The monthly newsletter for ATS
ProActive 2013 AUGUST ISSUE
The catastrophe of non-catastrophic failures
Earn ÂŁ500 when you introduce ATS See inside
In the news The catastrophe of non-catastrophic failures
knowledgebase of technical information from
encoder. Upon confirming, it was determined
the 2,500 maintenance professionals that
that the new motor was shipped without
ATS employs. And they’ve been inputting
an encoder. The encoder was installed and
machine data - including annoying nuances -
the problem was solved. This information
for over 25 years.
was all documented and is now a part of our database. Sometimes, all it takes is
When you do the sums, that’s a lot of records and a lot of years of experience. But what it really means is that when one of those costly
The company traditionally known for its
machine nuances creates a non-catastrophic
maintenance service has been providing
downtime event, a tech can simply connect
additional call support to some of the
to the database online or on the phone for
largest companies in the world for many
faster resolution.
years. Managing the hundreds of incoming
Heavy equipment manufacturing has a
fix blogs, technical forums and advice from
specific DNA. It’s made up of equal parts
guys with a handle like CNCGUY, a half
of Okuma, Mazak, Fanuc, Seiki and many
day of production can sometimes be lost.
One of the keys to the success of the
more. These are the tools needed for the
So wouldn’t it be great if someone had
TechConnect service is the company’s
trade. And in our manufacturing world, the
the foresight to put all of this equipment
network of subject matter experts. These
OEM stands as the lone resource ready to
knowledge in one place?
experts are some of the most knowledgeable
requests for support is handled by ATS’s
®
rescue the day from downtime. Right? Not
technicians in the industry, with literally
quite.
hundreds of years of combined experience
Advanced Technology Services, has done just that. Through a new service called
on hundreds of brands and types of factory floor equipment.
Although the OEMs do a fine job of selling,
TechConnect®, maintenance technicians
scheduling service and stocking parts, they
can connect with machine experts who
sometimes seem a bit perplexed when little
have access to literally thousands of
Not all the calls coming onto the
things go wrong. In other words, when a
machine records. And those machine
TechConnect center are extremely technical
critical machine goes down, it’s not always
records represent the largest
in nature. Derek Hill, ATS UK Managing Director
a catastrophic failure - it’s sometimes due
describes as an example, “a recent call from
to an annoying machine nuance, like a
one of our sites was for an Okuma lathe that
simple fault reset sequence or a misaligned
was reporting the following alarm: “0865 -16
tools arm changer.
alarm - MCS encoder initialization failed.” The onsite technician was not able to quickly
It’s situations like this that send a maintenance technician to the Internet for help. After searching through equipment-
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experience and a fresh set of eyes.”
diagnose the issue and placed a call to our TechConnect centre. As this was an Okuma
Technical Operation Centres (TOC) globally. TechConnect® providing 24/7 coverage to all its sites. It is fully integrated into these call centres and gives ATS the unique ability not only to link an expert to a problem around the clock with just one call, but also manage, escalate as needed and document each call taken.
Hill noted that “as a result of the metrics we are monitoring from our new TechConnect® service we are gaining valuable insight as to what information our technicians need most, on what equipment, when. This information is sent to our technical training department so common issues can be addressed by providing a documented process or, in many cases, a how-to video that can be accessed from our knowledgebase by everyone.
issue, the call was transferred to one of our Okuma experts. During his initial investigation,
Knowledge and mobility is coming of age on
he learned that a new axis motor had been
the factory floor. It’s a trend that is saving one
installed on the machine just prior to the
half hour per tech per day. And a trend that
alarm being generated. The expert then
will no doubt lower the cost of manufacturing
asked if the new axis motor included a new
in the years to come.
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Critical Find Phil Millership - Crane 0770 Phil noticed that the crane on 0770 at Eaton Havant had lost use of its fabric guarding due to fixing brackets snapping off. The guard is used for holding unused chains while the crane is in use, preventing the risk of an operator trapping their fingers. Phil immediately applied the LOTO process to the crane to ensure it could not be used until repaired and removed the broken guarding. He then re-welded the brackets and refitted the guard back to the crane. The chain guard now works correctly and removes the potential injury risk.
Live safety Our first priority
Before
After
Critical Find Steve Sale – Copper Saw
Hazard of the month Winner Stefan Korn – Electrical Cabinet Congratulations to Stefan Korn – Technician at Eaton Havant, for winning Hazard of the month. Stefan was carrying out Planned Maintenance on a CNC machine when he noticed that the electrical cabinet had no locks and could be opened with a standard Allen key. Stefan took action on this and secured the doors on with new tamper proof fasteners to ensure access was not gained unless authorised. Well done Stefan.
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Before
After
Hazard of the month
WINNER
The fuses in the Copper Saw at Eaton Reddings Lane were repeatedly blowing for unknown reasons. Investigation had been carried out on both the motor and the circuit, but all tested ok. Steve Sale carried out some deeper Root Cause analysis, and upon removal of the shroud covering the cable which enters the motor he discovered that the phase cables had split insulation. This was allowing the conductors to touch every now and then, causing the Fuses to blow. The cable has now been stripped back and new terminations have been made. A new shroud over the cable gland has been fitted and the copper saw has now been returned to production.
Before
After
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Delight customers
Leading Change Ella Burns
Office. I process the requisitions from the sites and transfer them into purchase orders. I then deal with any queries relating to those purchase orders/invoices etc. Some of my other duties include dealing with Hire Car/Travel/Hotel arrangements for our American visitors and UK Employees. I am also responsible for ordering and distributing work wear, Quality Coupon Redemptions and dealing with any queries relating to those purchase orders, invoices
“Hello, my name is Ella Burns and I joined ATS in March 2011 as Purchasing Administrator, based at the Kettering
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etc. I am the first female employee of ATS UK LTD and thankfully, for the sake of the Company, I won’t be the last.”
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Enhance processes 4 day Kaizen CV Assembly Line A 4 day Kaizen event was held around the CV assembly line process at Eaton Havant. The event was led by James Milne – Technician at Eaton Titchfield, with the remainder of the team consisting of Stefan Korn – Technician at Havant, and two Eaton operators. The primary
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objective being to reduce waste in the assembly process. TPM checks were implemented and 5S within the area was improved. Value Stream Map cycle times were verified, providing the customer with a reviewed and updated snap shot of the actual cycle times used. ÂŁ7000 worth
of waste was highlighted in the process, and recommendations to remove these wastes were delivered. The team created a pathway to take the customer from Current State to Future state, highlighting potential significant savings to be quantified. The customer was both surprised and impressed with the findings from the kaizen, and plans to use the Current to Future State plan in 2014 site budget plans.
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Driving
inn vation meets their own criteria. This can vary from managing Intellectual Property to ensuring data is not misplaced.
WYSIWYG – Making Your Security Meaningful A few weeks ago someone reminded me about the early days of the PC and the acronym WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). This phrase was hot in the 80’s and 90’s when MS Windows became a consumer product and the GUI (Graphical User Interface) transformed all our experiences of text to something more meaningful in terms of screen presentation.
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Today there is a whole generation of users for which WYSIWIG has no meaning, but it is probably more relevant than ever when considering the most business critical topic of Security. Security planning for business takes many forms and every organisation has a perspective and a requirement that
Levels of security management can also vary from ensuring email is filtered for spam to restricting downloads of suspect applications via an Internet browser. All too often security is taken to an extreme to setup blanket rules without considering the impact on user groups and business productivity. By providing an insight into your estates data and information movement you can better understand how your business transactions
are done. Who has access to what data, where they can and do send it. What can be printed and where it can be printed – digital rights management in essence with the advantage of improving productivity through insight. These are some of the benefits of security modules within EnterpriseWatch being integrated at ATS which makes WYSIWIG more relevant than ever before.
For more information contact Inde Sagoo isagoo@advancedtech.com and visit www.enterprisewatch.com
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Demonstrate leadership Jeremy Whitehouse Transmission project Wolverhampton Jeremy Whitehouse – Technician at ATS Caterpillar in Wolverhampton has been involved in both H&S and CI projects around the plant that require on site design, welding, fabrication and installation. On Thursday 18th July PM he was approached by the customer with a problem, which he instantly assisted with:
type of transmission to be drained and
and commitment of the ATS Technicians
all four transmissions (Compact, Power
involved.’Now I’m looking forward more
shift, 2.W.D and Cat Brazil) by Wednesday
upcoming Kaizen event’s”
“Caterpillars Manufacturing Engineer
total of 2 universal modified pallets and
and Assembly Support Leader came to me with a problem. He had four types of transmissions that needed to be completely drained of oil before the customer would accept them, but the process they were using left around 75ml to 100ml of oil remaining which needed to be drained. They needed a new process in place by the Monday to allow the first
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24 July. As there was no time to design and manufacture new fixtures, I set about using existing steel transport pallets. A drip tray fixtures were required and an ‘A’ frame was installed to carry the lifting
Caterpillar are delighted with the hard work and results Jeremy and the ATS Technicians achieved, and this was reflected in the scoring and comments made on the customer satisfaction cards. This shows real value to our customer, the cost benefits have been collated are currently with the customer for sign off.
gear required to safely load and unload the transmissions. The first set of fixtures was complete on Monday 22nd July and the process began. The remaining fixtures followed on and the project was completed on time. This would not have been achieved without the drive
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3 day Kaizen Compressors Wolverhampton A 3 day Kaizen event was held at Caterpillar Wolverhampton, to investigate the energy efficiency and 5S standard of the compressors. Pro-active investigation work was carried out on the compressor filters, with critical spares recorded and ordered. 5S was implemented which not only improved the order and operation of the areas, but has dramatically improved the safety and reduced hazards. Andrew Cartwright located and repaired 17 Air leaks during the event, and the team
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worked together to produce a switch off plan to reduce energy consumption long term. The event delivered a direct level 1 saving of £20353.63 with a potential to save a further £25083.86 with a small investment. This proposal is currently under review by the Customer. Well done to Emily Mathews – CI Specialist, Lee Bradshaw – Project Engineer, Andy Plant – Supply Chain Specialist, and Andy Cartwright – Planner Scheduler, for all efforts and hard work during the event.
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ATS Global Food - a growth sector for ATS Global
G N I V A S COST NTH O M E H T F O
country’s leading chocolate manufacturers - and how ATS is helping them to run their business better!
Advanced Technology Services strategic growth in the UK includes a focus on food manufacturing. This video showcases the engagement in the US with one of the
Amy Nutting
Watch here
Brierley Hill
Congratulations Bart Bolek – Calibration Technician, for achieving his one year service award.
Congratulations to all Andrew Plant – Supply Chain Specialist, Andy Cartwright – Planner/Scheduler, Kevin Barrow – Technician, Dennis Morgan – Technician, Ian Grindley – Technician, for achieving their 3 year service award.
1YR
Service awards
3YRS Service award
Congratulations to Amy Nutting – Planner/ Scheduler at Brierley Hill for her cost saving idea on storage:
“We required storage for our machine manual library - there was currently nowhere to keep the manuals other than in book cases in the locker room, which wasn’t easily accessible. Our original supplier of office furniture would have been ‘YES Office’ who would have charged us £2649.92 for the cabinets including delivery. However I managed to locate a company who sold the same cupboards second hand for a total of £630.00 including delivery to the plant.”
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Meet the Team New Starters We would like to welcome (pictured from top to bottom) Carl Murphy – Level 1 Technician at Wolverhampton, Richard Aylen – Project Technician at Havant, and Lee Bradshaw – Project Engineer at Wolverhampton to the business.
Profile: Eric Martin – Area Business Manager
CULTURAL COMMITMENT Live Safety Delight Customers
Develop People CONTINUOUS Enhance Processes
Drive Innovation IMPROVEMENT Nurture Relationships
Demonstrate Leadership Deliver Results A Way of Business, A Way of Life.
“My name is Eric Martin and I am the Area Business Manager for our UK FMS sites. I am based at the Kettering office, although I am rarely there, as most of my time is spent at our site locations. I have been with ATS for just over 8 years and have held a variety of roles over that time (from IT Services to Six Sigma to Operations). One thing I have learned in my time with the organisation is that none of our success would be possible without the great teams of people we have working at our customer locations. My wife and I are really excited to be living in the UK and look forward to having an awesome experience!”
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£500 BONUS is waiting for you
Did you know that there is a £500 bonus available to all staff for the successful introduction of new business? So if you have a contact in another manufacturing company that you believe would benefit from working with ATS, simply contact Inde Sagoo on isagoo@advancedtech.com
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www.advancedtech.com Advanced Technology Services UK Ltd Unit 4 Beechwood Cherry Hall Road Kettering Business Park Kettering Northamptonshire NN14 1UE Phone: +44 (0)1536 311650 Email: info@advancedtech.com
Key Contacts Managing Director Derek Hill djhill@advancedtech.com Sales & Marketing Keith Edmonds kedmonds@advancedtech.com Continuous Improvement Steve McCarthy smccarth@advancedtech.com Human Resources Livi Gillespie ogillesp@advancedtech.com +44 (1536) 311655 – Direct +44 (1536) 311650 – Office