Con Edison creates a shield between
health care heroes and COVID-19
BRONX TIMES R BTR EPORTER, MAY 8-14, 2020 57
BY JASON COHEN
Con Edison is drawing
on the expertise of its workers
in a Bronx machine
shop to manufacture 40,000
face shields for Westchester
County health-care workers
who are treating coronavirus
patients.
On April 17, the company
turned the fi rst 6,000 plastic
shields over to Westchester
County Executive George
Latimer and plans to make
and donate the remaining
shields by the end of
the month. The county government
will distribute the
shields to hospitals and nursing
homes.
“Our talented team of
technicians, managers and
engineers dedicate themselves
every day to the health
and safety of our region,” said
Tim Cawley, president of Con
Edison. “Strong, supportive
collaboration with UWUA Local
1-2 was key to this initiative.
We’re grateful that our
skilled employees are able
to help protect health-care
workers, the women and men
putting their own health on
the line to heal and comfort
others during the coronavirus
emergency.”
The manufacturing takes
place at 701-723 Baker Ave.,
in a multi-purpose machine
shop at Con Edison’s yard in
Van Nest.
Workers unfurl 500-pound
rolls of thin, plastic sheeting
and use a knife to cut
the sheeting into eight-foot
lengths. They lay 40 of those
eight-foot-by-three-foot sheets
on a piece of plywood and
place another piece of plywood
on top for stability.
The stack of sheets and
plywood is fed into a machine
with a robotic arm that fi res
a thin, high-pressure spray
of water and garnet, which
is the abrasive material on
sandpaper to cut the plywood
and plastic sheets.
Helping Our
Communities
One sheet produces 12
shields and in less than three
hours, the process makes 480
shields. Two shifts of workers
are making the shields,
stamping out 4,000 a day. The
shields soak in a solution of
water and Windex before being
wiped cleaned and packed
600 to a box for shipping.
Each lightweight shield is
one piece, with ties that hook
behind the wearer’s head to
hold the protection in place.
The shields are easy to clean,
which makes them reusable.
Several weeks ago, Chris
Bentley, a section manager in
Con Edison’s Central Engineering
group and John Constable, a
senior engineer, began discussing
whether the company could
design and make equipment
health-care workers need. They
found a design for the fabrication
of a one-piece face shield
that health-care workers wear.
They researched the material
Con Edison would need to
make the shields and decided
they saw a match. A pilot run
produced about 100 shields and
went smoothly enough to convince
the team to begin mass
production.
While it’s easy to feel helpless
as the coronavirus affects
colleagues, family members
and friends, the project has
lifted the spirits of the workers
and planners.
“The folks working on this
take great pride in it,” said Nurrani
Alli, a construction manager
in Central Operations at
Con Edison. “The fi ght against
coronavirus requires a collective
effort with every one of us
contributing. We’re happy to
play a role by providing healthcare
workers with equipment
they need to take care of us.”
Still from video Courtesy of Con Edison
James E. MaQuade, Owner
Family Owned & Operated for over 60 years
3535 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, New York
718-792-0270
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