Utilities: Pivoting to Emergency Sanitizer Generation

The Challenge

As was the case for many cities around the world, in the early stages of the COVID pandemic the City of Bloomington had difficulty procuring additional personal protective equipment such as masks and hand sanitizer due to increased universal demand and dramatically strained supply. In the case of the City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU), there remained a large essential employee workforce that could not work from home. Rather, this workforce depended on riding in shared vehicles and using shared tools to perform daily functions necessary for the well-being of Bloomington’s residents. Employee safety was of paramount importance to the City of Bloomington, and yet, the supply of hand sanitizer was insufficient to ensure as healthy of working conditions as possible given the circumstances. When Cindy Shaw in CBU Purchasing contacted dozens of normal vendors to purchase sanitizer, they were told that unless they had purchased it from them in the last six months or had a history of purchasing sanitizer from them, they were not allowed to purchase it at that time. Hand sanitizer retailers were limiting sales to medical institutions only. When CBU attempted to order in March and April, they were told the earliest ship times to non-medical businesses were August 2020!

The Idea

In response to these challenges, in April 2020 Vic Kelson (Director of CBU) wondered if the CBU lab could be leveraged to fill the gap in the supply of hand sanitizer. At the time, there were several official online resources about producing your own hand sanitizer. So, CBU began with online research and then asked its chemical suppliers for the needed ingredients. A production line of sorts was set up at Dillman Wastewater Treatment Plant. Due to the highly flammable and potent nature of the chemical ingredients, the first challenge was to properly ventilate the production room. The plant’s Head Chemist (Craig Abbot) and Water Quality Coordinator (Tyler Steury), as well as other lab personnel, worked together to create a safe working environment. Once the ventilation issue was solved, Cindy was tasked with finding bottles and caps in which to put the product. At the time, these materials were extremely hard to find. Once the materials were procured and ready to use, Craig mixed the hand sanitizer and Tyler Steury spent a single night shift bottling the solution into 500 mL containers. After the first batch of hand sanitizer was distributed to all CBU divisions, the same group of core organizers looked to improve the process and make a second batch.

This time around, based on learning about what was working in the field and what wasn’t, Cindy was able to procure more functional bottles. Rather than making the hand sanitizer start to finish, it was now cheaper to purchase the ethanol mixture from CBU’s chemical suppliers in a large drum and then bottle it into smaller portions back at the Dillman assembly line that had been created for the first batch. A system was developed to keep track of the hand sanitizer’s volume (who had it and where), just in case a future third batch might be needed. James Hall, Assistant Director of Environmental Programs, was in close contact with Adam Wason - Director of Public Works - who was responsible for supplying hand sanitizer to all City facilities. James made two deliveries (amounting to twenty 500ml bottles) to Adam in April 2020. This supply was enough to assist the City’s immediate needs while Adam worked to procure enough of a supply for future needs.

The Cost 

In April 2020, due to the constraints on the hand sanitizer market, it was significantly less expensive for CBU to make, rather than buy, the product. Even when employee time and supplies were taken into account, CBU came out on top as it cost them roughly $4,500 to produce four hundred 16oz(500mL) bottles versus the estimated $10,666 it would have cost to purchase the sanitizer… if it had been available for purchase. The necessary chemicals made up most of the cost. As the prices came down slightly, for the second batch it was more economical to buy an ethanol mixture in bulk and bottle the product at Dillman. Because the quantity produced in both the first and second batches was so large, CBU has not needed to recreate the process since May 2020. As of January 2021, the cost of hand sanitizer has normalized so if CBU does need to restock, making their own would no longer be cost-effective.  
 

The Benefits

When CBU’s employees needed it most, CBU’s culture of innovation sprung into action and solved the hand sanitizer supply shortage problem by taking matters into their own hands. Having the chemical expertise, space, and resources to do so, CBU generated one batch of hand sanitizer and bottled a second batch, which it was able to distribute to multiple facilities at a time when fulfilling the need would have otherwise been impossible. In doing so, CBU ensured safe working conditions for employees, especially those in close contact with each other and residents. The curiosity of CBU employees fueled this innovation. The support of leadership at all levels of the organization to take risks and try new things - especially in crisis situations - made it a reality. This combination of curiosity and leadership support of risk-taking help CBU continually adapt, adjust, and improve their operations. 

Metadata

City Department(s): City of Bloomington Utilities

City Point of Contact: James Hall

Partner(s): N/A

Partner(s) Point(s) of Contact: N/A

Type of Innovation: Brand New Service

Date Implemented: Spring 2020