The Requirement
When the Government announced on 27th March 2020 that it was “looking for businesses [to] support the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the UK as part of [its] response to COVID-19”, Dorset-based precision engineering and manufacturing company FGP Systems, a Tier 1 supplier for other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) immediately volunteered its expertise via the Government web site.
As a precision engineering company offering bespoke, high-end engineered and manufactured solutions for the tightly regulated aerospace industry, amongst other specialist sectors, FGP Systems was well placed to meet the remit very quickly to manufacture parts for the ventilators.
Government Strategy
Stepping up the manufacture of ventilators in the UK has been part of a three-pronged strategy by Government to source 30,000 machines for the NHS: ordering newly designed models; scaling up production of existing ones; and importing machines from overseas.
The Response
Among others a new consortium of ‘significant UK industrial, technology and engineering businesses from across the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors’ emerged known as VentilatorChallengeUK, including household names such as Rolls Royce, Ford, Airbus and Unilever as well as companies with sites in Dorset: BAE Systems, Meggitt, Siemens and Ultra.
VentilatorChallengeUK looked at both the production of a range of ventilator design options to meet high-level specification for a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (RMVS) developed by clinicians and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), whilst simultaneously supporting the scaling up of production of the existing models made by UK firms Smiths Medical and Penlon, which already had full regulatory approval.
Dick Elsy, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Chief Executive who is leading the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, said in a press statement: “This consortium brings together some of the most innovative companies in the world. Every day, their highly-skilled staff collaborate to create solutions that help millions of people, and this project is no different. They are working together with incredible determination and energy to scale up production of much-needed ventilators and combat a virus that is affecting people in many countries. I am confident this consortium has the skills and tools to make a difference and save lives.”
Upscaling Production x30
It was not long before VentilatorChallengeUK called on FGP Systems’ vast expertise and capability to support the upscaling of production of the Smiths ventilator. The drive was to see weekly output jump to around 30 times normal across both the Penlon and Smiths models. As Dick Elsy’s press statement on 2 April explained: “To provide some context, Penlon and Smiths ordinarily have combined capacity for between 50 and 60 ventilators per week. However, thanks to the scale and resources of the wider consortium, we are targeting production of at least 1,500 units a week of the Penlon and Smiths models combined within a matter of weeks. Ventilators are intricate and highly complex pieces of medical equipment and it is vital that we balance the twin imperatives of speed of delivery with the absolute adherence to regulatory standards that is needed to ensure patient safety.”
FGP Systems Delivers
With full in-house capability to machine, finish treat and offer bespoke re-usable packaging for the necessary parts for the ventilators, FGP Systems was able to turn around the initial order of 2,000 units in just four days.
Nigel Pitman, Managing Director of FGP Systems, said: “We quoted for and received the purchase order to support the manufacture of ventilator parts on Wednesday 1st April and the material was delivered on Thursday 2 April. Our machines were programmed and ready to go the same day.”
Working on a shift rotation system and adhering to current COVID-19 guidance for the workplace, staff at FGP Systems worked day and night to fulfil the order. Nigel adds: “I have to say a massive thank you to all FGP Systems personnel who helped run this process which included a double shift through the weekend of Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April. This ultimately meant we were able to release our first 2,000 units very quickly.” A second and third order for a further 6000 parts was also fulfilled and delivered within days.
On April 16th 2020 a further press statement from Dick Elsy said: “Having already commenced deliveries of the Smiths Group’s paraPAC plus devices, we are working closely with our supply chain partners to rapidly scale up production to achieve our target of at least 1,500 units a week of the combined Penlon and Smiths models. I want to take this opportunity to again thank every member of the consortium and the hundreds of dedicated colleagues who have been working day and night to get us to this point.”
Why FGP Systems?
This project is demonstrative of FGP Systems’ high-end capability as well as its capacity to undertake bespoke projects of any size and scale and at any timescale. Its national and international accreditations were part of the credentials which made FGP Systems a contender for the contract.
“The Group” (FGP Systems, FGP Lufton & Ramp Surface Coatings) boasts 60 CNC machine tools, including CNC turning, sliding heads, 3, 4 and 5 axis prismatic machining, lights out robotic 5 axis machining, with manual turning, manual milling, grinding and superfinishing , treatments and assembly capability.
The Group employs in total 210 staff across three sites – one in Weymouth and two in Yeovil. One of its key strengths is the ability to offer up bespoke engineered, manufactured, treated and assembled solutions to its customers. The enabler to this is a Group collaboration supported by an engineering team of 12 highly skilled production/manufacturing engineers, working towards a single in-house solution to our customers’ requirements.
For the Smiths ventilator parts order, FGP Systems was also able to design and provide its own bespoke, re-usable packaging designed around the customers build requirements, this removed waste, which meant it could ship the parts without waiting on a third-party supplier at the same time reducing cost.
In 2017, FGP Systems added to its portfolio with the acquisition of an environmental control systems business. The business “FGP Lufton” employs circa 40 people and offers in-house engineering and manufacturing capability, whilst strongly supported by NADCAP accredited processes including, vacuum heat treatment, metal joining, Electron Beam Welding, NDT and pressure test capability. The business offers rapid turnaround for direct customers and a third party sub-contract supply chain who do not have this capability in-house.
The third and potentially most influential acquisition to the Group back in 2015 is “Ramp Surface Coatings” (RSC) again based in Yeovil and Weymouth, which boasts a 14-metre temperature controlled paint facility. RSC holds full NADCAP accreditation for all its specialist coatings and paint processes. The business also offers bespoke masking solutions, thus avoiding multiple machining operations and the ability to remove additional cost and waste within the process. RSC has been the enabler for both FGP Systems and FGP Lufton to achieve improved quality and delivery performance to both customers and the company’s third party supply chain.
The company is also ensuring its own future workforce with the launch of its own apprenticeship training school, with 16 apprentices undertaking a four-year training programme, supported by dedicated training staff. The school is EAL accredited and recently added to the Register of Apprentice Training (ROAPT). This not only ensures our apprentices are trained to the exacting standards expected of a precision engineering organisation, it now enables the company to offer training to external apprentices from other companies.
For more information visit:
https://fgpltd.co.uk/fgp-lufton
https://rampsurfacecoatings.co.uk/