the shields produced by TUT are a modified version of a design released by New York University.

“This design was chosen for its simplicity and the ease with which it can be produced using the materials and equipment at hand,” she said. “Though the original design is provided with no warranties, prototypes have successfully been used in hospital settings with positive feedback.”

Industrial design lecturer Kyle Brand cut the designs using a vinyl cutter available at the industrial design studio. “According to him, it was not the ideal machine for the job, but it worked,” said De Ruyter.

“Other members of the team from the department of industrial engineering - Isaac Tlhabadira, Sinegugu Tshabalala and Zanele Kankolongo - helped by acquiring elastic and assembling the shields.”

De Ruyter said some shields had been used as samples in efforts to increase capacity, while additional designs were also being investigated.