Help me geek out about emergency supply chains
April 22, 2020 2:50 AM Subscribe
I recently read Eric Larson's The Splendid And The Vile, which touches on transforming factories during WW2 to produce aircraft. I am also reading a lot in the news currently about the need for factories to pivot to making PPE for key workers. Where can I read in much more depth about how this actually works? How do you take your existing manufacturing plant and suddenly get it to make something it wasn't designed for?
I work in manufacturing supply chain and spend half of my working life in factories - and yet I cannot wrap my head around what would need to happen to move from making one specialised item (e.g. lingerie) to another (e.g. explosives - an anecdotal example, as my grandmother worked in a factory during the war which made both pyjamas and explosives).
Someone must have written about this. Essays, books, whatever - I really want to see under the hood. Please recommend sources for me!
The reason for the change isn't important (i.e. I am as eager to read about civil defence preparations as health emergencies or natural disasters) and I would be happy with anything from in-depth memoirs of a specific factory as a top-line view across an entire conflict or outbreak.
I work in manufacturing supply chain and spend half of my working life in factories - and yet I cannot wrap my head around what would need to happen to move from making one specialised item (e.g. lingerie) to another (e.g. explosives - an anecdotal example, as my grandmother worked in a factory during the war which made both pyjamas and explosives).
Someone must have written about this. Essays, books, whatever - I really want to see under the hood. Please recommend sources for me!
The reason for the change isn't important (i.e. I am as eager to read about civil defence preparations as health emergencies or natural disasters) and I would be happy with anything from in-depth memoirs of a specific factory as a top-line view across an entire conflict or outbreak.
This move is sometimes called 'retooling.' Doing various combo searches for manufacturing, retooling, and your other keyword(s) (e.g. wartime, covid etc.) should get you a grab bag of stuff to sift through further. Quotes might make a difference as well. E.g.: "manufacturing retooling" wartime.
posted by carter at 6:55 AM on April 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by carter at 6:55 AM on April 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm embarrassed to say that I wrote my master's thesis on this topic, and responded earlier without thinking to go look at some of the books I referenced. So, just did that, and have a few more recommendations for you (in addition to Freedom's Forge):
Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned The Tide in the Second World War
The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War
A Call to Arms: Mobilizing America for World War II
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 9:42 AM on April 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned The Tide in the Second World War
The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War
A Call to Arms: Mobilizing America for World War II
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 9:42 AM on April 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Might not provide enough "under the hood" info that you're looking for but might provide a few good starting off points for further research.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/15/21222219/general-motors-ventec-ventilators-ford-tesla-coronavirus-covid-19
posted by jacobean at 3:43 PM on April 22, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/15/21222219/general-motors-ventec-ventilators-ford-tesla-coronavirus-covid-19
posted by jacobean at 3:43 PM on April 22, 2020
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posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:03 AM on April 22, 2020 [3 favorites]