CASE STUDY: COVID Defence Project

Background:

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, Australia faced a critical shortage of surgical masks due to disrupted global supply chains. The MACH team worked side by side with the Australian Defence Force to recreate the nation’s only mask-making machines, which were over 40 years old.

Challenges:

Time Constraints: The project required completion in sixty days, a process that would typically span four to five months,

and involved more than 10,000 labour hours.

Insufficient Documentation: The original machine drawings were missing. There were knowledge gaps around material specifications and tolerances and the design had to be updated to current safety, controls and interfacing standards.

Complexity: Nearly 14,000 parts were made or procured to complete the project, 850 of which were unique. Although

much of that was manufactured in-house, there were still 52 subsuppliers to manage.

Solution:

MACH's multidisciplinary team worked around the clock, implementing the following strategies:

Reverse Engineering: Collaborated with the ADF and engineers familiar with the original design to recreate and

modernise the machines.

Rapid Prototyping: Utilised in-house machining capabilities to quickly produce and test components.

Production Control: Complete control of all manufacturing and procurement flow processes through our advanced Engineering-to-Order MRP system.

Results:

The first machine was delivered two weeks ahead of schedule with a one-day commissioning. Mask production started almost a month ahead of schedule, and all seven new machines were operational before the deadline. By the end of 2020, 59 million masks had been made, with an annual capacity of 200 million. The collaboration between the MACH team and government agencies reinforced the importance of local production capabilities in ensuring national security.

“[FOOD]MACH has a unique story as a pioneer of food production machinery, but they pivoted to this vital national task.”

Australian Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, The Hon Karen Andrews (ABC Press Club Speech, May 2020)