Makers Make: Dyson Creates CoVent Ventilator in 10 Days
I said that posts here would be fewer and further between during this trying time. I promised to focus on those that felt meaningful. So, here it goes.
In counseling clients during these past few weeks, I’ve fallen back on what I know and have learned over the past two decades in communications. New times demand new playbooks, for sure. They also offer the opportunity to take lessons from past success.
Surveying the landscape leaves one thing undeniable in my mind. There is at least one clear path for a situation that is winding down a largely unfamiliar road. Makers need to make.
If you’re a company that produces, manufactures, engineers, builds, creates…now is the time to put that ingenuity and energy to use. Now is the time to shepherd resources for the greater good. Now is the time to act and, in so doing, make more of a brand statement than any 30-second spot can achieve. Brands speak about the essential role they play in our everyday lives. What a time to prove it.
Enter Dyson.
The UK-based company best known for its innovative vacuum cleaners and household appliances has done what it does best. It’s engineered something that nobody has seen before. Only this time, it’s carries a much greater purpose.
CoVent (Photo: Dyson)
Founder James Dyson has helped create a new ventilator designed to “address the specific needs” of COVID-19 patients in this pandemic. He and his company are woking with the UK health and technology agencies to attempt to produce up to 15,000 of the CoVent, a bed-mounted, portable ventilator that can run from battery power in field-hospital conditions. Hurdles remain in terms of approvals, production and shipment, but the notion of addressing the need (and government ask) in this period of time is both noteworthy and laudable. Dyson’s note to his team outlined that the “race to production” is now the central challenge to placing the new ventilators in venues of urgent need.
The cynics will point to Dyson’s $10B net worth and say he could do more. They may point to the fact that the company received a grant and this request was made by the UK government. Sure, we can nitpick and critique. I am just happy to see the minds of makers putting their talents to work. The more we see of this, the better.
Stay safe and well.
