Dan is nuts about Kaizen

Dan Carter started his quality career at a dry fruit and nut company in Telford, he joined Jaguar Land Rover working on the Defender line in sub-assembly at Solihull, before successfully applying to join the team at the EMC.

Most recently he gained recognition, as a winner of Kaizen of the Month for his work to develop a new nylon nozzle, replacing the previous steel tool. The innovation not only eliminates the risk of damaging machined parts, but succeeds in cost saving for the business. It also resolves an ergo issue for operators.

In the last four years and following time on the head line in Mod 1 and in IPS he gained promotion to the plant quality engineering team, a role he relishes, due to his passion for process improvement and looking for new ways of working.

“I joined the team in the EMC’s quality laboratory in September 2018 and one of my responsibilities was cleanliness testing of machined parts in the Pal cabinets.

“Prior to the Kaizen this would have involved using a steel pen, with a steel detachable nozzle. This was quite heavy and due to the attachment, it was easy for parts to be misplaced. There was also significant risk of scratching the part during the process.

“I spoke to the other members of the quality team in the area and decided to look at the potential to develop a new nylon nozzle. I worked on the design with the Kaizen team at the EMC and we’re incredibly pleased with the result.

“The Charge and Accelerate initiatives were certainly a focus, as the new nozzle is nylon, it presents a significant cost saving for the business. We have five Pal cabinets at the EMC, all needing 2m and 4m nozzles.

“The Kaizen team manufactured 10 nozzles for £50. An external supplier quoted £1700 for a similar solution. It’s also got a quick release valve, which means we can easily change the nozzles and there are now no small parts to lose. It’s a fully scalable solution.”

Dan is soon to move to a new role in Dock Audit, where he’ll be keen to start working on improvements as soon as possible.

“I’d like to progress in my career. I’m keen to continue to develop more Kaizens, helping to improve process and also realising cost savings for the business.”

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