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BMAT STEM Academy produces PPE
Posted: 22nd April 2020Hundreds of safety visors to protect NHS workers have been produced by our engineering school.
BMAT STEM Academy has a business focus, with students studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) as a way of getting into those industries.
The school has close links with industry in and around the town which act as sponsors of the school, including Princess Alexandra Hospital.
By way of giving back to the organisations which support students, the school is producing 450 protective visors for those on the frontline dealing with the Coronavirus.
Assistant headteacher Dave Ramsey produced the visors using the school’s computer-aided design (CAD) software and laser cutter machine.
He said: “Princess Alexandra Hospital are one of our big sponsors and do so much for us, so it is nice to be able to give something back to them. My partner is a frontline NHS worker; it is amazing how many people we all know who are working for the NHS right now.
“This is the whole point of design and technology and engineering. It is about being able to make something someone can use and then continuing to improve and test and design something else. We have taken a template for the visors and made some of our own adaptations, making them more comfortable for larger heads, for example. It is good for us to be able to work like that, just as designers do.
“Because of the kind of school we are - working with chemicals, metals, plastic and wood - we teach students all the time about PPE, so this links directly with our curriculum. By staying at the front of the advancement in technology, we have been able to offer our help in this way.”
It takes 12 minutes to laser cut six visors – made up of four parts – before they are assembled.
The school is liaising with its contacts at Princess Alexandra Hospital to ensure the visors – which cost £1 each to make - reach those on the frontline.
Gratnells, another sponsor of the school, has provided ten antimicrobial coated boxes – the same as they are supplying to the NHS, including the Nightingale Hospital – so the visors can be safely transported.
