Mawashi Protective Clothing
Company typePrivately owned
IndustryMilitary, Law Enforcement, Corrections, Industrial, Firefighters
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Alain Bujold, President
ProductsRiot Gear
Training Gear
Tactical Gear
Cooling Systems
ServicesResearch & Development, Manufacturing
Websitewww.mawashi.net

Mawashi Protective Clothing is a Canadian manufacturer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Crowd Management & Corrections, Use-of-Force Training Suits, Tactical Load-Carriage and Protective Equipment, as well as Personal Cooling Systems. Mawashi is also a Research and development (R&D) Service Provider of Personal Protection, Load-Carriage, and Personal Cooling to Military, Law Enforcement, Corrections, Firefighters and Industrial clients. Mawashi's core competencies are Human Factors Engineering, Biomimicry, Impact Management, New Product Development, Industrial Design and Systems Integration.

History

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The R4-E protective equipment from the manufacturer Mawashi was used for crowd management at the G8 summit in Muskoka and G20 at Toronto, in June 2010. Several police officers worn the R4-E, put in production during the previous winter. It was the first product to meet the new CSA Z617-06 standard, which redefined the impact attenuation criteria of blunt trauma personal protective equipment.[1].


On February 3, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, and Jacques Gourde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, for Official Languages and for the Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec, announced that the Government of Canada had pre-qualified 36 innovations that it may buy and test as part of the second round of the Kickstart program, also known as the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP). Mawashi Protective Clothing Inc., from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, was selected for its Active Microclimate Cooling System.[2].

Specialization

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Human Factors Engineering

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Mawashi utilizes the science of Human factors engineering to understand the internal and external systems of the human body, and the body’s reactions in very specific circumstances. This allows the development of an appropriate concept of clothing and equipment to address these reactions in order to ensure the protection of the people who wear them. Mawashi emphasizes the understanding and design for the Human Being, and studies physiological process and response, as well as psychological process and response. The clothing and equipement improved through Human Factors Engineering help the end-user be more mobile, flexible, comfortable, non-fatigued, non-distracted, and most importantly be well protected from ballistic, blunt-impact, heat, and other serious threats.

Biomimicry

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Some challenges associated in the development of personal equipment can be solved by looking into the vast and phenomenal solutions present in nature. Nature's solutions to highly-complex situations seem to be highly optimized. Mawashi studies the planet's life forms on the micro and macro scales, which exist in air, water, and on land as well as the "actions" of the planet itself (e.g. lightning, wind, tides, light, etc.) Mawashi combines its scientific competencies in Biomimicry[3]and Impact Management to deliver products with a better ballistic and blunt-force protection, as well as protection from heat and other detrimental threats. By altering shapes, structures, and configurations of currently employed materials, it can be possible to arrive at significantly lower weight and higher protection solutions.

Impact Management

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Mawashi undertakes to identify and analyze a given threat with theoretical and experimental investigation. Once the threat is characterized and quantified, then occurs the understanding what the threat's affects will be on the human body. The last stage is when we move on to "building" the actual solutions that will redirect and nullify impacting energy from a blunt object that is contacting with the body.

Products

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  • R4-E Riot Gear | Protective Suit for Crowd Management / Corrections
  • T-RED Use-of-Force Training Suit
  • T-RED Training Helmet for Repeated Impacts
  • Active Microclimate Cooling System
  • Tactical Knee & Elbow Pads
  • Industrial Load Carriage Harness
  • Industrial Load Transfer Belt
  • HI-2000 Chest Protector

R4-E Protective Suit for Crowd Management and Corrections

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At the 2007 33rd G8 summit in Germany, 13,000 officers were deployed. On those, 433 were injured. [4] To quantify the threats associated with riots, a Canadian Standard was established in 2006: CAN/CSA Z617-06 Personal Protective Equipment for Blunt Trauma. The R4-E Suit complies with CSA Z617-06 Impact Attenuation for the upper and lower body with specific protection levels and coverage for the shoulders, torso, chest, abdomen, back, spine, elbows, forearms, biceps, groin, hips/pelvis, thighs, knees, and shins areas. This R4-E Blunt trauma personal protective equipment has a standard feature comprising stab/spike protection front plates that cover from the groin up to the neck and a rear plate covering the lower to upper back region. The Suit aims to offer users a widd range-of-motion (i.e. flexibility) and ease-of-motion (i.e. mobility). The Mawashi R4-E Suit incorporates an “off-set” design with an ergonomic sub-harness that stabilizes the protective plates over the torso so that ventilation channels and spacers are present underneath the suit.

T-RED Use-of-Force Training Suit

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The T-RED use-of-force training suit offers protection against Blunt trauma. The T-RED suit has an adjustable fastening system for donning and doffing. It comprises a two-part hinge system to allow fluidity of movement. It also has an integrated passive cooling system which is comprised of semi-hemispheric ball structure, to reduce the contact area between the gear and the body and to improve air-flow for cooling the body core temperature.

Active Microclimate Cooling System

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This system is designed to reduce the human body temperature so that a person wearing additional personal protective equipment may more safely withstand adverse heat conditions. This system may also be used simply to increase the comfort of a person in hot environments. Overall, this system influences the rate of evaporation of water vapour from the skin of the body of its user, thereby accelerating the phase change of sweat liquid to vapour. The suction created in the space between the panels and the user also draws more humidity and heat away from the body. The personal cooling system can be used by many different persons and in many different situations. Examples of people that can benefit from using this system include firemen, law enforcement personnel, military personnel, construction workers, petroleum industry workers, smelting plant workers or boiler operators.

Tactical Knee & Elbow Pads

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During operational & tactical maneuvers, soldiers and tactical units quickly changes position from standing, running, kneeling on one or booth knees, crawling, or laying prone. Their knees and elbows are constantly hitting ground, rocks, walls, and other sharp edges. The current knee pads issued to the soldiers turn, twist, and fall down along the leg. Mawashi developped tactical knee & elbow protection with a Biomimicry approach, that helped study the mecanisms behind the shell of the Lobster Tail. These principles were then applied to design a protection that enhances the range & ease of motion.

HI-2000 Chest Protector

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Mawashi's collaboration with the National Research Council (Canada) helped develop a product inspired by the ergonomics of the human body. The HI-2000 Chest Protector allows athletes to practice their art using full thrown techniques making the training realistic.

Research and development (R&D) services

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Mawashi employs scientific knowledge, with a design, development, and manufacturing specialization. Projects are managed utilizing Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Protocol to help ensuring consistency, accuracy, efficiency, and expediency for research and development efforts. Mawashi works in high-tech textiles, human physiology, composites, product development, apparel sewing & design, armour, rapid prototyping, and testing. Mawashi's services comprise research, design, development, prototyping, manufacturing, and technology transfer. Mawashi's previous projects include:

Integrated Soldier Systems

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  • Load Distribution Exoskeleton
  • C4I Electronic Packaging & Load Carriage
  • Active Microclimate Cooling Systems
  • IED Protection for the Extremities
  • Knee & Elbow Protection for Dismounted Infantry
  • Ergonomic Armor Plates
  • Drop-Impact Durability "Add-On" for Ceramic Plates
  • Back Face Signature Reduction "Insert-Plate" for Individual Protection

Personal Protection

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  • Multi-threat personal protective equipment (PPE)

Industrial Load Carriage

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  • Ergonomic Harness and Load-Transfer Belt

Activity

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  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Biomimicry
  • Impact Management
  • New Product Development
  • Industrial Design
  • Systems Integration

See also

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References

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Category:Defence companies of Canada Category:Research and development Category:Innovation Category:Biomechanics Category:Personal armour Category:Personal military carrying equipment