ŠKODA EMPLOYEES HELP

ŠKODA employees help

Together, we’ll get it done

The carmaker and its employees are actively helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic 

 espite the measures designed to limited the spread of the Covid-19 disease, as well as the production shutdown, life at the carmaker certainly did not stop. Thanks to the dedicated commitment of many Škodovians, the #SKODAAUTOpomaha aid programme was launched. It provides support to healthcare professionals and people in need contributing to resolving the situation in the regions around the carmaker’s plants. In addition to organised assistance, however, a large portion of the employees were also involved in spontaneous activities.

During the pandemic, mobility is crucial. Consequently, in cooperation with the KOVO trade union, the carmaker decided to take the extraordinary step of donating 100 OCTAVIA cars worth CZK 85 million to organisations that help people. “We rely on fast, uncomplicated and efficient help. We support everyone who now depends mainly on field services”, said Bernhard Maier, Chairman of the Board. For example, hospitals, social services and facilities caring for the elderly can apply for these cars. ŠKODA AUTO has also lent an extensive fleet of 200 cars to non-governmental organisations, municipalities and volunteers, who are using them, for example, to transport food and medical supplies. The HoppyGo platform, established by the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab innovation centre, is taking care of fleet management, including special insurance and thorough cleaning. It is linked to the BeRider project of shared electric scooters, which also serve to help. They can make life in Prague a little easier for doctors and paramedics, who now have 150 scooters available to use for free.

These projects would not have been possible without the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab teams members’ extensive commitment, and many employees from the SR, SG, VT, FIS, GK departments and brand dealers. RED

10

million Czech crowns is approximately the amount in immediate support to help people in need in the carmaker’s regions

37,543

people received help thanks to the #SKODAAUTOPOMAHA project

9,822

deliveries of food and supplies reached people thanks to these cars 

100

OCTAVIA cars, worth CZK 85 million, donated by the carmaker to organisations operating in health and social services

158,366

respirators and face masks went to those in need and were distributed by rented ŠKODA cars

Crisis made people do their best

Purchasing protective equipment has become a big topic – and not only in the Czech Republic. In collaboration with the SG – Health Services and Ergonomics department, BA/2 Purchasing – Units and Infrastructure demonstrated a huge commitment by succeeding in procuring 3.6 million disposable masks, half a million respirators, 40,000 litres of disinfectant, thousands of dispensers and much more. “In the first phase of the search in entirely unexplored markets, they’ve been working tirelessly at the expense of their families and leisure time”, says Dana Guitti BA/2 regarding her colleagues.

A task for 3D-printing

ŠKODA AUTO manufactures BASICS for high-end respirators and protective shields

 hanks to 3D printing technology, the carmaker has made use of its employees’ know-how in Technical Development to produce components for respirators of the highest protection class, FFP3, for hospital staff. The development was managed by the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics at the Czech Technical University (CIIRC), which ŠKODA AUTO also supported financially. The carmaker is one of the few Czech companies with a 3D printer using the Multi Jet Fusion technology, which it commonly uses to produce prototype components of future ŠKODA cars. But now the basic parts for respirators have been the priority. Printing one batch takes 16 hours. “Everything was fine-tuned so that the masks were as close to each other in the printing set as possible without interfering with each other and to make printing as efficient as possible”, says Martin Sova, coordinator of plastics production and of the 3D Printing Competence Centre at the Prototype Construction department. At present, ŠKODA AUTO is able to produce 65 units per day. Next, they still need to be assembled with components from other suppliers, whose collection the carmaker is also handling. The distribution is then organised by the Ministry of Health.  

How the shields were created

Technical Development’s (EGV/2) 3D Printing Competence Centre has also been used in the production of transparent protective shields. The Brand Management (PS), Brand Planning (PP) and Vehicle Production (PF) departments, as well as the ŠKODA Academy (SE), including its apprentices, have joined forces. First, it was necessary to establish a list of available 3D printers. After studying the technical documentation, inspired by the Prusa Research shield, the procurement of materials began. It was not enough to have only a 3D-printer cartridge, the so-called filament. It was impossible to finish the assembly without Plexiglas, which was placed on the front of the shields after cutting, and special rubber bands were used to comfortably fit the shield on people’s faces.

In the last week of March, the first protective shields prototypes were produced in Mladá Boleslav and Kvasiny. After the Easter holidays, the carmaker’s employees had already produced more than 300 pieces. They then travelled to the ŠKODA Polyclinic and Klaudián Hospital in Mladá Boleslav, as well as the town hall and the hospital in Rychnov nad Kněžnou. Jana Polášek Filová

Face shield in a few minutes

Indian colleagues from the ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Private Limited plant in Pune came up with an easy way to make face shields for local medical professionals who also need to prevent a coronavirus infection. All you need is a transparent foil, double-sided adhesive tape, a rubber band, a foam sponge and pads. It is just manual work assembling the device. They managed to produce between 150 and 200 units per day at the plant. The shields made at the Pune plant have been approved by the local Sassoon General Hospital. 

We sew face masks

Škodovians are proving that they not only have dexterous hands when making cars but are also talented sewers 

whole range of employees started manufacturing face masks made from fabric not only for themselves and their loved ones but also for many other people in need. For example, home manufacturing was started by Jaroslav Burda, who works as a coordinator within the logistics system in the PLL-S/1 department. “We live in the Prague district of Holešovice. When the crisis started, our town hall asked citizens for help with sewing face masks, especially for the local care centre and the paramedics from the local polyclinic”, he says. Jaroslav and his wife turned on the sewing machine and picked up the raw material at City Hall. Their daughter, whose new year’s resolution had been to learn to sew on a sewing machine, also got to work doing exactly that. “Our daughter is very handy. It didn’t take long for her to learn how to sew. Gradually, we find more efficient cutting or sewing procedures, so the work will proceed faster and faster. But it’s tiring, and our muscles hurt, even some of those we had been barely aware of”, says Jaroslav. They believe that their work makes great sense and may save someone’s life. 

Similar efforts are made by the family of Helena Gruškovská from the PFK-I – Internal Logistics department in Kvasiny. Face masks are sewn for the Karlov Therapeutic Community, which provides help to people recovering from addiction. “We chose them because young people also need help”, explains Helena.

Admirable deployment

Countless other Škodovians sat behind sewing machines, groping threads and fabric. They were organised thanks to, among others, the “Roušky pro Mladoboleslavsko” (Masks for the Mladá Boleslav region) initiative that Martin Netušil started on Facebook on 13 March. “This group is sewing and distributing face masks where urgently needed. Within a short amount of time, we’ve managed to supply enough to all the retirement homes in Mladá Boleslav, almost all the departments of Klaudián Hospital, children’s homes, shelters, dormitories and other organisations required for the city to run smoothly. We’ve already distributed several hundreds of homemade face masks to pharmacies and are prioritising pensioners. We’re gladly welcoming any other volunteers who wish to join us”, said Jana Szabóová from the PLD/5 – Metal Products I Disposition department, who actively joined the group.

Martin Jílek (PFK-I), a logistics operator in Kvasiny, is also helping, along with his whole family and his friends. “My sister, mother and wife wanted to sew face masks for the public. I’ve been instructed to cut the fabric. My sister is a seamstress and does a very good job indeed”, says Jílek. The municipal office has helped to distribute the masks. As commander of the municipal fire brigade, Jílek has also volunteered to help supply the region with medical and disinfectant products and participates in activities to disinfect public spaces, like bus stops and playgrounds. RED

VILÉM NÁJEMNÍK

SE – ŠKODA Academy 

On the day our plants closed, we met in front of a sewing machine and made 50 face masks for nurses at the Nymburk Hospital. Petr Voleník (PFS – Car Production Management) has been continuously innovating the production process while designing and cutting parts. I supported the training and human resources, provided for the production of additional components and the preparation of parts for assembly. José Figueiredo (BI/3 – Door Panels and Interior Cladding Parts) took care of cost optimisation and sat behind the sewing machine, where he covered the final assembly. At the end of the production process, there was a quality control point and, when necessary, Tereza Fabiánková redid the items. In a few hours, we were done with everything. The next day, nurses picked up this package with enormous gratitude.

Do you want to join?  

Information on where face masks are needed and how to get material to sew them can be found, for example, in the Facebook group “Roušky pro Mladoboleslavsko” (Masks for the Mladá Boleslav region).

Trainees also joined

A total of 6,000 disposable face masks were made at the end of March by a group of volunteers in Brandýs nad Labem, including 15 ŠKODA AUTO trainees. Nanofabric remainders from industrial production, rubber on a spool and office staplers were all they needed. The city then distributed the masks where needed.