REFOCUS: DESIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED!

Whilst most of us were enjoying Netflix and tins of Quality Street over the December Shutdown- a rest was off the cards for the terrific teams in ME and Maintenance who completed the installation of a new energy efficient cooling system in the e-coat (electrical coat) tank in Paint.

The project was designed, sealed and delivered in-house by our Halewood employees without a single contractor and has resulted in a substantial saving of £50,000 for the business.  

 

This saw the teams upgrade the flow and return pipework to 124 anodes- these are the cells that generate heat during the e-coat process, where the first protective paint layer is applied to our cars.  

 

The new system includes the most energy efficient motors on the market with new inverters to control the speed of the motors, resulting in an energy saving of at least 20 percent and is another important step for Halewood, as we embark on our journey to become the first zero carbon JLR manufacturing site.  

 

Bruce Hack, Lead Facilities and Development Engineer for ME, said: “This was a great collaboration between ME and the Maintenance team and the first time we have worked together in this way.  

“Normally in my role, I would specify the system and a contractor would design it. This time round, we have designed it ourselves within ME and our skilled Maintenance team have built and installed it- without any external support.” 

 

Dave Buxton, Paint Maintenance Manager, said: “The new cooling system will make the e-coat process more efficient by improving the application of the paint to the cars- as well as save energy, but for me, there’s much more to it than that. 

“The project has been an engagement driver which has empowered both teams by giving them the autonomy to use their skills to work together to create a positive outcome which will add value to our business.” 

 

Colin Smith, Paint Process Engineering Manager, said: “This is a brilliant example of Refocus in action- finding smarter ways to improve the quality of our operations in the most cost-effective way and working together as one Halewood- utilising the skills and talents of our employees across various functions.”  

Not ones to wait around, the ME and Maintenance teams are now working on their next project which will see them replace 18 pumps in the Paint Shop with more energy efficient models- so watch this space!