F1 team’s pitstop knowhow saving babies

File picture: Phil Noble / Reuters.

File picture: Phil Noble / Reuters.

Published May 10, 2016

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London - The pitstop procedures that allow Williams' Formula One mechanics to change a set of tyres in two seconds are now helping speed up the resuscitation of newborn babies.

The team said in a statement on Tuesday that Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales had modified their routines to incorporate practices honed at the racetrack.

Members of the neonatal unit visited the team factory to see for themselves how they carried out pitstops, while Williams employees have been to the hospital observing similar time-critical processes.

Williams said the teams had subsequently implemented a number of changes.

They included ensuring that equipment could be located without delay, mapping out floorspace, using more hand signals rather than verbal communication and video analysis in post-resuscitation 'debriefs'.

“There is a growing amount of evidence to support a systematic approach to resuscitative care which is time-critical and dependent upon optimal team dynamics and clear communication,” said the hospital's specialist registrar Rachel Hayward in the statement.

“Analogous with the requirements of an effective pitstop we have worked with the Williams team to implement Formula One techniques and processes to augment neonatal resuscitative care.”

Fastest pitstops in the business

Former champions Williams have made the fastest stops of any Formula One team at each of the first four races of the 2016 season.

At the Chinese Grand Prix in April, the team changed all four tyres on Brazilian Felipe Massa's car in the space of 2.10 seconds.

Williams, like other Formula One teams eager to develop new revenue streams, are keen to find uses outside of the sport for their technology and expertise.

Last year, the team’s Advanced Engineering company developed a device to save money and energy by using aerodynamic technology developed through racing to keep more cold air inside open-fronted refrigerators.

Its rival McLaren has applied data management and race simulation expertise to help London's Heathrow airport improve movements on the ground and reduce the time spent by planes circling overhead.

Hospitals are also using their wireless data system technology to monitor patients.

Reuters

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