Otto Bock Paralympics Repair Workshop: Technicians Find Creative Solutions for Athletes
By Miki Fairley For several years, Otto Bock HealthCare,
headquartered in Duderstadt, Germany, has provided the exclusive
repair service for orthotic and prosthetic devices and wheelchairs
at the Paralympics. The company generously offers its services free
to athletes from all the participating countries.
 Otto Bock CEO Hans Georg Näder said that the
company didn't just want to support one team in Athens. "We want to
make our experience and competence available to athletes from all
over the world." He added, "The athletes participate in the
competitions with high-tech prostheses and special competition
wheelchairs. We take care that nobody has to dispense with the
start due to technical problems."
Over 100 Otto Bock technicians and specialists supported the
athletes at the 23 competition locations, providing over 2,000
services. And, as you can imagine, they have interesting stories to
tell!
Before the games even began, more than 900 repairs were
requested. Technicians from all continents collaborated in the
workshop. Some countries, including the Netherlands and New
Zealand, brought their own service teams but collaborated with Otto
Bock's workshop.
Often the technicians had to come up with unorthodox solutions,
since it was impossible to have all spare parts in stock,
especially for older equipment. For example, Jens Mueller from
Germany sawed off a broomstick to turn it into a joystick for a
wheelchair. When the backrest of another athlete's wheelchair
broke, it was welded into shape at Otto Bock's main workshop, but
needed a cover fabric. Then New Zealand technician Ross Mason
spotted a suit bag and cut out a piece for a perfectly designed
custom backrest.
The Iranian national wheelchair basketball team faced a plight
just one day before their first game: spacer washers between the
frames and seats of their wheelchairs were missing! The wheelchairs
were disassembled for air transport, and somehow the washers were
left behind. Organizing spare parts for the entire team tested the
technicians' improvisational ability, but they succeeded.
An athlete from the small Rwanda team needed help with his
below-knee prosthesis, which was broken at the shin. Tape and
screws held it together; the Otto Bock team provided new parts to
restore it to its former functionality.
Some athletes from developing nations arrived with old, rusty
wheelchairs and other worn-out, damaged equipment. "...These people
are evidently asking for the workshop's services because the
services are not available to them in their home countries or
because they cannot finance them," noted the company. "Our team
tries to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and help." However,
sometimes some rather audacious requests had to be refused--for
instance, exchanging a wooden prosthesis for a high-tech
C-Leg®!
 How did the participating technicians feel about
the workshop? "Even though it was really hard work, we had a lot of
fun," said Willem Moes from the Netherlands. "Yeah, that was
great--a beautiful team!" agreed Mueller.
Sponsoring Disability Sports
Another notable event was the signing of a partnership agreement
between Otto Bock and the German disability association, Deutschen
Behindertensportverband, in which Otto Bock will help promote
disability sports through a sponsorship of over 40,000 euros
through the end of the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. German
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who was visiting the Paralympics,
witnessed the contract signing by Näder and the disability
association chairman. Näder and his wife Antje also enjoyed
the flight to Athens with Schröder onboard the chancellor's
executive government aircraft. While in Athens, the chancellor also
took a test drive of the newly launched Otto Bock "Super Four"
outdoor wheelchair at the German school in Athens and saw the award
ceremony for German athlete Wojtek Czyz who won the 200-meter
sprint in world-record time.
All in all, the Athens Paralympics was a truly memorable event
for the entire Otto Bock team as well as all those participating in
the 2004 Games.
For more information, visit www.ottobock.com/en and click on
the Paralympics headline. 
Table Of Contents - December 2004
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