Say “Ahhh”: A Manufacturer Makes It Safe for Dentists to Reopen
What do you do when a pandemic shuts down your customers?That was the problem faced byA-dec, a manufacturer of dental equipment and supplies based in Oregon, whendentists nationwide closed their doorsback in March.
In A-’scase, they developed products to help their core customers come back safely.
The problem:Dentists and hygienistsareat particularrisk ofcontracting COVID-19 while treating patients, because their jobs require proximity totheir patients’open mouths.
- Dentists also use loupes with lights and magnifiers to see inside patients’ mouths—but wearing medical masks and traditional face shields makes it difficult to wear lighted loupes as well.
- Meanwhile,traditional face shields are open at the bottom—and because dentists work on patients whoreclineright below them, those shields provide limited protection.
Thesolution:A-’sengineers got to work designing and producing a unique face shield for dentiststhatfitsaround the collarboneand opensupwards, providing a barrier between dentists and patient. Theshieldalsoleavesadditional space arounddentists’eyesso they can use lighted loupes.
Theprocess:The samepandemic that made this work necessary also made it difficult.A-dec had to overcome a series of complications:
- Research and development:COVID-19made the company’scustomerfocus groupsimpossibleto do in person,so itdesigned and conducted remote focus group sessions.
- Sourcing of materials.Shortages and supply chain disruptionsalso caused problems, with some commodities becoming unavailable at the last minute.That meant A-dec faced delays and had to find alternate sources of materials at times.
- Product construction.Like many other manufacturers,A-dechad to figure out how to keepremote workers and on-site, socially distancing workers in sync with each other—all whilecreating a new productin record time.
Byworking around these setbacks andstreamliningits processes, A-dec was able to go from the initial idea to the beginning of production in just two months—an extraordinary achievement.
The last word:According toA-decVice PresidentofManufacturingWesley Snyder, the company benefited fromitsfamiliarity with medical regulations—but that doesn’t mean non-medical manufacturers can’t make a difference. “Everything is made by somebody, and the manufacturing industry is uniquely positioned to make tangible contributions to society in a crisis like this,” he said.“So find those new points of need, and alignthemwith your capabilities.”