Though the aviation industry faces a dip in flight activity, operations at Avfuel's headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are just ramping up as some of the company's OEM professionals in its Avtank division not only focus on making and maintaining refueller trucks, but also join the effort to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for the medical community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To assist in the PPE shortage, the team uses four 3D printers, with another two to four forthcoming, to create face mask ear hooks and face shield headbands to protect front line workers. The PPE is then sent to a company in southeast Michigan to be sanitised, packaged and transported to the local facilities in greatest need.

As of Friday, April 10, Avfuel produced 200 ear hooks during the prototype stage beginning earlier in the week, sending 175 of these to the University of Michigan Hospital, as well as more than 30 face shield headbands that went to the sanitisation site for distribution as production reached capacity with on-hand printers on April 9. The team looks forward to adding more printers, including a larger, faster unit, in the next week. Once all machines come on line, Avfuel estimates it will be able to produce more than 100 pieces of PPE per day.

Brad Van Camp, technical operations manager for Avfuel, said, “Southeast Michigan is our home, and it's been one of the hardest-hit locations in the country. Ann Arbor is a major medical hub fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, it deeply feels the effects of the PPE shortage. But the community has risen to the challenge to help combat the shortage with a grassroots effort by individuals, school systems and private companies. Avfuel wanted to do all it could to support that effort. As such, our talented team members quickly modified a design and started prototyping the face shield headbands and mask ear hooks last week; we should reach production capacity in mid-April. Avfuel staff will keep up its production until the queue of pending requests hits zero. That will be a good day. We're thankful for the front line workers and proud we could put our skills to use to support them.”

As FBOs and fuel handlers face a myriad of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Avfuel is also taking steps to ensure it serves as a useful resource to ease operational difficulties during this time, including offering free training.

With a mission to help make fuelling operations safer by making training more accessible, Avfuel is waiving the initial subscription fee of its FAA-approved Part 139 line fuel safety and supervisory courses via the online Avfuel Training System until June 30, 2020. The special offer grants Avfuel customers free access to all of the ATS' content for a year upon a new initial signup, helping them to fulfil their new and recurrent training needs. Customers can sign up at avfueltraining.com.

“We hope this offering helps our partners focus on what's important right now; health and safety,” says Randy Harrison, quality assurance supervisor for Avfuel. “Even operations seeing a dip in activity can use this time strategically to meet training requirements and come out of the crisis more prepared.”

In addition to the FAA-approved courses, the Avfuel Training System (ATS) features courses that are always free, including: fuel safety, customer service and Avfuel programmes.

Training topics include: fuel handling and fire safety; contaminants and fuel testing methods; procedures for receiving a load of aviation fuel; aviation fuelling components; fuel storage systems; mobile refuelling equipment; aircraft fuelling and general operations, including misfuelling prevention; record keeping best practices; procedures for handling DEF; an extensive course on the proper usage, labelling, storage and handling of aviation fuels and additives; and additional comprehensive training focused entirely on fuel system icing inhibitor's proper usage, storage protocols and handling for added safety measures.

In addition to the special training offer, Avfuel is staying in constant communication with customers, sharing a plethora of resources, from marketing during a crisis to OSHA guidelines, and from CARES Act assistance to ways to reduce stress, to help operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources are sent to customers on a weekly basis and are updated on Avfuel's website.