Design Examples - Tabloid Publications

ISSUE 011 December 2016

CogentNews Quarterly newspaper of the Cogent business

Sura makes inroads in automotive markets

WHAT’s INSIDE

Next steps towards a sustainable UK business

Power People

4

Taking Time out for Safety

5

Surahammar’s Hi-Lite thin gauge non-oriented electrical steel offers a balanced portfolio for the expanding electric motor market

Specialised product development and good customer service are beginning to reap rewards for Surahammar in the automotive sector.

Patrick Kelder, Marketing Strategy Manager, Cogent Power, said more and more customers were teaming with Sura to help them succeed in the rapidly increasing market of electric motors for hybrid and full electric vehicles.

“We’ve already had success with an automotive tier1 supplier which selected our NO27 grade to develop its first hybrid motor for a highperformance car,” said Patrick. “This supplier has now been chosen for supply of the electric motor for two future premium brand vehicles.

“This customer is continuing to bid

for more business - all based on our NO27 - so we are hopeful that this will mean more business for us too.”

The NO27 grade forms part of Sura’s innovative Hi-Lite range of electrical steels. Launched in 2015, Hi-Lite products are high-performance, ultra-light steels with high magnetic permeability and low power losses in high frequency applications. These products are ideal for hybrid and electric motors.

Patrick said: “With our Hi-Lite thin gauge non-oriented electrical steel we have a balanced portfolio to offer the expanding market for electric motors.

“But, in today’s world, you need to do more than just offer good products.

Assisting our customers in selecting the right product for their application and, in parallel, offering advanced data sets for simulation purposes, are part of our value proposition.

“Quick delivery of small sample batches in slit coils or blanks is also an aspect which is highly valued by our customers and is something where we stand out from our larger competitors.

The Sura team is doing an excellent job in this regard.”

Patrick said the combination of innovative Hi-Lite products and good

customer service meant Sura was now working with a number of original equipment manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers and stamping companies.

“Most of the projects we are working on are aiming to start mass production between 2019 and 2021.

This is the time frame when new CO2 emission regulations kick in all over the globe,” said Patrick. “In order to meet these new requirements, car makers have to have a certain percentage of their fleet sales as low or zero emission vehicles. This is the key market driver behind the increased development work on hybrid and full electric vehicles and of the need for advanced drive e-trains.”

TURN TO PAGE 3 >

2

Working together to improve health and safety

7 1

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

HENRIK’S COLUMN

Next steps towards a sustainable UK business

Being an owner Have you ever tried to tie your shoelaces with one hand? I know from personal experience that it is pretty difficult. Similarly, the left hand not knowing what the right hand does, causes all sorts of issues too.

Our company has traditionally often run operational and commercial matters as separate parts. When these parts did operate together, they were often centred around a business or a specific hub.

That worked fine for small or local customers. But in a world in which our many important customers run global supply chains, that causes an issue. I can give you multiple examples of how a single customer was serviced by different account teams. We need to show one face to the customer and speak in one voice.

To achieve that, we are building and strengthening a single European commercial function that drives excellence. As our supply chains remain regionally structured around the UK and Mainland Europe hubs, so do operational reporting lines.

The step we now need to take is to break through the barriers of our operational or commercial silos and work together to achieve the best value for the company and the customer.

I’ll give you an example: after a meeting with executives from Renault at their Technocentre - a huge operational headquarters near Paris - recently, I bumped into a number of our people. Colleagues from Customer Technical Services and Sales were working together with the customer. Here, on a small scale, operational and commercial colleagues were performing as a single team. It is such a natural thing to do.

It may feel ambiguous to own the responsibility for a function, business or site and to be asked to also share responsibility for what feels like someone else’s job. Yet, success starts and ends with self-confident people willing and able to take on common ownership of customer satisfaction. Let me spell this out: it is a team effort and it has to become common practice across all levels of the organisation.

We need both hands to tie our shoelaces, only then can we start running.

Henrik Adam, Chief Commercial Officer

The agreement includes conditional assurances on operating the existing blast furnace configuration in Port Talbot until 2021

Tata Steel and the trade unions in the UK have reached an agreement in principle on proposals designed to help secure a more sustainable future for the UK business. Central to the agreement in principle are proposed changes to the UK pension provision and a number of conditional assurances on investments and employment.

“Following constructive meetings over a number of months, this proposed agreement marks a step in the right direction and clear support for a continued future for the UK business as part of our European operations,” said Hans Fischer, CEO and CTO, Europe.

The proposal includes closing the British Steel Pension Scheme to future accrual. Employees would be offered a competitive defined contribution

to support further plant upgrades, automation and other digital initiatives.

“The proposed agreement is a strong sign of faith in the UK business, which is thanks in no small part to our colleagues in the UK themselves,” Hans said. “They have mustered huge effort to deliver results which not only meet, but actually beat Annual Plan this year. Their impressive and hard work in achieving their targets this year and turning the business around has been recognised by the company.”

Bimlendra Jha, CEO, Tata Steel UK, added: “We must all remain realistic and recognise that we still have a long way to go before we reach a level of sustainable profits in the UK. By that, I mean a level which allows the business to fulfil its financial obligations and to make the investments that are

“The agreement is a strong sign of faith in the UK business, which is thanks in no small part to our colleagues in the UK themselves.”

Hans Fischer, CEO and CTO, Europe

essential to continue to be able to meet customer demands.”

Hans concluded: “I believe these proposals are a necessary and positive further step towards a viable future for our business, not only for the UK, but for Europe as a whole. I firmly believe that our combined and growing strength is a huge benefit in itself and that it will help support our position in any future scenario.”

Quality opens up Nordic market

Building on a strengthening relationship a delegation from Norsk Stål recently visited Tata Steel. The Scandinavian customer which covers about a third of the Norwegian stockholder market plans to double its offering of strip products in the coming years.

Here,Tor Kittelsen, Key Account Manager at Norsk Stål provides some background on his company’s ambitions.

Could you briefly introduce your company?

“Norsk Stål was founded in 1823, so we’ve been around for a while. We process and distribute steel products to a number of sectors, such as the offshore industry, construction and infrastructure. The total market for such products in Norway is about 600,000 tons per year and we supply about 200,000 tons of that. At the moment only about 10,000 tons of our share is strip based, including tubes, but we want to at least double that

2

scheme. Consultation is planned to start by the middle of December.

The company and trade unions have also agreed on the principle that subject to the structural de-risking and de-linking of the British Steel Pension Scheme fund from the business, Tata Steel UK will continue the existing blast furnace configuration in Port Talbot until 2021. , based on achieving the necessary financial performance and cash flows as per the transformation plan of the UK business, the company will continue to invest across the UK sites to enhance the competitive position of Tata Steel UK in the European steel industry.

The company has also offered an employment pact until 2021 which supports employees through future changes by investing in their skills

volume.”

What are your challenges in achieving this?

“One of our major markets, the offshore industry, is not as strong as it used to be. They are often very demanding when it comes to quality, but they don’t want to pay for it.

Another thing we face in Scandinavia is that there is a perception that your competitor SSAB offers the best quality money can buy.

Our customers are very hesitant when it comes to switching to new products.”

How can Tata Steel help you?

“We started by ordering about 2,000 tons of your products, specifically for laser-cutting. When we had convinced some of our customers to work with these, they told us the quality was much better than what they were used to. They were also very interested in the bigger product portfolio that Tata Steel can offer. I am very confident that together we can increase our share

Tor Kittelsen, Key Account Manager at Norsk Stål visiting the site in IJmuiden

of the market for strip products in Norway.”

Is there anything we can do better?

“The biggest challenge to growing together in this market is deliveries.

Norway is a big country and we have locations from the north to the south, which is logistically demanding. If the delivery performance can be stabilised we will both be better for it.”

“Tata Steel doesn’t have sales offices in Norway, so we consider Norsk Stål a strategic partner in this market,” says Stefan Landesz, Managing Director Nordics. “Until last year we owned a 50% share in this company. Currently Leif Hübert is 100% owner and their ambition is to strengthen their position in the Norwegian market. We supply to Norsk Stål material from all over Europe, including Corby, Shotton and Maastricht, covering a broad range of our products. Our mutual goal is to serve the market with quality products and services. With the Norsk Stål’s footprint of and Tata Steel’s capabilities we can make the difference together.”

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

> FROM PAGE 1

Efficiency is key in automotives Efficiency is key in the development of electric motors for the automotive drive train. A higher efficiency increases the driving range or means a smaller - and cheaper - battery is needed to deliver the same mileage.

Prototyping for other applications In addition to its work with automotive customers, Sura is also engaged in thin gauge material prototyping projects for other applications.

One of these applications is in the filters for variable speed drives (VSD), used to control the rotating speed of electric motors. These motors are widely used in equipment such as pumps, fans and air conditioning units.

Filters in VSDs - also known as variable frequency drives (VFD) reduce the ‘electric noise’ created by high frequency operation.

“Electric noise can threaten the efficiency of the installation and of other similar equipment operating in the vicinity,” explained Magnus Lindenmo, Development Manager at Sura. “Filters need to be created from material that exhibits low power losses at high frequency - and that’s exactly what our thin gauge steel does.

The e-motors which are in mass production today are using nonoriented (NO) grades of between 0.35mm and 0.30mm. But, to further improve efficiency, most developments currently in the pipeline are moving towards 0.30-0.25mm “For some automotive applications the gauge selected is even thinner, such as 0.20mm,” said Patrick Kelder.

“Our own NO20-1200 product falls

into this category. It offers lower losses in combination with a higher yield strength - something that is really appreciated by the market at the moment.

“NO20-1200 is seen as an attractive product to use for sports cars and racing applications. At some point in time, this product will find its way into mainstream applications as well.”

“We’re already supplying material to one regular customer for filters for VFDs and to some other potential customers for prototype filters.”

Magnus added: “It’s very satisfying and encouraging to be involved at the prototype stage. It means that by the time a product is ready for volume production, your material is virtually qualified for use.

“This is particularly important in sectors such as aerospace where the rules for qualifying as a supplier are very stringent. If you have successfully supplied prototype material, it’s much quicker and easier to qualify for volume supply.”

The aerospace sector provides a large potential market for Sura’s Hi-Lite range and thin gauge expertise. Driven by the need to save weight and space in aircraft, there is a move to replace bulky, heavy hydraulic systems - like those used to operate aircraft flaps with small electric motors.

Magnus said: “Just as with automotive applications, the requirement is for these electric

motors to be as small and light as possible. Our high-performance, ultralight steels are highly suited for use in these types of motors.

“Longer term, there is even a vision of an ‘all-electric’ aircraft - where an electric motor might be used to drive the turbine or propeller part of the time, perhaps during take-off to give it extra thrust.”

Other applications for thin gauge electrical steel include high-speed motors for flywheels. In some cases these provide a more efficient alternative to batteries for storing electrical energy.

“We are also supplying thin gauge material for an application in tools,” said Magnus. “For instance, electric screwdrivers need to be small and light so that they can be used easily for long periods. Our ultra-light material is ideal for this purpose.

“Our customer is now prototyping further improved motors using a number of our different Hi-Lite grades.”

Message from Karl Haider, Director Downstream Operations Downstream Operations (DSO) have had a good result for the first half of our financial year. We have reported £20m over our annual plan, which is a great achievement.

Performance has been mixed across the businesses, with Colors and Packaging leading the success at this time. Within these successes, we have enjoyed the benefits of a fortuitous exchange rate and market. However, there have also been many operational improvements which are making great contributions to our results.

These operational improvements are also in place at the businesses who have not had such positive financial results. For example the SAW Mills in Hartlepool are experiencing some of the worst market conditions, which have a massive blow to the results, but at the same time are working wisely and making great improvements through CI projects.

It is vital that we maintain our focus on this approach. While we can enjoy any benefits that the market and exchange rates bring, we need to make sure our sites are performing well independently of this. At the moment, Tata Steel Europe as a whole is managing to show this performance, and we need to continue to do all we can as downstream businesses to support this.

While we are focussed on this, we should also ensure that all we do is done in a safe way. By now, many of you will have experienced a Time Out For Safety session, and will know how committed we are as a Management team to doing as much as we can to facilitate improving

safety performance. We are still having too many accidents, many of which can be avoided through changes in culture and behaviour. I am optimistic that these sessions will prompt a confidence in you all to challenge each other in unsafe situations.

Health and safety has played a role in the recent evaluation of CapEx submissions. These are all currently in review and there is an impressive amount of projects being considered from DSO. In a wider context, the sale of Speciality Steels is now moving ahead, and we wish our colleagues there a successful outcome. Tata Steel continues to appear in the media amongst speculation and rumour, and we all know this is not helpful, as we endeavour to stay

focussed on delivering the best for our customers. You will be informed of any developments as they happen from the company, and as difficult as it is, please try not to be too distracted by hearsay.

The town hall meetings have taken place across most of the DSO sites these past few weeks, where colleagues have had an opportunity to hear of the Tata Steel, business and site performance. There have been some good discussions at the various sites, and I encourage this communication to continue with your line managers as we move into the new year.

Finally may I wish you all a good Christmas - enjoy the break, and please come back refreshed and ready for a successful and safe 2017.

Message from Phil Clements, Managing Director Cogent Over the past year we have seen a huge change in our market, and unfortunately, this will only make our task in the coming months more challenging.

The hot rolled coil price increases that are benefitting many other Tata Steel businesses are beginning to put us under pressure and in the GO market this is compounded by rapidly falling selling prices as we continue to see a surge of good quality imported GO from China, Korea and Japan enter our markets.

The subsequent cost-price squeeze is having a big negative impact on our financial results. This is made worse by the poor operational performance at Orb as we struggle to improve the product capability to the level that is necessary to compete. Over the next few months Orb must make a step change in both the performance of the product and the plant. We have prioritised action plans covering the key items, not least of which is the M2 furnace enhancement which is planned for the forthcoming Christmas shutdown.

On a more positive note, CPI are showing signs of recovery following a difficult few months. Lower GO prices and improved productivity have helped our Canadian business get back into profit despite increased levels of competition. The focus for the coming year will be to continue to drive productivity improvements to ensure we remain competitive.

A key uncertainty is what impact the recent US election result will have on the US market so it’s critical we continue to build and develop existing and new client relationships going forward. There is also an opportunity for Orb to develop additional outlets via CPI next year if we can successfully complete the M3 development plan.

Surahammar’s results are making slow but steady improvement. These have been buoyed by a couple of specific high value orders which have been welcome in a somewhat slow-moving market. There is still work to do on capability at Sura, for example in getting the 23050 grade development finalised.

2017 will be a critical year in terms of demonstrating that this performance improvement can be sustained. Key areas are pursuing some new opportunities in North America, driving sales of Hi-Lite and continuing to position ourselves

within the Automotive market.

We’ve made good progress in Health and Safety across the business, but there is still much to do. Orb in particular has improved significantly over the past twelve months, however, we are still having accidents and some serious near misses at all three Cogent sites so we cannot afford to become complacent and must keep the momentum up. Over the year we’ve run Felt leadership programmes in both Orb and CPI, Time out for Safety sessions are being rolled out across all three sites, and we have recently had representatives from Orb, Sura and CPI at the level 2 process safety training course in IJmuiden. As we move into 2017, there will be an increased focus on process safety at all sites. We still have a long way to go, but I look forward to working with you to make our processes and behaviours as safe as they can be.

We have recently been involved in the annual Capex discussions with the wider TSE group, and there is certainly a healthy wish list coming from Cogent this year and I hope to update you in January on the results of those discussions.

So, as we come to the end of 2016, I would like to thank you for all the hard work and commitment you continue to show. It has been a year of distractions in terms of Tata Steel company news and I appreciate it has not been easy to remain focussed, so thank you for all your efforts.

Many of us will be taking some time out over Christmas, please enjoy the break with your family and friends. To those coming in over the shutdown to carry out essential work to our plants, many thanks for your dedication.

Best wishes for a safe and Happy Christmas.

3

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

CogentNews

Re-shaped Engineering Department will boost Orb performance

power people

For five days in October, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc across the Caribbean and Florida. Thousands of people were left homeless - and millions more without power.

Electricity distribution firm Power Partners Inc. (PPI) put its suppliers on alert the moment Matthew made landfall in Haiti as it headed for Florida. Tata Steel’s Cogent Power, which makes the silicondistributed gap cores at the heart of PPI’s transformers, revised its plans for a scheduled maintenance stop over the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday at the end of that week.

By the Friday, a million people in Florida were without electricity, and Power Partners was receiving urgent disaster relief orders.

At Cogent, many people willingly abandoned their holiday plans and came in to help out their customer. Their dedication that weekend helped PPI make an additional 3,000 transformers.

“I was in constant contact with Rebecca Ratz, PPI’s supply chain and purchasing director, over the Thanksgiving weekend. She asked me to thank the Cogent team many times,” said Greg Laverdiere, Value Stream Leader, Wound Core, Cogent.

There’s always next year for Cogent’s Thanksgiving holiday. This year, people are thanking them.

Together we make the difference

4

There has been a major reorganisation of the Engineering Department at Orb. Cogent News looks at the reasons behind the shake-up - and the benefits it will deliver.

In January this year, the Engineering Department at Orb embarked on its biggest change in decades. Historically run on functional lines - with mechanical, electrical and process control engineering teams operating across the site - the department has been completely restructured into teams with a sharp focus on individual key assets.

Along with the introduction of new practices, the move is designed to boost equipment reliability and deliver sustainable improvements in plant capability and capacity.

“Orb produces high-quality, highend products,” said Simon Thomas, Works Engineer. “The changes we’ve introduced in Engineering will allow us to put more focus on the reliability and productivity issues that are key to successful delivery of those products.

“Under the old structure, there were gaps in key responsibilities and accountabilities - and there were some duties that fell into noman’s land. We’re now organised so that responsibility for each of our engineering assets is absolutely clear.”

In the restructuring, four new engineering teams have been created.

Three of them are focused on Orb’s manufacturing lines - with each team assigned to one of three main manufacturing cells. A fourth team includes specialist engineers and also covers general plant services such as cranes.

“We’ve streamlined Engineering so that our structure is now aligned with the Production and Technical cells at Orb - ensuring we have a ‘trio’ approach in all areas,” said Simon.

To support the changes, some new engineers have been recruited from Tata Steel plants at Port Talbot and Llanwern. There have also been changes in roles for some of the original engineering team.

Simon said: “Our engineers have been very open to the changes. They can see the benefits and are excited

Engineering Team Back Row L-R: Paul Needham - Engineering Services Manager, Mike Goodchild - Planning Spares & SAP Manager, Simon Thomas - Engineering Manager, Alex Shotton - Section Maintenance Manager, Richard Stratford - Section Maintenance Manager. Front Row L-R: Simon Life Section Maintenance Manager & Martin Jones - Energy & Project Manager

by the challenge. Our new structure also offers clearer opportunities for professional development and career progression.”

The department changes have enabled a much bigger focus on planning the engineering work necessary to ensure equipment reliability and availability. More daily maintenance checks have also been introduced.

“We’ve moved from a reactive maintenance approach to one of planned maintenance,” said Simon.

“Our structure is also allowing us to do more deep dives and root cause analysis so that we can design out failure modes. As a result, we’re already seeing an improvement trend in equipment availability.”

Another benefit already emerging is an improvement in plant compliance with statutory safety regulations - through the appointment of a dedicated statutory plant compliance engineer. The new-look Engineering Department is also adopting Tata Steel standards for best practice in engineering. These include standards for shut-down management and emerging works.

Tata Steel’s best practice engineering approach is exemplified in its ‘Journey to Reliability’ (J2R) initiative. This sets out clear steps for introducing sustainable reliability improvements to ensure that assets perform at their best. Orb’s engineers are now working towards the Bronze

J2R award for the site’s key assets the first of three major steps on the journey.

Simon said: “This has been a massive change for us - involving a lot of effort and commitment from everyone. But it’s an exciting move and one that’s already reaping rewards.

“It’s still early days for the new organisation and we have challenges ahead - such as ensuring that we lock in improvements to maintain plant stability. But with the continued support from the Engineering team - and from our colleagues in Manufacturing and Technical - I’m confident that we will meet those challenges and deliver a service that will contribute to the success of Orb.”

How does the newlook structure work?

Orb’s Engineering Department is now set up in four separate teams.

Each one is focused on a separate area: 1. The annealing, pickling and cold rolling manufacturing cell 2. The decarburisation furnaces and batch annealing cell 3. Thermal flattening and slitting lines 4. Cranes, plant services and central engineering including specialist engineering services

What the team thinks

The view from Manufacturing

Colleagues in Engineering have welcomed the recent changes.

Ben Clark, previously a Shift Mechanical Technician, has moved into a new role as Planning Engineer. He said: “This is a new world. I’m looking forward to the challenge and enjoying the work so far.

“The more structured approach to planning means there’s a lot of scope to improve our cost efficiency. For instance, better planning means we’ll have more time to negotiate with contractors for work needed during shutdowns and projects.”

Paul Needham, Engineering Services Manager, said: “By re-allocating and refocusing our resources we can be much more proactive in improving our overall equipment efficiency.

“Instead of always being on the back foot, we can control engineering interventions and make sure there is real progress in identifying and implementing reliability improvements.”

Martyn Davies, Orb’s Manufacturing Manager, has welcomed the changes in Engineering and can see clear benefits - for productivity and for safety.

“The reliability of our process lines has always been a key issue,” said Martyn. “With the changes in Engineering, we’ve moved from a situation where we were constantly firefighting to a much more Martyn Davies planned approach to maintaining our assets. This will mean less unplanned downtime - and any sensible manufacturing company would want to head in this direction.

“It also means that we have a greater emphasis now on statutory obligations linked to plant safety - covering things such as effective ‘permit to work’ systems. It’s essential that we improve our compliance in this area because this impacts on the safety of individuals.”

Martyn said he did not expect to see instant results from the reorganisation of Engineering. He said: “The way I look at it, the recent changes have laid the foundations. We’ve now got to build the house and that means developing and refining the systems and processes that have been put in place.

“But, from where I sit, the energy and commitment that’s going in to making this work means I am confident that we will see sustainable improvements in our asset reliability. And that will mean improvements in capacity and productivity.”

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

Taking time out for safety As part of ongoing efforts to make the workplace safer for everyone, colleagues across all of Tata Steel’s Downstream Operations are taking time out for safety.

Downstream Operations at Tata Steel in Europe has launched a major safety initiative across all sites - at Tubes, Colors, Packaging and Cogent electrical steels.

Using personal stories, role play and group discussion, the two-hour session has been designed to bring home how an injury can impact your life. Colleagues are also being asked to recognise that each and every person working in Downstream Operations has a role to play in reducing risk and preventing accidents.

The Time out for Safety workshop has been put together by Ian Russon, Health and Safety Manager for Downstream Operations. Ian said: “We have organised this workshop because people are getting hurt at our sites. We want people to come to work, stay safe and then go home - not go to hospital.

“Through Time out for Safety, we’re asking people to think about what really happens when you are injured - about the impact it has on your life and your loved ones.

“And we’re asking everyone to think about how they can influence events as individuals. We all need to ask ourselves ‘what can I do to keep myself and my colleagues safe?’”

The workshop provides a stark reminder that people at Downstream Operations work in a hazardous environment - where incidents can lead to high potential events, serious injury or even death. Workshop presenters also explain how recordable and lost time injuries for employees and contractors at Tubes, Colors, Packaging and Cogent have gradually been getting worse over recent years.

But the bulk of the workshop looks well beyond safety statistics - to the human stories behind real accidents that have happened to people working in Downstream Operations. Through video interviews, colleagues from several sites share their stories of how they were injured and explain the impact it has had on them and their families.

Ian said: “It can’t have been easy for these colleagues to re-live their experiences. We are very grateful to them for sharing their stories in the interests of allowing us to learn and to stay safe at work.”

Exercises, role play and discussion are used in the workshop to help colleagues think about the behaviour that can lead to accidents and about the consequences of being injured.

Ian Russon said: “Time out for Safety is part of our ongoing efforts to improve safety performance. Through the workshop, we want to engage with everybody and

Making a commitment

show that we are serious about health and safety.

“We are getting some good feedback so far and I’m hopeful that the workshop will leave a lasting message that we all need to change our behaviour when it comes to safety - and that each of us has a role to play in making our workplaces safer for ourselves and our team mates.”

The Time Out For Safety sessions were piloted at Corby

Tom Eussen facilitated the Time out For Safety Session for Colors in IJmuiden

The workshop reminds participants that, in most cases, it’s not just the injured person who plays a role in an accident. Often, other people play a role too - in what they say, what they do or what they don’t do.

At the end of every workshop, each participant

How can you make a difference?

Per Zettergren, General Manager Sura joins the TOFS session led by Johan Steen EHS Manager (seated left) and Peter Lennstrand Operations Manager

Time out for Safety encourages everyone to think about the individual role they have to play in preventing incidents.

Examples of positive behaviour include: • not walking past things • intervening • maintaining workplace standards

The word on the street is…

At Walsall - Colors: “The workshop brought to life how quickly something could go wrong and how easy it is to become complacent … You should not be afraid to challenge someone doing something that looks unsafe, as it may save an accident from happening.” Elaine Bluck, Office Sales Manager.

•

“I have always tried to check for safety but sometimes have come across negative feedback which has made me back off. But now I believe that safety has no bounds and we need to keep on to ensure the safety of all.” Ena Hodgetts, Stock Controller and Assistant Accountant.

At Surahammar - Cogent: “the events in the videos shown really makes you reflect”

• •

“to take part in the root cause analysis part was interesting and made you see the amount of things that can contribute to an accident.”

At Turkey - Colors: Workshop attendees in Turkey were particularly affected by the videos featuring colleagues who had been injured - and by a role play exercise designed to show how difficult life is if you have a severe injury.

• “The videos and putting tape over my hand to restrict the use of my fingers and thumb meant I felt the difficulties [of having a severe hand injury]. I was emotionally affected by the workshop and I understand that I must follow the rules carefully so as not to face the same results.” Yunus Önder, Exit Operator, OCS Line.

•

“The most powerful thing about the workshop was when people taped their hands in an exercise.

We asked for their comments and what they would do if they were the manager. Trying to teach about safety in an ordinary way cannot always convey the right message. We saw that, by urging people to comment and find solutions, mostly all of the groups came up with the same solutions

• • • • • •

leading by example closing out actions from investigations positive safety conversations briefings and toolbox talks developing or deploying the Health & Safety Plan following basic rules and safe working procedures

improve our safety performance and culture at Shotton.” Damon Winterbottom, Health and Safety Manager.

Colleagues from across Downstream Operations have been sharing their thoughts about the Time out for Safety workshop and how it has influenced them for the future.

Here’s what some of them had to say.

•

is being asked to make a personal commitment - to doing something extra, differently or better to help prevent accidents and make the workplace safer.

Managers and supervisors are following up on these commitments - speaking with each person to find out how they are getting on.

At Maastricht - Tubes: “We had a major incident here in April this year, when an employee sustained severe injuries to his foot and leg. There have been other incidents in Downstream Operations and the workshop demonstrated very powerfully the impact that these have on people’s lives. Time out for Safety is very important in our drive to ensure that everyone who comes to work at Maastricht then goes home safely without incidents or injuries.” Jos Bongaerts, Plant Manager.

•

Colleagues at Maastricht took part in the Time Out For Safety sessions

and actions. I will try to prepare future safety presentations with a similar method instead of giving a lot of information.” Taylan Kaya, QHSE Manager.

At Trostre - Packaging: “These sessions remind you of how accidents can happen so easily.”

• •

“Good safety information - these type of sessions should be done once a year.”

•

“Good information given in a logical manner.”

•

“Videos were real to the Trostre site.”

At Shotton - Colors: “Having attended the pilot workshop at Shotton and delivering some of the sessions, the overall feedback so far is very positive. There have been some open and frank discussions about the challenges on site as to how we can improve safety and look after one another. Having recently taken up the Safety Manager’s role at Shotton, these comments are vital for feedback into our approach in the future to

•

•

“One of the key messages in the workshop is that everyone should take the time they need to do the job safely. Also, work instructions need to be accepted and followed by everyone. We agreed that we need to review and evaluate the effectiveness of last-minute risk assessments - especially for abnormal situations such as breakdowns and repairs. At the end of the workshop, everyone made a commitment to safe working - and these promises will be followed up in more discussions.” Willie van Loo, Safety Manager.

5

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

The future is in their hands

Once again Orb is supporting a group of young apprentices as they start their career in the steel industry. Seven apprentices have started their journey in Orb as engineers, both mechanical and electrical. This was marked with an Indenture signing at Llanwern House last month.

Gareth Thomas, a current Manufacturing Apprentice, has done Orb works proud, as he scooped up the coveted price of Tata Steel Apprentice of the Year 2016. He has shown real determination and commitment to his studies, and was recognised with the award at the Armourers & Brasiers in London; an association with Tata Steel since 1997 when a partnership was established with the then British Steel to support education in Materials Science & Technology.

Within the Armourers & Brasiers Tata Steel Partnership there are programmes of support for curriculum enrichment and promotion of scientific careers at school level; recognition

of apprentice and undergraduate achievements through award schemes;

industrial experience and postgraduate research training.

At the Armoureres & Brasiers in London: Back Row (L-R) - Peter Clist, Assessor; Diane Purslow, NDGTA; Naomi Slaney, Business Support Officer; Simon Thomas, Engineering Manager; Nicola Bellew, HR Advisor; Chris Doherty, HR Business Partner. Front Row (Left-Right) Gareth’s mother, Mrs. Thomas; Gareth Thomas, Manufacturing Apprentice

Back row: Left to right - Neil Purslow (NDGTA); Huw Mathias - training Delivery Manager; Martin Jones - Project Engineer; Simon Thomas - Engineering Manager Front row: Left to right - Ian Ashley-Ware - Engineering Apprentice; Gareth Thomas Manufacturing Apprentice; Scott Jones - Engineering Apprentice; Adam Perry Engineering Apprentice

Orb investment reaches climax Orb is gearing up for big changes over Christmas and New Year as a massive investment programme enters its final phase.

More than £1.5m is being invested at Orb’s M2 flattening line - helping Cogent to meet growing market demand for more efficient grain oriented electrical steel.

Work on the capital scheme began in the summer with enhancement of the line’s laser scribing equipment.

“Early teething problems were ironed out and we’ve since been getting benefits from this first part of the investment,” said Julian Davies, Works General Manager. “For our product, it’s delivered a magnetic loss reduction at higher line speeds.

We’re also getting improved equipment reliability.”

The lion’s share of the investment programme will take place during the Christmas shutdown. Work will centre on replacement of the pre-

The new furnace, currently under construction, will be installed at Orb during the Christmas shutdown as part of a £1.5m investment programme

heat furnace with a more thermally efficient version. Allied work includes modifications to allow better thermal profile development in the furnace, cooling control developments and replacement of obsolescent furnace controls.

“Work is due to start on 27 December and we expect to re-start

the line on 12 January after the Christmas shutdown,” said Julian. “To prepare for the work, we’ll be starting to cool down the old furnace on Christmas Eve so that it can be safely dismantled and re-cycled.”

Orb’s Engineering team, led

by Simon Thomas, is managing the investment project. By mid-

The Apprentices and their mentors and November’s Indenture signing. Back Row (L-R) - Simon Thomas Engineering Manager, Bradley Godwin Technical Apprentice, Rhys Waite - Mechanical Apprentice, James Terry - Mechanical Apprentice, Ethan Philips Electrical Apprentice. Front Row (L-R) - Paul Needham, Martin Jones - Project Engineer, Simon Preece - , Daniel Holvey - Mechanical Apprentice, Daniel Counsell - Electrical

November, planning for the on-site work was well under way. Rigorous control and safety standards are being applied to all elements of the work from design to installation.

Manufacture of the new furnace, by Hotwork Combustion Technology Ltd of Dewsbury, is also at an advanced stage. Hotwork will also install the furnace, working alongside Orb’s engineers and other contractors during the shutdown period.

Julian said: “There are a lot of elements to the work but we’re installing proven technology. The simplification of furnace controls will also ease installation.”

The main driver for the M2 investment project is environmental.

It will improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by a targeted 1,871 tonnes per year. It will

also generate a 5% improvement in the magnetic loss of Orb’s high permeability grades - helping to delivery more energy-efficient products.

Julian said: “This investment is critical in delivering energy savings and enabling new product development.

Successful work over Christmas will allow us to further increase our furnace capacity and our line speed. It will also further improve magnetic properties by allowing strip to flatten earlier in the furnace and give a better cooling cycle.

“It’s crucial that the work is completed safely, on time and in full.

I’m confident that we can rely on the whole team working together to make this a success. We can then look forward to the benefits of this investment starting to translate into Orb’s bottom line by next March.”

Community project to unlock ‘untold heritage’ of First World War steel workers Orb works is involved in a two-year community project that will take an indepth look at role of the Steelworks in Newport during the First World War. “First World War - Steel Remembered” is a collaborative project that will set out to uncover the real-life stories of the Orb steel workers who marched off to war in 1914-1918 those who came back and those who are commemorated by the Orb Steel Works War Memorial. Through a combination of special events, workshops and outreach programmes, the project team, which includes the local community, will reach out, providing opportunities for people of all ages to take an active part in the research, learn new skills and create a digital archive that can be shared across the world.

Local Historian Stephen Berry, author of the Orb Steel Works Centenary Book, attended the launch event and said; “During the First World War everybody was encouraged to sign up or join the war effort. The men of the Orb Steelworks answered that call in their droves and were encouraged by their employer to go. A total of 852 men from the steelworks enlisted between August and December 1914 alone, but many more followed subsequently. No-one who enlisted came out of the experience unscathed and we are keen also to explore the social effects on those who survived and the families of those who did not.”

The project will last two years and has been supported with a £32,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

6

Guests at the event were greeted by men from the Great War Society, dressed in authentic First World War uniform. Children from local schools were told stories of what life was like for the soldiers at the time and had the chance to look at war time memorabilia

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

Working together to improve Health and Safety The three Cogent sites may have a mix of business priorities, but there is one area where everyone comes together in their quest for improvement; Health and Safety.

Rebecca Davies, Health and Safety Manager for Orb Electrical Steels made her first visit to CPI in Canada in October, to spend time exploring ways of establishing best practice across the sites.

“The visit was triggered by a recent injury at the site,” Rebecca explains.

“An employee had lost their finger following a nasty accident. I met with the Operations and Safety teams to carry out a ‘5 Why’ exercise, investigating the possible causes of the incident and what processes need to be put in place.”

The accident investigation was just one part of the visit, as Rebecca then spent a further couple of days meeting employees from across the site, sharing ideas on health and safety practices and areas for improvement.

“We focussed on a couple of areas,

Matt Stimac, Engineering and Operations leader at CPI

From left to right: Marc Meuris, Engineering Value Stream Leader, Amorphous and Flat Stack Products, CPI. Peter Lennstrand, Production Manager, Sura. Rebecca Davies, Health and Safety Manager, Orb Electrical Steels. Johan Steen, Health, Safety and Environment Manager Sura

one being Fork Lift Truck (FLT) safety.

The recent accident at Surahammar involving a FLT is a clear indicator that we need to revisit our approach to this,

Orb on a mission to get back to black

Some of the magnetics team at Orb; left to right Gareth Jones, Lewis Millard, Barrie Goode, Paul Latchford and Dominic Power

For the past two months, employees at Orb have been on a mission to bring their financial performance back on track. The ‘Orb Recovery plan’, is being brought to life by a number of departments on site, each looking into vital changes in order to turn the business around.

Julian Davies, General Manager at Orb explained: “Returning from our annual shutdown in August, we had major reliability issues on our M Lines and Mills, that affected the September performance of the Works, and had a knock on affect for customers and colleagues at CPI in Canada. Looking ahead, we realised that unless something was done, we would not be able to break even at the end of the financial year; a far cry from the positive Annual Plan we are measured against.”

The plan has four main target areas.

Capability and Reliability are headed up

by Julian, with Phil Clements, Managing Director targeting cost improvements; Trudi Marsden, Commercial Director exploring commercial developments; and Chris Doherty, HR Manager leading communications activity.

Significant progress has already been made in Capability and Reliability.

With five different work streams being managed in this area, plenty of work has been done to improve Magnetics, Stickers, Resistance, Rolling of 0.23mm at the Mills and Engineering reliability across the Works.

Julian said: “We needed to urgently improve our performance in Magnetic loss, we have an end of year magnetic hit rate target of 40% 0.80 on 0.23mm material, and were at 20-25% but since the summer we have been well behind that level. We are starting to see progress towards better performance, with current performance at 10%, but we have not yet recovered to where we were or where we need to be. There is a full time team dedicated to this, which involves studying all of our process parameters and the chemistry of hot rolled coil.”

Stickers, where the application of magnesium oxide slurry is disrupted at the edge of the strip, has been an issue before at Orb, so the team are well-versed in the issues faced. “The slurry has a high viscosity and is easily disturbed when still wet on the surface

“An awful lot of work has been done over the past couple of months and we are now starting to see some benefits. We just need to persevere and keep pushing on with the approach taken so far. Well done to everyone involved, it has been a great team effort.”

Julian Davies, Works General Manager

to avoid complacency.

I was also able to join a site visit from the Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, which was really interesting as the

of the strip. This combined with air entrapment at the coating rolls and air drag as the coated strip moves towards the drying oven causes the slurry to be pushed away from the strip edge.”

Julian explained. With RD&T support the dynamic characteristics of the coating have been understood and the team have now installed an air nozzle and heaters on the D-lines, which has already enabled an improvement in the sticker rate.

Resistance needed to get better on all material at Orb. Customer expectations have increased in this area. Low resistance values at the M-Lines is caused by scuffing and pick up of debris at the D-lines, this had already been looked at earlier this year, and stainless steel brushes were installed to reduce this surface damage.

However, Julian adds: “following the brushes being installed, there were problems with the strip steering through the furnace, and the material was still rubbing against the refractory wall. This was frustrating, as the bottom side surface was exceptionally good. So now, we will be re-installing the brushes, with a closer look at engineering standards, to avoid issues with steering.”

Current market demands more volume of low loss 0.23 material. Thus making Orb’s performance in this are all the more crucial. Key to satisfying customers is increasing the volume of 0.23 material rolled at the mills, Julian is pleased with the results in this area so far, as the inbound material from DSP has not had the best edge quality to be working with. “We had to improve our ‘snap rate’ on RM1.” Julian said. “Issues with our supply weren’t helpful, and we had our own issues to resolve too. The Area Trio team worked systematically to find and fix mechanical and software faults on the systems that operate the flow of coolant, we have been able to improve the snap rate from 60 to a rate of 19 per 1000t.”

Recent changes in the Engineering team’s structure have been a great help to the move towards enhanced reliability. There is now dedicated resource to support each manufacturing area and a compact central team to maintain site services,

requirements and procedures are so similar to my experiences with the Health and Safety Executive in the UK. There were plenty of discussions surrounding process safety. Across the group we have opportunities to pull together on our approach to this, and we have already planned future visits for colleagues at different sites, to encourage a wider perspective.”

The visit was Rebecca’s first to

planning and stores. This has given a big improvement in line delays.

Progress of the Orb Recovery plan is monitored regularly through weekly review meetings with senior management, as well as those directly involved having regular updates.

A couple of new communications channels have also been introduced to keep Orb employees informed; a weekly update including performance statistics, and a closed Facebook group for Orb employees.

Julian is feeling optimistic about the coming months: “An awful lot of work has been done over the past couple of months and we are now starting to see some benefits. I am hopeful that we will

CPI, and she left with a great first impression: “Everyone at CPI was so welcoming. There is an amazing ‘can-do’ attitude across the site, with a healthy appetite for change and improvement.

The site itself is very well kept, with plenty of open spaces - a real plus when it comes to Health and Safety.”

Matt Stimac, Engineering Value Stream Leader at CPI, found the visit useful: “From my perspective the 5 why exercise was an eye opener for many involved. It truly dug down into the root cause of the incident and went much further than operator error which many times we tend to use as the root of the issue.”

Following Rebecca’s visit to CPI, she arranged for representatives from the three Cogent sites to get together in IJmuiden, Tata Steel’s steel production site in the Netherlands, for a level two course in process safety competency.

“It was another great opportunity for a ‘meeting of minds’. I am looking forward to more of the ‘cross-site’ approach in the new year, to help us all achieve our goals of improving health and safety in Cogent.”

“Looking ahead, we realised that unless something was done, we would not be able to break even at the end of the financial year; a far cry from the positive Annual Plan we are measured against.”

Julian Davies, Works General Manager

be back to our expected performance targets by the end of January - we just need to persevere and keep pushing on with the approach taken so far. Well done to everyone involved, it has been a great team effort.”

PUZZLES SUDOKU

PIT YOUR WITS

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3 x 3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

Turn to page 8 for the solution

7

CogentNews

ISSUE 011 | December 2016

60 second interview

Name and job title?

Anna Lindgren, Supply Chain Coordinator How long have you worked in the company? What was your first job at Sura?

I have worked in Sura for 10 years, first job was at sales department working with orders and customer service What is your job, and what does it entail?

I mainly work with the supply of HRC, I make sure that we have the right HRC in stock, based on customer orders and forecasts. I’m also responsible for our internal stock targets.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

At the moment the biggest challenge is to get the HRC supplied

by PT delivered to us.

What is the best thing about working in your area?

No day is like the other, I face new challenges all the time.

What will be your focus for the future?

My focus is to improve the supply chain into Surahammar and continue to make sure that we achieve our internal stock targets.

What hobbies or interests do you have?

I like to cook, renovate and decorate our house. In the winter I like to ski, both downhill and cross country.

And of course I like to spend time with my family, husband and three daughters.

Fork lift trucks - remember the safety rules!

Colleagues at all Cogent sites are being urged to take special care when operating or approaching fork lift trucks (FLTs).

Rebecca Davies, Health and Safety Manager, said: “Fork lift trucks are a familiar sight in the workplace although we need to remember that they are powerful and potentially hazardous pieces of equipment.

“We have safety rules for fork lift truck drivers and for pedestrians walking or working in areas where trucks are operating.

To keep ourselves and our colleagues safe, it’s important that we all remind ourselves of the rules and make sure we observe them.”

Safety rules for FLT drivers and pedestrians make sure all pre-flight checks are carried out DO before you use your FLT and report any defects so that they can be repaired n make sure you wear your seat belt at all times when operating the FLT n switch off the engine, remove the key and apply the parking brake before allowing pedestrians to approach n sound the horn when entering or exiting different bays or buildings n keep the forks low when transferring a load

n

do not drive a FLT unless you have an in-date FLT license and are medically fit to do so do not drive a FLT in an unsafe condition do not exceed speed limits do not park on or drive across an incline do not get off a FLT unless the engine is stopped and the parking brake applied

n

DOn’t n n n n

PremiershiP

Performance A further 8,500 football supporters can admire the footwork of Jurgen Klopp’s team this season as a result of Liverpool Football Club’s stadium expansion. The new development at the iconic Anfield ground has been designed to give fans the best possible view of the action as well as better facilities.

Construction work spanned two football seasons and was managed without any interruptions to match fixtures.

At times the work became a spectator experience in itself. In August 2015, the lifting of the giant 650-tonne 140m-long steel stadium roof truss into position was televised and watched by thousands of

Pedestrians

FLT drivers

people in the surrounding streets.

Meeting the delivery goals was crucial for Tata Steel, who supplied building envelope products to the revamped stadium including: 10,000m2 of Trisobuild® R60 in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® Goosewing Grey; 28,000m2 ComFlor® 60; and Colorcoat Aquatite® gutters.

Tata Steel also contributed 450 tonnes of Celsius® 355 hollow section tubes for the roof and terraces.

Having in the past supplied London 2012 Olympic venues and Wimbledon’s Centre Court roof, it was all in a season’s work.

keep to walkways in FLT operating areas DO

n make sure the FLT driver has applied the parking brake and removed the key before you approach the FLT n remember there are areas of vision for the FLT driver which are obstructed by the FLT masts. If you are working in a FLT area make sure you know where the FLTs are operating

n

never travel as a passenger in a FLT DOn’t

n do not walk or work within a 2m radius of the FLT operation

n

Everyone

DO

n

challenge any behaviour you think is unsafe

CogentNews We want your news and views Welcome to Cogent News, a newspaper designed to keep you informed of what’s been going on across the Cogent sites, as well as the broader Tata Steel Europe group.

Have you got a piece of information or view that’s worth the wider world of Cogent knowing about?

If you have any suggestions, comments, news or feedback please contact: cogentcommunications@tatasteel. com

Together we make the difference

What country or city would you most like to visit, and why?

I would like to visit Czech Republic, have heard that Prague is a very beautiful and nice city Famous / Inspiring people. Who would you most like to meet (or have met), and why?

There is no specific person that I would like to meet, however, I get inspired by people around me (my children, husband, parents, grandparents, friends, colleagues e.g).

Be careful with the friends that provide energy and get rid of those who don’t (energy thieves) If you could be in another time period, what would it be, and why?

I like to live the present, but if I have to choose it would be the 50’s or the 60’s - nice cars and nice music.

8

SUDOKU SOLUTION From page 7