The Exova Magazine - Issue 1

Issue 1

www.exova.com

It’s up to us Integrity/teamwork performance/innovation

Inside this issue

Innovation: the baker's tale Dubai: our role in Palm Island 5S: running in a straight line

See for yourself

10 ways Exova is changing the world

F r o m t h e Edi to r

p4 The Journey Starts Here

Grant Rumbles reveals the strengths of Exova p6 Snapshots

Discover what is happening across the continents p8 how we changed the world

From bushfires to earthquakes, from food to vehicles p12 the bigger picture

Exova's part in Atlantis & Palm Island p16 our values: innovation

Aurobindo Das reveals a baker's tale p20 testing his metal

Confessions of a Scottish metallurgist

xova is an outstanding company with a bright future and some extraordinary success stories to celebrate.

That's why we have launched this – The Exova Magazine – as a means of sharing some of that information around the world.

The theme of this first issue is 'innovation' – it's one of the four company values of Exova and something that's at the heart of everything we do. In the next issue, we'll look at teamwork.

I hope you enjoy the magazine and, if you have any ideas for topics you think we could cover, I'd love to hear from you.

CLAIRE PURVES

p22 5S: Running in a straight line

Why 5S is part and parcel of Exova's future p24 It’s up to you

Suggest a 5S innovation – and win a prize

Claire Purves

Claire.Purves@Exova.com

special contributor

Published by Exova in association with White Light Media www.whitelightmedia.co.uk.

Editorial: Fraser Allen & Liz Longden Design: Adam Wilson. Members of APA and PPA. Exova, Queen Anne Drive, Newbridge Midlothian EH28 8LP. www.exova.com

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This month's special contributor is Blair Lawrence from the Digital Media team in Mississauga, Canada. Blair, a graduate of Toronto Film School, took the portraits of Aurobindo Das on p16-18.

No.1 Drugs that save lives Wilma Bradbury, Product Launch Manager for Lupin Europe Ltd (a subsidiary of Mumbai-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc).

Their products:

Lupin is the world’s largest manufacturer of tuberculosis drugs. It is also very active in pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular conditions, diabetology and asthma.

How does Exova provide support?

“Exova’s lab in Edinburgh provides batch release testing for Lupin and for several of our partners throughout Europe,” says Wilma. “Batch release testing has to be carried

out by an independent, approved analytical body on all batches manufactured outside of the EU. It is a critical step required to release vital medicines to market.”

How would you sum up what Exova brings to your business?

“Exova gives us service and value in equal amounts,” says Wilma. “They provide the assurance that our testing capability has been completed to the best of our ability – because they are an extension of our brand and mirror our own standards.

The team at Exova understands the importance of timely analysis to ensure that our supply chain operates effectively.”

Picture: DN Anderson

Our client:

The journey starts here Grant Rumbles believes Exova is a good business that can become an exceptional one. As he steers the organisation towards fresh opportunities, he explains why the challenge should excite everyone involved Portrait: Rob McDougall

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interview

what are exova's strengths?

Over the years, we have acquired a wide range of very good brands – and some of the best technicallyqualified people in the world.

These brands and people are our underlying strengths. We have also developed high-quality testing processes to ensure we provide excellent work. That is what clients keep coming back for.

How can the business improve?

We need to look across the whole group, identify examples of best practice, and enable everyone across the business to benefit from it. As a result, we’re creating a group called Efficient Best Practice that will focus on a number of pilot laboratories and develop them using our knowledge across the world to create the most efficient laboratories within Exova. We will take the lessons learned from these laboratories and transfer them across the company. Obviously this is not a five-minute programme – it will probably take us about two years. The other side of the business that we’ve not been particularly good at in the past is simply going to market and selling. In some ways ‘selling’ was seen as a dirty word at Bodycote Testing Group, almost as if it is incompatible with the technical nature of the work we carry out.

That will change.

So you’ve previously relied on clients approaching you?

Exactly. And it’s worked well.

The consultants who we asked to look at the business described it as “sticky” – customers come to us, we do a good job and they come back again. However, whilst this business turned over £200m last year, we operate in a market that is valued at £7bn per year – and there are 25,000 laboratories operating in the same space as us. If we can become more professional at marketing our

Where’s home?

I spent my childhood in Trinidad and much of my adult life in the Middle East. I am now thoroughly enjoying living in Edinburgh, as is my wife – she’s originally from Aberdeen.

What happens at the weekends?

I love outdoor sports – fishing, sailing, golf and tennis.

What’s on the coffee table?

The Economist, Time and Flight International.

Tell us a secret…

I once flew with the Red Arrows.

Grant Rumbles is Chief Executive Officer of Exova.

expertise, a tremendous level of growth can be achieved.

Are you moving away from growth through acquisition?

Partly. We will acquire other companies, but only where it makes real sense. Our strategy now is about longterm sustainable growth.

Growth is good for all of our stakeholders – it's exciting and will provide opportunities for our staff to excel within Exova.

Growth through acquisition is expensive – organic growth is much less expensive and it’s cleaner. The other opportunity for growth is outsourcing – in other words, encouraging clients who currently carry out testing in-house to move it to us instead.

About half of the testing market is currently in-house. Because we are a specialist testing business, we should be able to offer these organisations a service that is quicker, higher quality and less expensive than they are able to manage themselves. So in many respects, the current economic climate is good news for our business because it is forcing potential clients to look for better value.

How is the recession affecting exova and its clients?

Overall, we are still growing – which is good news given the current climate. However, a number of our clients are having difficulties. In the US automotive sector, there is going to be an impact on our sales because there are less new cars to test.

We’ve also seen a downturn in parts of our aerospace business and, geographically, there are variations. For instance, we’ve seen a sharp downturn in Dubai yet there are 30% growth rates in Abu Dhabi. So there are ups and downs and it is tough but overall, as a group, we’re still doing extraordinarily well given the

current business climate. where are the growth opportunities geographically?

We’ve already got a sizeable business in North America but we need to look south – particularly to Brazil and Venezuela, with their large industrial and energy sectors.

We need to look eastwards to some of the former Eastern Bloc states and beyond to India and China. In terms of testing, these markets are relatively immature, so there could be some very good opportunities. if you could invite anyone to dinner who would you pick?

I’d start with Barack Obama. He’s in a super place where he can make a very positive difference – not only to the US but to the whole world. The next guest would be Nelson Mandela – he may be out of office now, but one or two of his experiences would help me tremendously.

Who inspires you as a leader?

Some of the inspiration I have received has been from seeing people do things badly and learning from that. However, in terms of a positive influence, the biggest inspiration for me has been my father. He passed on to me the belief that life is what you make it. I fundamentally believe that you can make almost anything much better if you work hard at it. If you look at Exova, I believe we have a good business that we can turn into a truly exceptional one. The four values we have adopted will also help to drive the business forward. If we innovate, work well in teams, focus on performance and underline everything we do with integrity, we will succeed. The market that we operate in is searching for a leader – and we have a fantastic opportunity for it to be us l

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In each issue of the magazine, we’ll be asking a selection of people across Exova for an update of what is preoccupying them.

We begin by hearing from some of the company’s leaders.

Snapshots Cash is king

As we are in the midst of an extremely challenging recession, much of my time is currently spent on cash management and business forecasting. When times are tough, businesses go bust due to the lack of cash rather than the lack of profit. A focus on cash is therefore very much a priority for me. I am very proud of the fact that our business is standing up well to the recession and excited by the number of major sales opportunities coming our way due to businesses looking to outsource their testing requirements.

Gavin Higgins, Finance Director, Europe

Long-term strategy

I have lots on my mind right now. This includes finalising a new contract with Total Tractebel for on-site testing at the Taweelah power and desalination plant; a site-wide agreement with Tamouh which is developing a significant percentage of Reem Island in Abu Dhabi; and a long-term strategy to convince local government agencies

The new branding on show at Mississauga, Canada

to appoint Exova as their preferred supplier for testing and certification services – the most significant of these is the DoT transport plan which includes the Abu Dhabi metro. We are also developing business opportunities for Civils and especially Metallurgy in the Ruwais region of Abu Dhabi (oil fields), as well as increasing crossselling opportunities with my colleagues in the Warringtonfire environmental and cladding businesses.

Chris Davey, General Manager, Abu Dhabi

Poised for opportunities

No one has been immune from the unique challenges that 2009 has brought to Exova. However, here in the Middle East, we’re focusing our energies to make operational the new flagship, multi-discipline, Saudi Arabian laboratory, allowing us to tap into the biggest Gulf economy as the inevitable recovery comes.

Huw Woodyatt, Regional Director, HSEQ, Middle East & Asia

Striking a balance

The main focus and challenges for myself and the Middle East and Asia/Asia Pacific team have been finding a successful balance between managing internal initiatives (pricing, best practice, restructuring) versus maintaining organic sales growth which, in H1 for the region, is up 17% from 2008. Furthermore, we are extremely excited about the opportunity to sustain and increase this growth via the establishment of our greenfield businesses in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Dubai (Exova Warringtonfire), Singapore (Exova Warringtonfire Consulting) and the new certification business all of which will be moving from start-up positions to operational trading this year. Hard work but fun!!

Rob Jackson, Managing Director, Middle East and Asia Pacific

Timing was perfect

The market we operate in is as big as we want to make it. The change in name of the company couldn’t have come at a better time for us.

It is an opportunity for us to re-think the ways in which we present ourselves to both existing and potential customers. Our challenge is to service the needs of our existing clients and to keep growing the business, whilst also keeping a ‘weather eye’ on our competitors. Although we don’t have expensive bits of kit in Advisory, our IT systems are key to being able to maintain competitive advantage.

Not forgetting the fact that, as we keep growing, we need to make sure that we have the resource to be able to deliver what we have promised.

Sue Riley, General Manager, Exova Sutton Coldfield

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The science of pricing

What’s been occupying me for the last few months and what will continue to occupy me going forward is a mixture of the new brand roll-out, client-facing business development and a series of internal development initiatives, such as developing new pricing methodology. The new Exova brand roll-out is critically important and we’ve been really busy with managing the process of re-badging all of our properties, vehicles, work-wear etc, as well as getting the message out to clients and generally promoting the new brand. On the client-facing front, we’ve had some significant successes in both developing new business and in renewing long-term agreements.

As for pricing, we’ve been working with world-leading consultants to develop new pricing techniques to make sure that we apply some science to this important area and get true value for our shareholders for the great work we do.

David Shipley, Business Development Director, Europe

Maintaining excitement

fitter and stronger

’m excited and encouraged working with new owners – and a new CEO. They bring with them fresh ideas and a wealth of experience. Although I’m extremely busy, I'm finding this new chapter highly motivating. I love the business, having spent 25 years working in a range of really interesting roles and playing my part in its development. I also love the new brand and the flatter structure – communication is faster and more effective. I have become closer to large parts of the business and will ultimately be closer to it all, which allows me to contribute more successfully. I think that this applies across the board.

Of course we find ourselves in a challenging economic environment, making some tough decisions, but I am really encouraged with the focus and efforts of our people. We have a fantastic business to be proud of and some really dedicated and talented people. I am confident that we are now fitter and stronger and well placed to be in a good position moving out of the recession.

The future is bright.

Exova Australia’s existing operations predominantly serve the construction sector, which has been severely impacted by the global financial crisis.

Therefore, maintaining growth and profitability are the biggest challenges.

Initiatives include increasing our range of services, establishing business units in Singapore, multi-skilling staff and planning for rapid growth as economies recover – this is keeping us busy and maintaining excitement.

it can be and it has to be. Therein lies the real challenge: to change the way we do business every day. To facilitate a change in culture requires vision, drive and a sense of shared purpose. Personally, the challenge is the stimulus, and our collective success is the ultimate reward.

Paul England, Director, Australia & New Zealand

Carol Stewart, HSEQ Director, Europe

A change of culture

ongoing relationships

At Exova, health, safety, quality and environmental consciousness should be integral to everything we do. It underpins one of our core values: integrity. So is it? No, not entirely. But

Exova Warringtonfire has been a major supplier of fire safety testing to markets across the globe for many years. However, our service offering for fire safety by design is now focused

Seán Kerr, Managing Director, Europe

on certification rather than testing – in other words, we are becoming a certification-led business rather than a testing laboratory. This provides for an ongoing relationship with our clients.

Our fire safety engineering consultants are also working with architects, designers and engineers to integrate fire safety into conceptual design. This, together with our inspection and testing of installed products and systems allows us to offer a continuum of services, from strategic design through to practical realisation of the completed project.

GEOFF DEAKIN, Director, Exova Warringtonfire

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cover feature

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From food, transport and green energy to safeguarding against natural disasters, everyone at Exova plays a valuable role in making the world a better place

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Beating bushfires

The horrendous destruction of the 2009 Victoria Bushfires grabbed the world headlines – but our Australian team is working hard to prevent a recurrence on the same scale. Recommendations based on extensive research by Exova Warringtonfire are being implemented by the Australian authorities – including the heat and fire resistance of buildings.

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cover feature

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Back and Forth

Regular testing carried out by our Edinburgh team on Scotland's famous Forth Road Bridge has ensured the safety of traffic for 40 years. It also informed the major decision to build a second bridge.

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Gas for India

The discovery of gas reserves in the Bay of Bengal has led to hopes that a large number of the Indian population could be given access to gas in their homes. We're playing our part by assuring the quality of pipework across this massive project.

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Spirit of Ecstasy

We're very good at the details too. The iconic 'Spirit of Ecstasy' emblem on the front of RollsRoyce cars was tested by us for corrodibility.

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Testing of steel, steelwork weld and NDT, plus coatings inspections

Fire safety product testing and assesment

Acoustic testing

The bigger picture Testing and analysis of paints

Fire safety engineering consulting

Testing/analysis of concretes and other materials

Plastic/P.E. pipe testing

Rock armour testing

Testing of glass and cladding systems

Foundation testing

Air/noise monitoring

Indoor air quality surveys in new buildings

Water analysis for aquariums and dolphinariums

Civil engineering site lab

Asphalt testing for roads

HSE testing e.g. microbiology

The Palm is an astonishingly ambitious artificial island development off the coast of Dubai. It is also home to the stunning 1,539-room Atlantis Hotel – one of the world's most lavish resorts. As the map shows, exova's Dubai team played a considerable part in developing both the hotel and the island

atlantis the palm

Soil and compaction testing

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Seawater and sediment environmental analysis

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Green thinking

Our North American operation is at the forefront of innovative solutions to reduce vehicle emissions – one of the biggest challenges for our planet today.

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Earthquakes

In the aftermath of 1995's Kobe earthquake, we were called in to investigate ways of strengthening pipes and fittings to reduce the likelihood of future destruction ever occuring on the same scale.

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Black gold

Essential oil rig technology is regularly tested by us.

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Train travel

In the Middle East, we have played a key safety testing role on the Dubai Metro network.

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Glorious food

One of the UK's best-known retailers has enlisted us to ensure that their food labelling is correct – shoppers can fill their baskets with confidence.

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Wind power

Our Windblast technology in Sweden is pioneering innovations in green energy.

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our values | Innovation

open the doors to Innovation Innovation is one of Exova’s four values, but what does it really mean?

According to Aurobindo Das, the answer is in the oven – so wake up and smell the bread love the bread-maker,” says Aurobindo Das. “It takes five minutes to put in the ingredients and you wake up the next morning with the aroma of fresh bread in the house. But I felt it could have been better, so I did a parametric study to develop my own recipe. I varied the ingredients systematically and kept going until the bread turned out just perfect.”

With that eye for detail, it’s no surprise that Aurobindo has made a career out of innovation – he now heads up Exova’s Engines & Transportation Division in the Americas. But Aurobindo also exudes a sense of fun and recognises an element of the absurd in his domestic kitchen experiments.

“I have to admit that I waited until my family were out,” he laughs. “I’m not sure what they would have made of it.”

Yet Aurobindo’s bread-making breakthough undoubtedly offers a parallel with much of the work carried out across Exova daily – taking a problem and solving it through the relentless logic of applied testing. This, in Aurobindo’s view, is what

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Aurobindo Das at Exova's vehicle testing site in Mississauga

July 2009 Exova Magazine

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Portrait: Blair Lawrence

our values | Innovation

innovation is all about. “Innovation is thrilling – it separates us from our competition, it gives us a sense of achievement and it makes our work fun,” says Aurobindo. “You can’t see me right now but I have a huge grin on my face.”

Stephen Mills, a colleague also based at Mississauga in Ontario, agrees. “My job is innovation,” says Exova’s IS/IT Director for the Americas. “Every single day my team and I are looking for ways to solve problems, to do things faster, to make things simpler. It’s my nature, I’m a problem solver.”

As boys, Stephen and Aurobindo were both the type to take their toys apart and put them back together just for fun. But not everyone is a natural innovator, so is it something that can be learnt?

“There’s no secret,” says Stephen. “It doesn’t happen magically. It happens in small steps with people looking to do things differently. But you have to have the passion and the drive. It’s an attitude. It’s about ownership, about people realising that they are part of the problem and doing what they can to change that.”

Over in Sweden, Ulrika Andersson, General

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My favourite innovation Ulrika Andersson “The simple vacuum cleaner – what an amazing example of innovation!”

Aurobindo Das: “The digital camera. It’s a great invention for the common man.”

Stephen Mills: “The internet. It has unified the globe. I think it’s the number one innovation of our time and it’s just in its infancy now in terms of what it can do and will do.”

Manager for Exova’s European Technology Centre, agrees: “The most inspiring characters are the ones who keep trying to find a solution, no matter how complicated or frustrating the problem is. It is this ability to stay positive and to keep trying that people look up to.”

Ulrika believes that being innovative also means being flexible. “Our competitors are trying to be competitive too and the market is changing every day,” she says. “Innovation can mean creating new technology and equipment – which we are very good at. However, it also means adapting to change effectively and being aware of what is happening. People are the most inspiring and challenging aspect of this job, and I’m learning new things every day.”

Aurobindo believes that innovation is a natural urge but that some people are more easily put off than others. “Most people inherently want to innovate,” he says. “They want to improve how they do things. But there can be workplace barriers to innovation that stifle creative initiatives – and often that is down to the leadership. As leaders we must show our commitment to encourage innovation, provide resources, nurture creative individuals who are constantly trying new things and neutralise negative comments. We must assure our staff that failed innovations will not be punished, that we will learn from our mistakes. We must also recognise and reward those seeking to innovate.”

Stephen is all in favour of eliminating barriers too. Since he joined in 2007, he has used IT best practice to streamline the business in the Americas, saving time, money and frustration across the board. For instance, when he began, there were 17 email servers across Bodycote Testing Group in the Americas. Now there is one. He has replaced the paper-based expenses system with an online one, so settling an expense can now take hours rather than weeks. The same goes for the purchasing system, which is also automatically linked to online project budgets, ensuring that, if someone overspends, it will be flagged up immediately. Similarly, online monitoring of cellphone bills across the company in North America has seen bills fall by 50%.

“These are basic things but they needed to be done before we can do more interesting things that will add real value to the business,” says Stephen.

He and his team are turning their attention to that right now. Watch this space.

In the meantime, who does Stephen, who has spent 30 years working in IT, admire as a great innovator? His first example is Harland Sanders – better known as Colonel Sanders of KFC fame.

Sanders is said to have received 1,009 rejections when first attempting to establish what became the worldwide KFC franchise. “That’s the thing about

What is innovation?

innovation,” says Stephen. “You’ve got to keep trying. Things never work first time. Innovation is about trying, failing and trying again.”

For his second example, Stephen points to Tata Motors in India, which has developed the world’s cheapest mass market car in the shape of the $2,500 Tata Nano. “People thought they were crazy,” he says. “But they did it and they did it by looking at every aspect of the production process and daring to do things differently to everyone else.”

Funnily enough, a certain Aurobindo Das worked at Tata in the late seventies and early eighties. “The company sales represented 95% of the heavy duty truck and bus market in India yet they were growing at an astonishing rate of 25% per year,” says Aurobindo. “They could not achieve such growth by traditional business thinking alone. Managers were given free rein to innovate. As a young engineer I worked closely with two managers. They taught me not to be deterred by outrageous goals. They showed me that nothing was impossible and they assured me that failure did not mean a career death spiral.

They taught me to take productive risks and I owe them a lot.”

They may not have known it at the time, but Aurobindo’s Tata managers also made a small contribution to the progress of bakery innovation in Ontario. They have helped to ensure that whenever guests are now invited to the Das family home, they can look forward to truly delicious bread l

The 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne lived in an era rich in innovation, when Europe was blossoming in the wake of the Renaissance. Yet he retained the stance of the curmudgeon.

“I am disgusted by innovation in whatever guise and for whatever reason, for I have seen the harmful effects of it,” he wrote.

More recently, US academic Mason Colley (not pictured) claimed “innovation violates tradition, attacks it in public and steals from it in private.” Whilst fashion designer Coco Chanel once gasped: “Innovation!

One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create classics.”

But these are fringe minority views, for which the ever-quotable Sir Winston Churchill had little time.

“Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep

without a shepherd,” he said. “Without innovation, it is a corpse.” And in science and industry, innovation has long been recognised as an essential ingredient for success. Harvard Professor of Business Michael Porter has described it as “the central issue in economic prosperity”, whilst Bill Gates famously proclaimed: “Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many people in so short a time.”

But one of the best examples of innovation was provided

by Henry Ford, inventor of the world’s first massproduced car. By 1918, half the cars in America were Ford’s Model T car, and by 1927 the final production number had hit 15,007,034. But as Ford himself remarked: “If you had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

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Pictures: Roger Viollet REX Features, PA, Remy Steinegger

They taught me not to be deterred by outrageous goals.

They showed me that nothing was impossible and they assured me that failure did not mean a career death spiral.

They taught me to take productive risks and I owe them a lot

Innovation has its roots in the Latin ‘innovare’ – meaning ‘into the new’, pushing the boundaries of knowledge, practice and perception. And like any expedition into unknown territory, it promises excitement, adventure, reward – but also risk.

Without innovation, humans would still be living in caves but, as with any form of change, it can sometimes draw hostility.

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Metallurgist Cliff McGuire has worked on everything from major civil engineering projects to chip fryers and greyhound ‘hare’ tracks. Claire Purves asks him to explain all

interview

Working with metal

I’m a Metallurgical Manager and our department is spread across two sites – Newbridge in Edinburgh and Teesside in England. Our work is focused on failure analysis and consultancy, backed up by comprehensive testing facilities.

We employ a well-honed holistic methodology for each project. It sounds straightforward but it is very important to follow this process carefully. In essence, we look at what precisely has failed, the service history, material information, the history of the failure and the likely causes. Critical to this is ensuring that we ask our clients the right questions and that we operate without prejudging the situation.

Our reports typically offer comments on the contribution of the environment and material properties to the failure, and any aspect of that failure that should be of interest to the client – such as material selection or abuse. We also alert clients to health & safety hazards that could arise from further similar failures.

People make it happen

We have the latest technology and testing facilities but they are nothing without the people – and we have a highly-experienced and skilled team of technicians across both sites. One of our key strengths is developing our employees – the team is made up of a mixture of trainees, graduates and senior metallurgists. Mentoring and coaching is an essential part of my approach to managing a successful team. I work with labs throughout Europe to share best practice and ensure we train and move our staff around to get the best from them – both for their development and for the benefit of the clients.

NCHRP Report 534. Over a two-year period, 10 areas on the cable bundles on the suspension part of the Forth Road Bridge were exposed for inspection and sampling. Conditions of the wires in the first panel opened were found to have deteriorated far more than expected. Moisture had permeated through the protective layers of paint and red lead paste, and had corroded the zinc coated steel wires. In addition to corrosion, cracks were also discovered that were attributable to a hydrogen embrittlement/stress corrosion cracking mechanism. The results of the inspection and testing project concluded that, although the calculated deterioration of cable strength was 8-10%, the factor of safety still well exceeded the minimum specified in the guidelines.

Frying tonight

The scale of our work also varies. For instance, we also got to the bottom of a corrosion problem in a chip fryer in a Scottish takeaway. If this seems like a minor project, think again. Fish and chips is a hugely popular dish in Scotland, so this was an issue of national significance!

The dog that caught the hare

A few years ago, I had the ‘hare’ from Edinburgh’s historic Powderhall greyhound racing track on my desk for a while. I wasn’t examining the hare as such, but the track it speeds around, with the greyhounds in fast pursuit. The hare needed to move very fast – faster than the dogs obviously – but the metal track wasn’t performing as it should.

There had been a change in the surface that the greyhounds were racing on, and hard grains from the new soft surface caused abrasion to the hare’s track that was slowing it down. It was a fun case but, as with all our investigations, metal is just metal!

From oil to health

We get involved in a wide range of areas: oil and gas, civil engineering, rail, foundries, pharmaceuticals manufacture, shipping, electronics, accident investigation, insurance claims and even surgical instruments used in the health sector.

I blame the neighbours

Bridging the gap

Drive-by sightings

We are quite well-known for our involvement in the testing and examination of cable wires from the Forth Road Bridge, just north of Edinburgh.

I worked with a team of engineers who had previously looked at the longevity of various US suspension bridges and were the principal authors of the American inspection guidelines

Unlike some of my colleagues, I resist the temptation to carry out home testing for entertainment in my garden shed. However, I do bore the family by pointing out buildings and bridges that I have worked on. Such is the scope of Exova’s work that it’s becoming difficult to drive past anywhere that we haven’t had some involvement with l

My initial interest in metallurgy was kindled by one of my neighbourhood friends who trained as a foundry metallurgist. My parents wanted a secure future for me, so I ended up following him to college and my fascination with metals began.

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5S: Running in a straight line Some times the best ideas are the simplest ones. 5S is a beautifully simple way of making the workplace safer – and more productive lbert Einstein was no slouch in the intellect stakes, yet even he subscribed to the view that the best ideas are often the simplest ones. The first of his highly influential rules of effective working was a relatively basic observation. “Out of clutter, find simplicity,” he said.

The message is the same at Exova.

In order to pioneer new technology and fresh innovations, it’s essential to get the simple things right. That’s why there is now a business-wide push to embrace 5S. But what is 5S – and where did it come from? Well, 5S did itself emerge from a sort of chaos. The story begins in Japan, as the nation put the Second World War behind it, throwing itself into an industrial and technological revolution.

The car manufacturer Toyota had already pioneered a Japanese process management philosophy called ‘kaizen’, meaning continuous improvement. Inspired by Ford production methods, Toyota also created a ‘just-in-time’ system that meant materials arrived only as and when needed, to avoid stockpiling.

In the 1950s, Toyota pushed on with its drive to cut waste and, borrowing another idea from Ford, encouraged all its employees to put forward ideas to

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improve efficiency and performance.

It was from this determination to continually improve that 5S emerged.

The five elements that make up 5S are briefly explained in the box opposite but, in essence, it is a process for ensuring that the business workplace is clean, well organised and highly efficient. It is part of the broader ‘Lean’ methodology for creating a competitive workplace environment.

At Bodycote Testing Group, there have been attempts to introduce 5S across the business, but takeup was patchy. At Exova, there is a determination to ensure that 5S becomes an intrinsic part of everybody’s working life.

Also, just as Toyota encouraged ideas from its workforce, everyone at Exova will be urged for their suggestions to make the business ever more innovative and efficient (see page 24).

But why should anyone care about 5S? “Embracing 5S improves safety in our workshops, laboratories and offices,” says Carol Stewart, Exova’s HSEQ Director for Europe. “The health and safety of our people is paramount, so this is a key benefit. Also, I certainly prefer working in a pleasant, structured environment and I’m sure most people do. It improves morale and motivation.”

There are also big benefits in terms of efficiency. “5S will help us to review the layout of our workspace and workflows,” says Carol. “The aim is to identify and eliminate anything that does not add value to a process or end result. For example, it will ensure that tests can be performed much more efficiently, saving time and money. 5S is also very useful as a conditioning discipline for continuous improvement in all aspects of our operations.”

5S is promoted as a win–win situation for everyone involved.

I certainly prefer working in a pleasant, structured environment and I’m sure most people do. It improves morale and motivation The 5S way of thinking should be inscribed in every aspect of activity across Exova

Carol Stewart HSEQ Director

five steps

5S is grounded in the belief that an ordered workplace improves the safety and efficiency of personnel. If all tools and materials are readily available when required, and useless clutter is removed, employees should feel less frustrated, less distracted and safer. Time will also be spent much more constructively. So how does it work in practice?

Sort

Analyse your working environment and remove anything that is not essential. Once items are ‘red-tagged’, you can subdivide them into those that should be thrown away and those that can be stored away from the immediate working environment.

Set locations and limits

Rearrange all apparatus and supplies in the most effective and efficient way to facilitate your work.

For example, tools should be kept where they are used, and floors may be painted to designate separate work areas. Everything should be clearly labelled, and put away when not in use.

Employees work in a clearer, decluttered environment, with any frustrations created by poor organisation removed from the equation. The business itself becomes more efficient and more profitable, thereby allowing more revenue to be available for employee rewards and investment in training and technology.

Furthermore, the clients benefit from an even more efficient, cost-effective service that keeps Exova well ahead of its rivals.

“Innovation is one of our core values,” says Carol. “We are driven to explore new techniques and methodologies that will enhance the service we offer. 5S helps to ensure we stay client-focused, providing value, reliability and highly-intelligent solutions. The new company ethos is ‘It’s up to us’. Collectively we can make a clear and marked difference in all that we do. So let’s get on and do it.” l

Shine and sweep

Implement a cleaning regime to ensure the workplace is free from dirt and spillages that could compromise safety, efficiency and productivity. Also, perform 'visual sweeps' to ensure that any abnormalities can be identified and rectified.

Standardize

Identify your approach to best practice for the above steps, ensuring that everyone in the workplace is aware of their responsibilities.

Sustain

This final but ongoing step requires everyone in the workplace to make a conscious, constant effort to adapt to the new arrangements.

However, ‘sustain’ doesn’t mean ‘static’ – everyone should be encouraged to make suggestions for continuous improvements (see p24).

issue 1

THE Exova Magazine

23

competition

Get your 5S ideas rolling in – and win a fantastic prize...

The success of Exova is based on the innovation of everyone across the business, from the labs and workshops to the offices.

And by embracing 5S (see p22-23), we aim to become even more efficient and effective at what we do.

That’s where you come in.

Do you have a great idea for putting 5S into practice? If so, we’d like to hear it.

Please email your idea to Carol.Stewart@Exova.com by 26 October 2009 – and put ‘5S Competition’ into the subject header. The entry in each region judged best will win a fantastic day out from a great choice of leisure and adventure options.