Alan Humphreys – Maintenance Supervisor I’d been working in the old plant for over twenty years – and I’m not the only one who has been here that long. We knew the old plant inside out and back to front. Now it’s a completely new factory and we’re all at the beginning, learning it all over again.
opportunity and it’s nice now to see it – not totally finished, but actually up and running. And you know; it’s really quiet. There’s a few odd bumps and squeaks but apart from that, every machine is just so much quieter than the old ones, so it’s a much nicer atmosphere to work in.
Richard O’Brien – Shift Manager We’re learning at the moment. The machinery is all up and running, but it takes time to get to really understand the equipment. We’re ahead of where we thought we would be at this stage. We’ve still got a few problems to iron out but once we have it ironed out, I think we’ll have a good factory.
It’s been my job to keep the project on track. From the moment we started to rip out the old factory to the point where the new factory was starting to make blocks I’ve been here making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing at the right time.
With the old plant – and I’ve worked here for 20 years – we knew exactly what to do to make it work to its best and we’re learning those tricks
for the new equipment now. It’s about finding the fastest and best way of getting around things and that’s going to take time.
MAY / JUNE 2018
SPRING
InSite
It’s a completely different factory to work in as well. Before, everything was on one level and there was lots of open space. Now, to fit everything in, we’ve got a double-decker factory so that we have space for three lines – there’s a lot of walking: I reckon I’m doing around 20,000 steps a day. It’s been great to see this happen – I’ve never worked on anything like this scale and it’s new to 99% of us. This is our baby. It’s been our home for the last twenty years and someone’s kicked us out and brought a brand new house in: it’s like a 60-second makeover!
We had tremendous support from the equipment manufacturer Wehrhahn whose engineers have been on site with us over the last few weeks fine tuning the equipment. What really impressed me about their team was not only their expertise, but also their willingness to listen.
It was a great feeling the first time we saw finished blocks come off the line. Not just like the old blocks but better. Straight away you can see that they are neater: the new cutting line has had a big impact on that.
Our production team know what they’re doing when it comes to making aircrete so it made complete sense to take them to Germany to see the machinery as it was assembled and tested. Their input at this stage was invaluable,
It’s the first time I’ve worked on anything like this project – it was really a once-in-a-lifetime
We knew the old plant was tired: it had been patched up and repaired a hundred times and was really worn out, giving us problems with reliability and quality. Issues with the manufacturing line meant that we were generating 60 tonnes of waste each day – that’s just not acceptable. We put the business case to senior management for an entire refit and were over the moon when the investment was signed off. A visit to our Russian factory really showed what was possible. That clean, quiet plant made the old Borough Green look chaotic, frantic and antique. Wehrhahn had designed the Russian factory and, as every new project is an evolution of the last,
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We were scheduled to start production on 1 April and that is what we did. We are now settling the plant down and fine tuning as we optimise production and ramp up volume over the next three months. Getting to this stage has been about teamwork above everything, with huge commitment shown by everyone on the project. I would particularly credit Rob Wilson who really drove the project: his level of commitment, drive and motivation had a massive effect on the whole team.
There has been a great team spirit: everyone was delighted to see the back of the old factory and really keen to get the new one up and running.
Robert Wilson – Works Manager
Ed Surman – Production Director
building on experience each time, I am very proud that today we have the most technically advanced and efficient aircrete plant in Europe. We asked a lot of our team during the refit project and we needed their commitment and knowledge to complete it. The long hours committed by people like Gary Thwaites and his team were hugely appreciated but so also was the flexibility shown by the production teams. While the factory shut down we agreed some flexible holiday arrangements with the production shifts, but as soon as we were ready for help they arrived to do whatever was needed - way outside of the job description. The best moment for me was 13 March when we poured our first mix. The production engineers and production shift manager were all on the platform watching while the first mix poured. Two and a half years of planning to watch that mix pour – it was a good moment.
Kelly Hunter – Commercial Director The job of the commercial team is to manage the supply and delivery of products to our customers. Matching production volume to orders and then organising the delivery vehicles to be in the right place at the right time for individual customers is demanding enough during normal production. Supporting the shut-down meant managing stock levels to make sure we were able to provide customers with the product they were expecting throughout. Allan Clark, our Demand Planning and Logistics
Manager did the day-to-day work to manage this process and the smooth running of the operation was very much down to him. Now we are in production, our main challenge is to manage the different pack sizes currently being produced at Borough Green and Pollington. This should only be a short-term issue as the work currently being planned on the packing line at Pollington will give us a uniform pack size again. None of us in this team have been involved in a project of this size before so we didn’t really know what to expect. It has certainly been a juggling act every day, but so far, it really has gone very smoothly. If the Pollington packing line project goes as smoothly, then really, we won’t have anything to complain about.
suggesting modifications to improve the day-to-day operation of the equipment on site. We also asked Wehrhahn to stress test all the machinery before it left their plant. This meant that every element had not only been manufactured but also assembled and operated before being dispatched to Borough Green: we simply did not have the time to cope with any teething problems that needed to be ironed out. Once here, the installation process involved a lot of long winter days working in a cold factory (no doors while the equipment was being installed). Alan Humphreys, Maintenance Manager, was exceptional – volunteering to work night shifts back-to-back: I don’t think he saw daylight for two months. And we should also credit the guys from VA Consulting who planned the whole project meticulously from start to finish: initially Bob Schanz and then Steve Brown who was here on site with us throughout. For me one of the biggest challenges was to deliver this project safely and I am hugely proud of the discipline involved in ensuring that we avoided any major incidents. Like many of the team, this is the largest project I have been involved with and it is a huge satisfaction to see it coming to a successful conclusion.
Blocks back at Borough Green It is no secret that, following its transformative upgrade, the Borough Green factory is now producing high quality blocks ahead of schedule.
the old factory and faced the daunting task of installing an entirely new production plant in just four months. The fact that I am able to report on the success of the project is entirely down to the commitment, hard work and enthusiasm of the team involved with its delivery.
I am completely delighted with the delivery of one of the most ambitious refit projects of any aircrete factory in Europe.
All I would like to do here is to sincerely thank everyone involved and ask some of those team members to reflect on the process that has brought us to this point.
It would be easy now to overlook the challenge faced by our team in December when we closed
Calum Forsyth, Managing Director
01/06/2018 10:49