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Lehigh Valley Business Announces 2023 Women of Influence
Women of Influence Awards honor high-achieving women for their career accomplishments.
RACC contributing to a Berks grassroots movement to get PPE gear to workers
In Berks County, a grassroots effort is providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers who can’t stay home during the
In Berks County, a grassroots effort is providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers who can’t stay home during the COVID19 pandemic. The Berks PPE Resource Network is a consortium of people at area organizations including hobbyists and engineers working to 3D print face shields. Reading Area Community College (RACC) is one of the organizations participating.
Working closely with the PPE Resource Network and American Polarizers, a Reading-based precision engineered optics company, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center (STTC) on the RACC campus, has been transformed into a temporary face shield manufacturing and assembly hub. Led by STTC Director Bonnie Spayed, the facility has been producing full face protective shields and 3D printed face shield brackets as quickly as they can. “We will shortly have produced close to 3,000 face shields that will immediately be used in the field by police and emergency responders. I am so proud to be a part of this group of people who have come together to get this done for our community. Our STTC staff has been very creative and resourceful in pulling all the pieces together and producing and assembling this gear for our local heroes who are working hard to keep us safe during this pandemic,” says Spayd.
According to PPE Resource Network organizer Ellen Albright, director of talent and workforce development at Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, the partners were wondering how to harness existing 3D-printing resources to produce PPE for front-line workers.
“Instead of getting stuck in those questions — ‘How do we do that?’ or ‘What happens next?’ — we kept tapping this ad hoc committee that we had,” says Albright. “Take your piece of this and let’s run. Build the plane while you’re flying, because it’s not anything any of us had done before.”
It’s not only hospital workers who need the shields, though their PPE needs have understandably gotten the spotlight. According to Adelle Schade, a Network organizer and founder of the nonprofit Albright Science Research Institute, people like police officers, firefighters, Game Commission staffers, postal workers, grocery-store clerks, and even private-practice physicians have been going without face-shields while doing their essential jobs. The PPE Resource Network is fixing that.
RACC Celebrates its Third Annual STEM Day
Reading, PA – Reading Area Community College hosted over 130 Berks County middle school students, teachers and
Technology, Talent and Cyber Security Featured at the SMART Automation Summit at Reading Area Community College
Reading, PA – On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center on the Reading Area Com
Reading, PA – On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center on the Reading Area Community College campus hosted over 125 local and regional manufacturing leaders and vendors for a SMART Automation Summit. Working with the business strategy and consulting firm Nimble Leader, the summit featured keynote speakers Craig McAtee, executive director at the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers, Nimble Leader Managing Directors, Steve Van Valin, founder and CEO of Culturology and T. Brett Wilmotte, director of cyber security for Enterprise Ventures Corporation.
“Smart Manufacturing is the 4th Industrial Revolution that uses the internet of things to create interconnected manufacturing systems that communicate, analyze and use this information to drive intelligent decisions/ actions back to physical equipment and processes. As an educational institution, our goal is to provide learning and resources for both employers and students to improve manufacturing technology and talent readiness as we transition into a SMART Automation era,” says Bonnie Spayd the Reading Area Community College executive director of workforce & economic development.
The event also highlighted state-of-the-art technology demonstrations on electronic sensors, cloud and robot integration, networking and cloud-based manufacturing.
“The Automation Summit serves as a great platform to exchange ideas around the impact of technology in the manufacturing markets, and explore new technologies for current and future manufacturing,” says Mike Salute, Reading Area Community College director of workforce development.
In additional to guest speakers and demonstrations, breakout workshops were held during the afternoon. Workshops ranged in topic from sales lead generation, optimization and conversion, to corporate branding and robotics automation.
For more information about programs at the Schmidt Training and Technology Center, call 610.372.4721 or visit sttc.racc.edu.
Schmidt Training and Technology Center hosts SMART Summit
The Schmidt Training and Technology Center will host the SMART Automation Summit on Thursday, October 3, 2019.