Ask the team...
InSite
We asked Ray Evans a long standing employee at Pollington to give his views on the project to date. Name: Ray Evans Title: Yard Charge Hand Time at H+H: 38 years, 6 months Any memories or interesting facts about the Pollington facility? “Years ago, an engineer designed a block turner for a new pack system. Due to it being set up incorrectly, it ended up more like a block launcher than a block turner and it had to be discontinued!“ What is going on at Pollington which excites you about working there? “The challenge this year is to keep stock at a high level to help Borough Green for when they refurbish their factory at the end of the year. The down side of that is trying to keep enough space to facilitate the loading of all the vehicles we get at Pollington, turning around over eighty lorries a day means we will always struggle for space to do so.“ How do you expect Pollington will change over the next ten years? “In the next few years the decreasingly available levels of quality ash will mean we will have to think about alternative resources, such as sand, which will bring new challenges to us all as we move to different raw materials.“
3216 H+H Borough Green refit newsletter JUNE.indd 1-2
JUNE 2017
BOROUGH GREEN UPGRADE
Focus on Pollington Safety first - H&S during the upgrade As H&S Manager at H+H UK, I work across our factories in both Pollington and Borough Green to ensure that safety procedures are up-to-date. These procedures are important to protect every member of staff and visitors to site, from the safety hazards inherent in all our work. Each year as we approach year end and the slowdown in building, a degree of stock management is necessary to cover the demand for aircrete throughout the summer months. In this sense, we have had plenty of preparation for the stock management operation that is currently underway at both Pollington and Borough Green. The programme of stock management required to cover the demands of our partners during the factory upgrade dwarfs this usual activity. With over 12 million blocks sitting at Pollington alone, we have to make sure that we are all ahead of the curve when it comes to health and safety, to ensure that all of our employees, as well as visitors and contractors who have access to site, are adequately protected. With stock levels higher than they have been in recent years, our workers, particularly our lorry driving partners, will have to be very safety conscious to make sure they are protected. We have a team that is well versed in the safety culture of the company, from production managers to shift managers and operators. We also regularly conduct health and safety briefings, some of which have already covered the procedures in place for the coming months. The bottom line is, take extra care over the coming months, remember the procedures we have in place and adhere to them at all times.
Welcome all to another edition of our InSite newsletter. In this edition, we focus on the fantastic work being carried out at our Pollington facility. Whilst ostensibly this upgrade programme has been about Borough Green, Pollington is just as heavily involved in the upgrade process, as the work at P1 and P2 will ensure that continuity of supply is provided to all of our strategic partners and customers. The entire Pollington team is already implementing a large programme of stock management to ensure that the temporary shutdown at Borough Green has only a minimal impact on the supply chain. As you can see from the stunning images, they have succeeded in achieving this goal in a big way! Calum Forsyth, MD.
20/06/2017 14:45
Goings on at Pollington
The strategic importance of Pollington
Improvement and productivity: Life in Pollington Upgrades to Borough Green have been in the pipeline now for a number of years; it’s been more a matter of “when” than “if”. This meant that we had ample time to plan and coordinate our response and production schedules in order to ensure a continuity of supply during the upgrade process.
While Borough Green was the focus of the previous InSite, this time Works Manager Barry Phillipson pays tribute to Pollington, and the continued outstanding contribution it has made to H+H UK.
This meant it was important that we began a process of stock management at Borough Green. Throughout 2017, we have produced product in record numbers in order to have ample stock ready and in place for our customers when they require them at the end of the year when works begin, and into the beginning of 2018. What may not have been apparent until this point however, is that it’s Pollington who will produce the bulk of the stock that will see us through this period. With two factories on site, P1 and P2, Pollington produces vast amounts of aerated concrete year in, year out. Compared to the Borough Green site, with only a single factory, Pollington is able to produce far larger amounts of blocks. Whilst there are currently no plans to upgrade Pollington to the same extent as Borough Green, this
When Borough Green briefly halts production later in the year to undergo essential upgrade and maintenance work, our trusted partners and users across the country will turn to Pollington to ensure continuity of supply. So, let’s pay tribute to our brilliant team in Yorkshire who are producing the blocks to see us through that period. For nearly forty years, the residents of Pollington have lived side by side with an H+H autoclaved aircrete facility that is known as a workhorse by everyone involved with the company. Designed and created for a different era in construction, the original Pollington factory (known affectionately as P1) continues to produce various Celcon Blocks in volumes that can rival any autoclaved aerated concrete production facility in Europe, and we have no plans to change that any time soon!
3216 H+H Borough Green refit newsletter JUNE.indd 3-4
does not mean that we are resting on our laurels. We have adopted elements of “Kaizen,” the famous Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, to boost our productivity and output at all stages of the manufacturing process. One of the most visibly obvious instances of this is our wind turbine. Installed last year in partnership with Ecotricity, the turbine helped the Pollington plants to reduce its carbon footprint, whilst producing enough energy to power 500 homes. Innovations such as this and other more discreet ones have helped Pollington to remain one of the largest AAC plants in Europe. We will draw on all of this experience from now until the upgrade is completed in 2018 to ensure continuity of supply for all of our fantastic partners. Barry Phillipson.
The success of P1 meant that further investment in the Pollington plant was inevitable. This eventually came in 2000, with the opening of P2. Working hand-in-hand with our partners at Hess, P2 was the first factory of its kind, and was built from the start to have much greater potential for “off-the-shelf” upgrades and improvements as the factory aged. Originally intended to produce floor panels, P2 now produces 630mm Celcon Blocks. Going forward, productivity is the name of the game for both P1 and P2. As a management team, we must continue to analyse and evaluate the factories to ensure they are able to continually improve their output and their efficiency. For now, we are focused on stock management; producing enough blocks to ensure continuity of supply throughout the Borough Green shutdown. As you can see from the stunning photography in this newsletter, the work has already begun!
20/06/2017 14:45
Goings on at Pollington
The strategic importance of Pollington
Improvement and productivity: Life in Pollington Upgrades to Borough Green have been in the pipeline now for a number of years; it’s been more a matter of “when” than “if”. This meant that we had ample time to plan and coordinate our response and production schedules in order to ensure a continuity of supply during the upgrade process.
While Borough Green was the focus of the previous InSite, this time Works Manager Barry Phillipson pays tribute to Pollington, and the continued outstanding contribution it has made to H+H UK.
This meant it was important that we began a process of stock management at Borough Green. Throughout 2017, we have produced product in record numbers in order to have ample stock ready and in place for our customers when they require them at the end of the year when works begin, and into the beginning of 2018. What may not have been apparent until this point however, is that it’s Pollington who will produce the bulk of the stock that will see us through this period. With two factories on site, P1 and P2, Pollington produces vast amounts of aerated concrete year in, year out. Compared to the Borough Green site, with only a single factory, Pollington is able to produce far larger amounts of blocks. Whilst there are currently no plans to upgrade Pollington to the same extent as Borough Green, this
When Borough Green briefly halts production later in the year to undergo essential upgrade and maintenance work, our trusted partners and users across the country will turn to Pollington to ensure continuity of supply. So, let’s pay tribute to our brilliant team in Yorkshire who are producing the blocks to see us through that period. For nearly forty years, the residents of Pollington have lived side by side with an H+H autoclaved aircrete facility that is known as a workhorse by everyone involved with the company. Designed and created for a different era in construction, the original Pollington factory (known affectionately as P1) continues to produce various Celcon Blocks in volumes that can rival any autoclaved aerated concrete production facility in Europe, and we have no plans to change that any time soon!
3216 H+H Borough Green refit newsletter JUNE.indd 3-4
does not mean that we are resting on our laurels. We have adopted elements of “Kaizen,” the famous Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, to boost our productivity and output at all stages of the manufacturing process. One of the most visibly obvious instances of this is our wind turbine. Installed last year in partnership with Ecotricity, the turbine helped the Pollington plants to reduce its carbon footprint, whilst producing enough energy to power 500 homes. Innovations such as this and other more discreet ones have helped Pollington to remain one of the largest AAC plants in Europe. We will draw on all of this experience from now until the upgrade is completed in 2018 to ensure continuity of supply for all of our fantastic partners. Barry Phillipson.
The success of P1 meant that further investment in the Pollington plant was inevitable. This eventually came in 2000, with the opening of P2. Working hand-in-hand with our partners at Hess, P2 was the first factory of its kind, and was built from the start to have much greater potential for “off-the-shelf” upgrades and improvements as the factory aged. Originally intended to produce floor panels, P2 now produces 630mm Celcon Blocks. Going forward, productivity is the name of the game for both P1 and P2. As a management team, we must continue to analyse and evaluate the factories to ensure they are able to continually improve their output and their efficiency. For now, we are focused on stock management; producing enough blocks to ensure continuity of supply throughout the Borough Green shutdown. As you can see from the stunning photography in this newsletter, the work has already begun!
20/06/2017 14:45
Ask the team...
InSite
We asked Ray Evans a long standing employee at Pollington to give his views on the project to date. Name: Ray Evans Title: Yard Charge Hand Time at H+H: 38 years, 6 months Any memories or interesting facts about the Pollington facility? “Years ago, an engineer designed a block turner for a new pack system. Due to it being set up incorrectly, it ended up more like a block launcher than a block turner and it had to be discontinued!“ What is going on at Pollington which excites you about working there? “The challenge this year is to keep stock at a high level to help Borough Green for when they refurbish their factory at the end of the year. The down side of that is trying to keep enough space to facilitate the loading of all the vehicles we get at Pollington, turning around over eighty lorries a day means we will always struggle for space to do so.“ How do you expect Pollington will change over the next ten years? “In the next few years the decreasingly available levels of quality ash will mean we will have to think about alternative resources, such as sand, which will bring new challenges to us all as we move to different raw materials.“
3216 H+H Borough Green refit newsletter JUNE.indd 1-2
JUNE 2017
BOROUGH GREEN UPGRADE
Focus on Pollington Safety first - H&S during the upgrade As H&S Manager at H+H UK, I work across our factories in both Pollington and Borough Green to ensure that safety procedures are up-to-date. These procedures are important to protect every member of staff and visitors to site, from the safety hazards inherent in all our work. Each year as we approach year end and the slowdown in building, a degree of stock management is necessary to cover the demand for aircrete throughout the summer months. In this sense, we have had plenty of preparation for the stock management operation that is currently underway at both Pollington and Borough Green. The programme of stock management required to cover the demands of our partners during the factory upgrade dwarfs this usual activity. With over 12 million blocks sitting at Pollington alone, we have to make sure that we are all ahead of the curve when it comes to health and safety, to ensure that all of our employees, as well as visitors and contractors who have access to site, are adequately protected. With stock levels higher than they have been in recent years, our workers, particularly our lorry driving partners, will have to be very safety conscious to make sure they are protected. We have a team that is well versed in the safety culture of the company, from production managers to shift managers and operators. We also regularly conduct health and safety briefings, some of which have already covered the procedures in place for the coming months. The bottom line is, take extra care over the coming months, remember the procedures we have in place and adhere to them at all times.
Welcome all to another edition of our InSite newsletter. In this edition, we focus on the fantastic work being carried out at our Pollington facility. Whilst ostensibly this upgrade programme has been about Borough Green, Pollington is just as heavily involved in the upgrade process, as the work at P1 and P2 will ensure that continuity of supply is provided to all of our strategic partners and customers. The entire Pollington team is already implementing a large programme of stock management to ensure that the temporary shutdown at Borough Green has only a minimal impact on the supply chain. As you can see from the stunning images, they have succeeded in achieving this goal in a big way! Calum Forsyth, MD.
20/06/2017 14:45