Dear Director Len, Swoop Aero Would Like to Acknowledge the Courage
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Swoop Aero Pty Ltd ACN 624 870 775 ABN 20 624 870 775 Director General PO BOX 6253 Ministry of Health Melbourne, VIC, 3004 Mail bag 9009 Australia Port Vila Republic of Vanuatu Phone: +61 3 9081 6670 02 May 2019 www.swoop.aero Dear Director Len, Swoop Aero would like to acknowledge the courage and willingness of yourself and the Ministry of Health in pursuing and adopting world leading innovation solutions to meet high priority public needs. This is no small achievement as other governments across the world have waited to see the results of our pilot program. Together, we were able to deliver the first vaccines and following that, an array of other high priority medical supplies under a commercial contract. There are a lot of learnings that have come out of this project. Enclosed in this report is a brief summary of those learnings to complement the final report being prepared by UNICEF. We were thrilled to be a part of phase two of this project and believe that by continuing this journey together and building on these learnings, we can together continue to serve the people of Vanuatu in closing the vaccination gap and ensuring children and other community members are able to reach their full potential. Please find enclosed the key learnings and insights gathered from the project. Yours sincerely Eric Peck Chief Executive Officer Swoop Aero - Commercial- Commercial inin Confidence Confidence - - Vanuatu Ministry of Health | Final Report | 2019 Transportation of Vaccine and Medical Supplies using Drones - Vanuatu Swoop Aero Pty Ltd Swoop Aero 2 Executive Summary: our existing network has been able to serve two major islands Our network includes hubs in Dillon’s Bay and Vaemali, with all major communities on each island being served as spokes. Green = Hub Red = Spokes Green = Hub Red = Spokes Commercial In-Confidence - Commercial in Confidence - Executive Summary: The Republic of Vanuatu During our project with the Ministry of Health in Vanuatu and UNICEF, we … Assessed under CAA-NZ Covered over Conducted 70+ Part 102 req’s 2,000 km of operational and issued mountainous flights approvals for terrain BVLOS flight Engaged with Maintained nurses and Delivered 25+ cold chain health staff kg of high conditions at covering 25 value medical 100% success communities supplies rate across 8 islands Swoop Aero 4 - Commercial in Confidence - Proposed Program of work Swoop Aero’s original joint project delivery plan for MoH S1721-2 nd MoH S1721-3 included 8 weeks of flying operations across the two Island groups, supported by three weeks of in-field preparation - Commercial in Confidence - Delivered Program of Work Swoop Aero delivered 11 weeks of flying operations across two island groups supported by 4 weeks of preparation, training, and demonstrations Major Changes Included: - Shifting of dates to accommodate third party participation - Contract variation to extend in field operations until 12 April 2019 - Average direct resourcing increased from 2.25 persons to 3.5 persons - Surveying and nurse training conducted concurrently with operations - Two media events supported - Force Majeure events: a) OED, weather, 1 week lost b) TC Oma, weather, 10 days of effective operations lost c) Visas, 10 days of effective operations lost - Commercial in Confidence - Project Delivery Costs Swoop Aero remained focussed on delivering a quality and impactful program of work, and provided in-kind financial support to ensure the program continued smoothly and the best outcomes were delivered for the Ministry of Health Major Changes Included: - Additional resources placed on project; up to 5 Swoop Staff were on-site at any one time - Additional costs associated with more frequent travel necessitated by delays and extensions - Additional costs incurred across all categories due to Force Majeure events - Ground transport costs were high for Erromango (village boat charter) - Not for Public release - Learnings and Reflections Commercial In-Confidence - Commercial in Confidence - Logistics Operating Procedure (LOP) and Methodology (Part 1) During Phase 2, many key learnings were gained to support the case for delivery via drone as a solution to close the gap in the number of Nirvan citizens vaccinated each year Key insights - delivering vaccines via drone ● Vaccines by aircraft saves usage as unused vaccines can be sent back for cold storage ● Vaccines by aircraft means that the nurses can prepare the children first, know the exact numbers of vaccines needed, and then receive the delivery - this ensures no kids are missed and no vaccines wasted ○ Use case from the field: the nurses made random school visits and were able to inspect the records to see which students had previously missed vaccinations - they were then able to call back to the base at Vaemali and order the exact number and type of vaccines needed - these were then delivered within half an hour ● Vaccines by aircraft saves the nurses time as instead of travelling, they are able to remain in the clinic and serve members of the community Key challenges - delivering vaccines via drone ● Occasionally there were vaccine shortages on the island - this meant delays as stocks were refilled from Port Vila ● Using drones means a more efficient logistics system - these changes need to be mapped further up the supply chain Key actions for the future - delivering vaccines via drone ● Swoop has realised the importance of embracing the whole ecosystem and the need to consider the whole supply chain ● In the future, more attention will need to be paid to the upstream supply chain especially as both vaccine and medical supply volumes increase with more flights ● Better communication will be prioritised between EPI HQ and Swoop/ nurses + more stringent scheduling processes Swoop Aero 9 - Commercial in Confidence - Logistics Operating Procedure (LOP) and Methodology (Part 1 - additions) The robustness of the Kookaburra aircraft combined with simple ground setup means the Swoop Aero operation can be deployed in remote locations with relative ease Characteristics of the technology - the Kookaburra aircraft (the drone) ● Range - fly max 120 km (total) ● Speed - fly at 100 - 150 kmph, depending on the wind ● Payload - carry up to 2.5 kg ● Wind - fly in winds up to 50 kmph ● Weather - the Kookaburra aircraft is waterproof and routinely flew in moderate rains and winds ● Vertical take off and landing - i.e. no ground infrastructure required - can drop off as well as carry back supplies ● A skilled person is not required on either inbound or outbound journey’s Ground Control System and Navigation Support ● On Ground Comms: ○ Two laptops running Remote Pilot Station system for redundancy ○ Cellular modem/ wifi station ○ Satcom connection ● On aircraft ○ Swoop Comms module and autopilot system ○ Satcom module ○ Cellular Modem ○ Wifi Module ○ Autopilot navigation ● Aircraft able to accept AVC-24 WHO certified vaccine carriers Swoop Aero 10 - Commercial in Confidence - Logistics Operating Procedure (LOP) and Methodology (Part 2) A balance between scheduling and on-demand flights will facilitate the optimum health outcomes for the communities Key insights - on-demand and scheduled deliveries ● Scheduling is important in maintaining the overall supply chain, however, the culture generally doesn’t support the idea of scheduling or strict time based activities ● On-demand deliveries mean that urgent supplies can be made available as needed ○ Use case from the field: whilst in Vanuatu we undertook various deliveries of potentially life saving medical supplies including oxytocin to a woman experiencing bleeding problems postpartum - postpartum haemorrhage is the number one cause of maternal death globally ● On-demand deliveries mean that if other factors impact a schedule, i.e. the nurse isn’t able to get cell reception or urgently needs to treat a patient, the delivery can easily be done when suitable for the nurse and within their schedule Key challenges - on-demand and scheduled deliveries ● Scheduling is often interrupted by various factors including availability of comms, medical supplies, weather, etc. ● Scheduling is challenging as it requires communication between multiple parties in areas with communication challenges Key actions for the future - on-demand and scheduled deliveries ● Better processes and attention needs to be made in creating schedules and linking these on-demand services to balance supply and demand of medical supplies ● Considerations should be made for linking the main central hub in Port Vila with the outer islands via drones to elevate further upstream supply chain stresses, i.e. flying from Port Vila to Takara to Vaemali when a medicine is requested on Epi island Swoop Aero 11 - Commercial in Confidence - Logistics Operating Procedure (LOP) and Methodology (Part 2 - additions) Once the nurses were familiar with the service and confident to use it, the scheduled deliveries were accompanied by on-demand deliveries increasing usage of the service Overview ● Swoop Aero operated both on-demand and scheduled deliveries ○ On-demand acting as a responsive service to the nurses needs in the time that those needs arise ○ Scheduled deliveries acting to service both the nurses needs but also fit in with EPI and other considerations further up the supply chain allowing medical resources and vaccine scheduling to be adequately managed Scheduled - micro planning process 1. Sit down with the nurse and discuss their vaccination schedule as per EPI 2. Decide the period within the month that the vaccine deliveries will occur (normally there was one vaccine push per month which will cover each location on the island) 3. Confirm each of the locations needed to be serviced and decide on both the day and time for the scheduled delivery 4. Confirm which nurse will be at each location, their contact details, and a plan for who will contact them to confirm their availability and needs - i.e. either the delivery team or the nurse team - note, often the micro planning was completed over a number of days as nurse schedules and needs were confirmed by phone and plans changed On-demand - process 1.