Q&A with the LEGO Covid Face Shield Team
Posted by Huw,
A few weeks ago, Richard over at Rambling Brick who's a medical professional in Australia, asked LEGO whether we could find out more about the company's initiative to produce PPE safety masks for health authorities local to its factories.
It was agreed, so Richard, ourselves, BrickFinder, HispaBrick Magazine and New Elementary came up with some questions which have now been answered:
Where did the idea for this come from, an employee or senior management… or perhaps a government request?
In March, one of our colleagues in the Engineering department heard that there was a desperate need for safety equipment for COVID-19 in Denmark. He approached the rest of his team with his idea for a visor, and they started to trial production ideas. Approximately 100 LEGO employees have been involved in this project in Denmark and Hungary, from developing the design and new moulds, to working with our supplies to make the visors a reality in just a couple of weeks.
Would it be possible to reveal the names of those involved and what they do for the LEGO Group
It was Mikkel Schildknecht Hoé, a Senior Equipment Manager in our Engineering department who came up with the idea.
It sounds bizarre for a toy company to be making PPE but we forget LEGO is ultimately a plastics moulding company with 70 years of experience! Was it much of a challenge to produce these?
Usually the process of making new moulds takes about six months but in this case we were able to work with our suppliers to make the visors a reality in just a couple of weeks.
The masks are made in two parts which snap together.
What was the most unexpected challenge that arose on this project?
We thought that one of the biggest challenges would be time. Usually it can take up to six months for new moulds to be made, and we wanted to meet the demand quickly. But time actually turned out to be a great motivator. More than 100 members of staff offered to help with the project, so we could get visors into production quickly, some working seven days a week and over the Easter holidays to fast-track production. Everyone wanted to do their bit to help our frontline health workers.
What adjustments had to be made to the usual production process to create the masks?
We were able to produce new moulds and convert a number of existing moulding machines in Billund and Nyíregyháza.
A newly-moulded frame.
What LEGO elements are the masks closest to, in terms of the production methods used?
The visors were developed with the Danish Health Authorities. For this reason the production method is unique to the visors and not comparable to the production of other LEGO elements.
Was it necessary to give these design IDs and element IDs, like regular building elements have, for production purposes?
Yes the visor elements have been given unique Design IDs to help with production processes.
Are they actually stamped with ‘LEGO’?
No.
The quality of plastic that LEGO uses for elements is extremely high - other companies even purchase the waste plastic LEGO produces because its quality is still so good for their purposes! - did you use the same super high quality plastic for the masks or was that an unnecessary expense for what is essentially a disposable item?
We used the same materials as we do in our other elements. We also made sure that the visors produced meet the same stringent quality standards as all other LEGO elements.
A transparent visor being produced in a moulding machine.
You have recently begun using a different plastic for transparent LEGO elements, which plastic is used for the visors?
The visors use the same transparent plastic as is already used for other transparent LEGO elements.
Would these be used in higher risk situations like if a doctor needed to intubate a patient or is it more for everyday usage?
The design and quality of the moulds was approved by Danish Health Authorities. They are responsible for advising healthcare workers in Denmark on when and where the visors should be used.
How many of the global factories are these being produced in?
Our priority was to first help the Danish Health Service as we could ship visors quickly. We have also begun making the visors in Nyíregyháza and recently donated 65,000 to doctors working in the region. We have also donated visors to health workers in Mexico.
Would the LEGO Group look to make this available to other countries who are battling the virus? Are there plans to manufacture other protective items for general consumption like surgical masks? Would the mask be for sale to the public eventually?
Right now, our focus is on providing visors as a donation for frontline healthcare workers (e.g. hospital staff, staff in nurseries, care homes, dentists) in our local communities in Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic and Mexico.
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20 comments on this article
Would these be added onto your database? Be interesting to see what this would be classed as seeing it has a element number.
Its great to see LEGO help support their local health carers and communities.
It has been inspirational to see how many companies around the world have shifted their focus to help health care professionals and everyday people during the pandemic. It's awesome that Lego is among them.
I anticipate seeing MOCs using the visors :-D
"The masks are made in two parts which snap together."
Like a little LEGO?
Bravo LEGO! Bravo! It is inspiring witnessing all of these companies step up and volunteer to help combat the virus. When this whole pandemic is over, we can finally play well again!
I would also like to apologise on behalf of all Chinese for spreading the virus. Hope you don’t blame us too much.
Nice interview! Hopefully they don't end up in the aftermarket for 1000s of dollars as exclusive and collector's items...
@blackdeathgr said:
"Nice interview! Hopefully they don't end up in the aftermarket for 1000s of dollars as exclusive and collector's items... "
Better idea: auction some of them off at a fund-raiser for a kid-related charity like a children's hospital or something. Maybe the last ones from each production line or something, to commemorate the end of this pandemic.
Then again, does Denmark even need to do children's hospital fundraisers like we do in the US?
And when is Lego going to make a minifig-sized version? Include those in the auction, and they become pieces of history.
This is awesome! Great job Lego Team!!
@TheRightP_art:
Some do, but most of us lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Chinese government, not the citizens. We've read articles about the Chinese doctor who tried to warn authorities about this last year, and who ultimately succumbed to the disease before anyone would listen to him.
@blackdeathgr:
I've said it before, but at some point this whole ordeal will end. When it does, the pipeline will be flushed with excess medical gear of this type. _AT_THAT_TIME_, it would be perfectly okay for stuff like this that has not been shipped to be diverted to the collector market. Another option would be to donate some of it to developing nations that often have to go without. Whatever the result, you don't want to just have piles of this stuff sitting around where it's doing nobody any good. Either it will sit and gather dust because it's an "alternate item" that won't get ordered until the primary item runs out (and stuff like masks and gowns have expiration dates, so they really need to keep moving through the pipeline so they can get used while they're still usable), or they'll end up causing all the medical supply companies that have been trying to keep up with demand to have a sudden drop in business while everyone works through the piles of excess material.
@TeraMedia:
They're already donating $50 million to charitable purposes. The only organization mentioned by name is No Kid Hungry, which is based in the US. And as this is an international pandemic, a lot of people looking for causes to support have been looking beyond their own borders.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TheRightP_art:
Some do, but most of us lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Chinese government, not the citizens. We've read articles about the Chinese doctor who tried to warn authorities about this last year, and who ultimately succumbed to the disease before anyone would listen to him.
@blackdeathgr:
I've said it before, but at some point this whole ordeal will end. When it does, the pipeline will be flushed with excess medical gear of this type. _AT_THAT_TIME_, it would be perfectly okay for stuff like this that has not been shipped to be diverted to the collector market. Another option would be to donate some of it to developing nations that often have to go without. Whatever the result, you don't want to just have piles of this stuff sitting around where it's doing nobody any good. Either it will sit and gather dust because it's an "alternate item" that won't get ordered until the primary item runs out (and stuff like masks and gowns have expiration dates, so they really need to keep moving through the pipeline so they can get used while they're still usable), or they'll end up causing all the medical supply companies that have been trying to keep up with demand to have a sudden drop in business while everyone works through the piles of excess material.
@TeraMedia:
They're already donating $50 million to charitable purposes. The only organization mentioned by name is No Kid Hungry, which is based in the US. And as this is an international pandemic, a lot of people looking for causes to support have been looking beyond their own borders."
Of course. My point was that if collectors are going to start hoarding these things and trading them on e-bay, why not at least extract out the value first so that rather than the bulk of it going to the first speculators, it goes to charities. Nevermind the cost, even the price for one of these would normally not be all that high given competing products on the market. If a collector is willing to pay $10k, have them pay it to a charity instead of someone trying to get wealthy off of what is ultimately Lego's benevolence. Lego's donation at that point would be (presumably) low, but the value they could generate might be high. Charity wins, collector wins, and Lego manages to do yet more good with comparatively less fiscal contribution but perhaps more time-oriented contribution. The loser is the speculator.
@TeraMedia:
I don't think there's a huge risk of these ending up being diverted at the moment. Maybe as things start to taper off, and people who have access to them feel less at risk, it could happen. As for auctioning these off, I don't think that makes sense. Firstly, even if 100% of the proceeds are donated to charity, it will look very bad for The LEGO Company if there's even a hint of a sense that they're trying to make money off the pandemic while taking emergency supplies away from front-line medical professionals. Second, they pull in billions of dollars every year. If they really want to help more than they're already doing, they could pull another $50 million out of the bank and do far more good than they'd be able to achieve by auctioning these off.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TeraMedia:
I don't think there's a huge risk of these ending up being diverted at the moment. Maybe as things start to taper off, and people who have access to them feel less at risk, it could happen. As for auctioning these off, I don't think that makes sense. Firstly, even if 100% of the proceeds are donated to charity, it will look very bad for The LEGO Company if there's even a hint of a sense that they're trying to make money off the pandemic while taking emergency supplies away from front-line medical professionals. Second, they pull in billions of dollars every year. If they really want to help more than they're already doing, they could pull another $50 million out of the bank and do far more good than they'd be able to achieve by auctioning these off."
That's why they haven't stamped their logo on the masks and have been initially donating batches. I know the logo stamp doesn't stop resellers but once it goes out of LEGO's hands what the end user does with it is up to them. I'm sure they're more concerned about not getting infected instead of a minor profit.
There is one question missing - are the holes compatible with LEGO ? Stud, pin, round brick ... sized ?
Nicely done LEGO!
I am more curious about what additional elements were developed working with the Danish Health Authorities. I believe there are more than two objects were made. Plus, is it possible to get an actual mask piece from CMF series or City?
This is neat. But I feel like there should be ONE stud on them somewhere. So you could add your own little 1x1 lego to personalize it and let everyone know your sporting lego eyewear.
Thanks for doing this Q&A !
I'd be curious as to how much it's costing them to manufacture these per unit. Disappointing that the LEGO logo isn't stamped modestly somewhere on the shield/frame, but understandable seeing as these are destined to be disposed of after use.
This is the reason why there are a lot of sets right now 'Out of Stock' and I'll take it (despite the company didn't need to cancel my order and instead remove the problem items). I would buy two masks: one for personal use after a Clorox wipe and another one for collection or buy more for my family.
I know I have some sets on my wanted list that keep moving further to Backorder, but I fully understand the shift to production and changes to some factories.
LEGO certainly won't retire those sets soon, Barracuda Bay in particular just came out April 1st.
@linkf78:
The CMF S6 Surgeon has a surgeon's mask, but is the only minifig I know of who does. The eyes have female eyelashes, though.
There's really nothing equivalent to a faceshield as would be used in a medical setting. The closest I can think of would be to use the hair from the CMF S16 Spy with the SW Echo Base Trooper goggles, assuming they're compatible.