Visiting GRAM (the Gestetner Richol Advanced Materials) plant was very much like assembling a giant jigsaw - or answering numerous riddles. Working out why the black viscious ink produced for short run leaflets was similar to mayonnaise was relatively straightforward in that they are both made via a high energy emulsion purpose. Working out what the stencils had in common with teabags was a bit more difficult until we realised that both were made from the same absorbent materials (though the stencils were designed to absorb ink, rather than tea); and looking at the ink bags and understanding the principle by comparing them with wine boxes was quite straightforward, though everyone blenched at the idea of the ink being squirted into the foil bags at a rate of about 200 miles an hour.

The ink produced is mostly black, but any colour can be ordered and the combination of inks and stencils are ideal for a niche market where perhaps between 30 and 100 copies of leaflets are needed - the products are much in demand from schools or churches for example, plus government offices, and the company is now moving into the print for pay market, like Prontaprint and corporate reprographics.

Malcolm Wood, the manager of Complaince and External Affairs at GRAM, in Stirling, therefore gave an imaginative and exciting presentation on their integrated management system with glimpses both into the history of the company (David Gestetner patented the tooth type of tool in the 1880s and never looked back) and the current Japanese influenced quality techniques of kaizen and exceedingly strict process control. Admittedly, getting the process control was very time and resource intensive - though 82% of the waste is recycled or reused, including the ink used for process testing - but once the process is correct it will run to a very high degree of accuracy and with the minimum of resources - for eample, when the bags to hold the ink were originally designed, this was a six person operation and now the hole process is controlled by one person. Putting the foil bags into the boxes before the ink is squirted in, though, is still a manual process. It is a surprisingly complicated operation to fold the bag correctly, but the operators rotate the job to minimise any risk of repetitive strain disorders. (Any ideas to make that part of the process more efficient would be most welcome!).

The factory was surprisingly clean considering that the carbon is ground to particle sizes of 0.1-0.2 microns, but that is because the chemicals are mixed in a batch process via a totally closed process. The process is mechanised as much as possible, with periodic poka yoke techniques to ensure, for example, that the ink box is presented the correct way up, so that the ink goes in and not on to the box. Fortunately all the chemicals used are non-hazardous - for example, it is the only company in its sector to use solventless adhesive to match the film and the tissue which produce a stencil.

Despite the strictly controlled heat and humidity in the machine rooms, the presentation and visit were of great interest and this was reflected by the range of quality people attending from both manufacturing and service sectors, who left very unwillingly after showing Malcolm with questions on all stages of the process. As usual, it was a dark, cold and wet evening - but it was also a resounding success and a fascinating glimpse into a manufacturing process which is not readily accessible to most people.

Back to top

Balfour Kilpatrick, part of Balfour Beatty, are a Building Services company who supply comprehensive M&E to the building and construction industry. As they operate in a very competitive environment, they have adopted “Best Practice for Continual Improvement” as a means of gaining competitive advantage.

Michael illustrated how they adopted Best practice by showing the Key Performance Indicators and other measures which they compared their performance against i.e. Measurement, Performance Analysis, Improvement Targets, and Identification and Application of Best Practice

These KPI are based on the template “M&E Contractors Key Performance Indicators” produced by the Building Services Research and Information Agency (BSRIA). These KPI are: Client Satisfaction – Design, Installation, Service and Quality O&M Manual; Defects, Predictability – Cost and Time, Productivity, Profitability and Safety.

From these, they developed their own Customer’s KPI form which is filled out by all clients at the end of a contract. This is used in conjunction with Balfour’s own Internal KPI which their site manager completes at the contract handover.

The information from these questionnaires is fed into their chosen software, Contrack Best Practice Benchmark. These measurements are used to produce annual overall results and results for each project. This software can then produce Radar Diagrams, Gantt or bar charts. Diagrams from 2002 and 2003 were used by Michael to illustrate trends. Hopefully, the trends should show improvement as any adverse results from a set of KPI are acted upon and measures are set in place to prevent re-occurrence.

The diagrams generated could also be used compare actual results with previously set Improvement Targets. As part of the process of continual improvement, all the offices in UK could be compared along the same parameters. Any office which was underperforming would have visits from a “good office” to bring their performance up to the UK norm.

A lengthy question time followed with the first one being, “What constitutes a defect?” This set off a lively Q&A covering many aspects of the construction and allied industries practices and standards. It appeared from the audience reaction that this software and methodology would be extremely useful especially to the member who was the Facilities Manager for the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood!

Back to top