In a development that would fast
track manufacture of coveralls for frontline medical staff fighting the COVID-19, two Ordnance factories were on Saturday granted accreditation by the NABL for conducting "Test for Blood Penetration Resistance", an OFB official said here.
The two units of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) - Small Arms Factory (SAF), Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh and the Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF), Avadi, in Tamil Nadu, were granted accreditation by the NABL for conducting the test as the test equipment manufactured by them met the required standards, OFB deputy director general Gagan Chaturvedi said.
The equipment was developed by a number of ordnance factories of the OFB in a competitive mission mode in a record time of a fortnight, he said.
The basic principle of the test is to expose the fabric, used as a raw material to manufacture coveralls, to 'synthetic blood' at different pressure levels for specified periods of time, Chaturvedi said.
"The test is essentially required to facilitate bulk manufacture of coveralls by manufacturers all over the country in large numbers for health workers and first responders dealing with patients afflicted with the corona virus," he said.
Chaturvedi said that till now, this test was available only with SITRA, Coimbatore in the entire country and testing of the fabric for manufacture of coveralls had emerged as a critical bottleneck specially during the nationwide lockdown and in the absence of logistics.
With this development, a second test facility has been created in South India and the first such facility has been established in North India, the DDG said.
"This will not only enable the OFB to ramp up production of coveralls in its own clothing factories, four of which are in Uttar Pradesh and one in Tamil Nadu, but will also enable other agencies engaged in the manufacture of coveralls to avail themselves of this crucial testing facility," Chaturvedi said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
