Focus: HOPE's Mobile Parts Hospital Marks 10 Years Of Boosting U.S. Soldier Readiness
DETROIT -- One of the most innovative new in-field technologies used by the United States Army during its campaign in the Middle East was developed at Focus: HOPE, a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Detroit.
The Mobile Parts Hospital, a portable manufacturing unit, has been onsite at as many as six separate battlefield locations at one time since 2003. The concept of the MPH was born out of the Army's need to have some flexibility in its field manufacturing that would help increase soldier readiness by allowing for part repair or manufacturing onsite.
Focus: HOPE became involved in developing the MPH through a research and development contract with the U.S. Army that enabled students in its Center for Advanced Technologies engineering program work on practical applications of manufacturing technology. Timothy Sullivan, director of manufacturing at Focus: HOPE, said students and staff currently are engaged in a similar research project on a mobile manufacturing unit for the U.S. Navy.
For the Army unit, the Focus: HOPE team of engineers and engineering students took agile manufacturing tools and designed them to fit in a containerized unit measuring 8 feet by 8 feet by 20 feet.
"The military does a lot of things with containers -- they are easy to store and ship," said Focus: HOPE process engineer Kevin Green, who has been deployed to the Middle East 12 times since 2003 and recently returned from Afghanistan. "One of the early requirements of the MPH was that it be mobile and containerized and our ability to design it as such was one reason that it was so popular."
In the field, a three-person crew comprised of an engineer, a technician and an administrator would rotate 12-hour shifts seven days a week at each MPH. During the MPH's first deployment, it was used to remanufacture a part which was given the U.S. Army's award for one of the 10 greatest inventions of the year in 2004.
The value that the U.S. Army placed on the MPH can be shown by its effectiveness, said Green.
"We could repair or make parts in a few hours that otherwise would take days, weeks or even months if you had to make a new part somewhere (in the United States) and then have it shipped to the Middle East," Green said.
The Mobile Parts Hospital was used to repair or design brand-new vehicle parts, duplicate or create weapons mounts, or repair or design specialized tools, Green said. It was staffed by Focus: HOPE professionals and employees of numerous government contractors, enlisted Army personnel and U.S. Department of Defense civilians. Much of the offsite training was held at the Focus: HOPE campus in Detroit.
Over the last decade, Focus: HOPE was able to make significant adaptations to better meet military needs, Green said.
"In the field we increased capability by adding machine tools and manual type machine tools," Green said. "It became a retrofit from just a storage container into a small shop that housed accessories or secondary operations. It really was a one-stop shop."
One MPH remains on the ground in Afghanistan and Green continues to support parts production from the Focus: HOPE campus. Once the U.S. Army concludes its draw down strategy in Afghanistan, the unit will return to the United States for storage.
The module being developed for the U.S. Navy currently is located at Focus: HOPE's Center for Advanced Technologies but will be moving soon to Keyport, Wash. This unit incorporates newer technologies that demonstrate the next generation of mobile manufacturing, said Sullivan.
Focus: HOPE is a nationally recognized civil and human rights organization in Detroit founded in 1968 after the Detroit riots. Throughout the years, Focus: HOPE developed numerous programs in its efforts to overcome racism, poverty and injustice, including career education and training that have opened opportunities to nearly 12,000 graduates. It also has a food program for mothers, children and senior citizens and extensive community development programs through its HOPE Village Initiative.
More at www.focushope.edu.
