Way OT: dealing with difficult production operators

[Knobhead]

Engineer54, is that a DrysysKING transport system? Sounds very much like it. They were a nightmare!

 

[Knobhead]

Must introduce you all to Ivan, he could wreck, mange and mutilate anything!

I put in a PB station at the side of a railway line, 7’ high, 3” dia, and painted bright yellow with black stripes. The concrete hadn’t even set before he ripped it out the ground with a front-end loader! I wasn’t bothered about the post but he ripped my bloody cable apart! “I didn’t see it, it wasn’t there yesterday!”

 

[Engineer54]

Engineer54, is that a DrysysKING transport system? Sounds very much like it. They were a nightmare!

No clue Tony, it was a very long time ago, and the system had been installed since the very early 50's. As far as i can remember it hadn't been modified over the years to any extent either, apart from everything that was replaceable like motors, hoist, etc were via plug and socket off the track pick-up units, which had also been modified for easy release off of the bus bar track running guide.

These systems were very reliable and rarely broke down. They were serviced and/or maintained every weekend, such as limits on hoist checked for correct top stop and saftey stop positions, hoist steel ropes checked for broken strands and replaced if the count number was higher than allowed etc, etc...

Just before i left the company, i was part of the design team for a complete new system that was replacing one of these old one's. The main difference electrically was the the drive and hoist motors were 3 phase 48volt!!! the old were all 3 phase 440volt. Didn't see the thing working until about 18 months after i left, when i went back to see some old mates. But was told they hadn't had any major problems with it since it was installed during one of there 3 week 24 hr working shut downs....

 

[Knobhead]

Engineer56 was it anything like this. Sorry this is a photo from another site.

 

[vaughant]

To engineer 54,did you do your apprenticeship with Fo Mo Co then or just a bit of training and served your time elsewhere?I thought it was an excellent apprenticeship as it covered all bases,I did mech/elec which I loved as I'm probably a better fitter than a spark!!!

 

[Engineer54]

Did almost ALL my training with them, from their own in-house trade school, sponsored night collage 3 x a week, and finally a 4 year sandwich degree, and a full time conversion year, which was actually about 8 months.... Obviously, also lot's of in factory shop floor training during school closures/holidays and the like!!! Like yourself, we were level trained in most of the maintenance disciplines, giving you a good across the board understanding of how all the systems integrate...


Compared with today Vaughant, a training to die for!! Most of the guys i did my training with, went on to better things, one later became the Assembly Plant Manager no less ...lol!!!
I would have loved to of stayed in a way, ...but just couldn't get on with those 3 shift cycles they wanted to put me on ...far to young to be dong shift work. ..lol!!!. I'd already spent most of my early years studying, while mates were out enjoying themselves. ....3 months later i was starting my first overseas contract, commissioning and then maintaining for the contractors warranty period, a smallish 80 bed medical centre, attached to a University medical faculty....

 

[Engineer54]

Engineer56 was it anything like this. Sorry this is a photo from another site.

Can't really make out the transport system in your photo, ...lol!!! but ours was based on a single central H beam. The tractor unit was push mode, with the single rubber driven wheel on the under flat, of the H beam. ....Does that make sense?? lol!!!

 

[Knobhead]

It’s the best photo I could find at the time, will try and find better. This system was continuous chain driven. If you can imagine a rail points system switching several tracks driven by just one chain, the chain looped all around to get it in line with the drive required. I will try and get some better photo’s. I know DrysysKING did several systems for Fords.

I left that particular plant and went in to another industry. On my first day there I near did a runner, a DK system again!

When the chain system was running OK it was no problem, if it went wrong GOD HELP you! When you have to get a crane in to sort out a drop section that’s decided to put something down when the load beam is only half on the section, you knew you were in for a bad day.

 

[Knobhead]

I did mech/elec which I loved as I'm probably a better fitter than a spark!!!

I’m resurrecting this thread because I came across this drawing.

View attachment 7199

The pulse generator was made entirely out of scrap I found lying around.

Like you Ford lads I went through all maintenance departments, OK I’m electrical, but then fitting, machining, welding and generally belting the hell out of it until it worked came in to it!
Other than mining I’ve been in the harshest of environments. Quarrying and Iron, things just fell apart!
Once in the iron industry it became obvious I was the only person in the workshop that could use all the machines in there. All the “old boys” had retired.
One episode that tickled me was having two senior engineers watching me. Electrical engineer to Mechanical engineer “bloody good isn’t it, 4 fitters stood around waiting for an electrician to cut a f**king key way!” The plant was shut down but I was enjoying myself!

 

[leelika08]

Worked in a car body shop for a while on a robotic welding line and associated manual welding sub assemblies. Generally got on well with the operators as I did a mature apprenticeship, the guys knew I had been on the shop floor so treated me with a little more respect than the older guys with no production experience.

Knew I was in trouble when the alarm went off and they were all stood around smiling, used to ask them how long they thought it would take me to sort it out, if they said 10mins or more knew it would be a tricky one. On a couple of occasions the guys said that if I minced around the fixture for 5mins giving them an extra break they would tell me what the problem was, brilliant!

At the end of the day you need to know your kit inside out, bit of friendly banter with the operators goes a long way but you will always get the odd one that resents your position, I just used to let them get on with it, it's their choice to be miserable after all.

Regards wa

More importantly, I think guys like us are in the "in between" positions. We are on the shop floor with the operators and the team leaders, but we then answer to the project engineer, process engineers, and managers when machine/process changes are required (you do not get the recognition for this part of your role). I'd love to know what the extent of maintenance roles involve.
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