May/June 80 No. 143

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF RANK XEROX MITCHELDEAN

RX Rafters Raise the Wind B e f o r e c r o s s i n g t h e D o v e r S t r a i t s i n a r a f t r a c e a g a i n s t G l o u c e s t e r

C u s t o m s & E x c i s e , t h e ' R a n k X e r o x I I ' , b u i l t b y i t s s k i p p e r

R a l p h K i b b l e o f M a i n t e n a n c e ( i n s e t ) , w a s b r o u g h t o n s i t e

t o p o s e f o r T V a n d p r e s s c a m e r a s , i t a t t r a c t e d a l u n c h t i m e

a u d i e n c e w h o w e r e p e r s u a d e d t o s p o n s o r M i t c h e i d e a n ' s e f f o r t

i n a i d o f t h e R o y a l N a t i o n a l L i f e - b o a t i n s t i t u t i o n — o u r p i c t u r e l e f t

s h o w s S e c u r i t y o f f i c e r s R o y H a r t a n d K e n G r i f f i t h s b e i n g

p e r s u a s i v e . T o b o o s t t h e a p p e a l , a c h e q u e f o r £ 5 0 0 f r o m t h e

C o m p a n y w a s h a n d e d o v e r b y B i d d y S c o t t o f S e c u r i t y t o c r e w

m e m b e r N i g e l M e e k .

1980 is a particularly significant year for Rank Xerox. Apart from being the beginning of a new decade, it marks the completion of 21 years in plain paper copying for the Company. It was during 1959 that the production of the first 914 models to be made this side of the Atlantic began. First of a generation of machines that were to bring about an office revolution, the 914 had been launched that same year in the USA by Xerox Corporation. But here at Mitcheldean, where we were concentrating on making Bell & Howell cine cameras and projectors, not everyone fully appreciated the potential of the new project. To begin with, it was housed in the area formerly devoted to the making of wooden cases for projectors and speakers. Having nudged the earlier occupants, cuckoo-like, out of the nest, it rapidly outgrew its surroundings and in 1961 a special 'Xerox Building' (now Bid 24) was erected — t h e first of a chain of buildings that went up to accommodate an ever-expanding operation. The full story is being told in an employee brochure which is scheduled to appear later this summer to commemorate our anniversary.

Rank Xerox (UK) have already marked this 21st birthday with a special event and preview of six new products held on June 10 at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel at Heathrow. The picture put over was of a quick-reacting, fast-moving company, equipped to cope with the challenge of the 80's. And on stage with our newest machines, which were used to present a case study in business communications, was — a 914.

Superb Quality Two of the new models — the Xerox 8200 copier/duplicator and the Xerox 9500 duplicator — combine outstanding copy quality with high productivity, and they were a great success when shown earlier this year on the Rank Xerox stand at the Hanover Fa i r— Europe's biggest annual show for the office equipment industry. By the incorporation of new imaging systems, the machines are able to produce rich, solid-black areas, better half-tone reproduction and clean, crisp line-work — putting Rank Xerox in a strong position to capture more of the offset business. • The 8200 delivers at 72 copies per minute, offers push-button reduction, automatic document handling, 'binless' collating, simplified two-sided copying and

/ Four of the six new products are being manufactured at IVIitcheldean — a b o v e the

8200 and the 5600, b e l o w the 3300 and the 9500.

F r o m l e f t : 8200 Technical Programme

fi/lanager John Dennis, Pete Blake and

Alec Waldie of Engineering talk with Roy

Powell, an RX apprentice 21 years ago

who is now responsible for the build of

our latest high volume machines.

on-line stapling — all this as well as super copy quality. • The 9500 is an advance on the 9400 and, while offering all the features of that model, has additional appeal for the customer who demands something special in the way of copy quality. • The recirculating document handler which is featured in the 8200 is also a feature of the Xerox 5600. This medium volume copier/ duplicator produces 45 copies a minute, can sort without a sorter, copy on two sides from one or two-sided originals, and even produce stapled output sets.

• Developed out of the 3100 range of copiers, the Xerox 3300 has been designed as a floor-standing, mobile machine. It is aimed at the low volume market and features a semi­automatic document handler. Operated via a pressure-sensitive panel instead of push-buttons, it produces 23 copies per minute. Its manufacture is scheduled to start at Mitcheldean later this year. • The Xerox 960 systems forms printer was designed at Mitcheldean as an international version of a Swedish modification of the 3600F automatic overlay device (which was also designed here). At the rate of one per second, the 960 will produce up to 250 copies each of up to 40 different forms, in up to 100 different combinations, using a microprocessor-controlled web of overlays and working from a single master document. Being manufactured initially at Venray, the 960 can also be used as a 'straight' copier in addition to its systems use. • The sixth new product is the Xerox 485 Telecopier, which can send or receive a one-page letter in one minute over ordinary telephone lines. It is twice as fast as other Xerox facsimile units because it skips over the white space between the lines while scanning the document. And it is automated — it will answer the 'phone and print the message unattended. Fuji Xerox in Japan developed and are manufacturing the 485.

Chairman Hamish Orr-Ewing (pictured centre with Fred Wiclistead) presented 25-year service awards to 17 people at the dinner — from the left: George Turner, John Weaver, Neville Little, Jeremy Henwood, Esmee Halford, Ivor Packer, Dennis Boughton, Dennis Fisher, Larry Sterrett, Brian James, Basil Brown, Eric Parsons, John Powell, Terry Buffry. Fred Coombes, Dennis Cook and Winston Jenkins.

A further award winner, missing from our picture, was Ken Holloway.

The Chairman Comes to Dinner Mitcheldean is noted for its great sense of family feeling, and Rank Xerox Chairman Hamish Orr-Hewing remarked on this when he was principal guest at the Long Service Association's annual d inner— its twenty-seventh — at the Chase Hotel, Ross-on-Wye, on May 16.

'During the evening, as on other occasions I have had the pleasure of visiting Mitcheldean, I have noticed a tremendous spirit of comradeship and loyalty. As your guest that has been immensely heartening to me and I'd like to feel over the years I have earned my membership of this club.

'I feel privileged to be among people who have done so much to make the business what it is today, and who have provided jobs for people like myself.'

He was a comparatively new boy of 'only 1 5 years of service', he said. Nevertheless he and Fred Wickstead, whom he regarded as the master builder of Mitcheldean and one of the founder members of Rank Xerox, had worked closely together some years ago. Mr Orr-Ewing spoke of the various benefits provided for employees of the Company — the excellent pension scheme and the recent introduction of free private medical service for everyone — and he said he was proud to be associated with these important developments. LSA chairman Jack Woods proposed the toast to the guests, who included as always representatives from sister associations at Rank Audio Visual, Brentford; Rank Radio International, Chiswick; Rank Toshiba at Plymouth, and Rank Xerox, Welwyn Garden City (no Leicester this time and Leeds has now disbanded its association).

An innovation this year was the inviting of the wives of those receiving 25-year awards and Jack extended a welcome to them, and to guests from among senior management at Mitcheldean —

2 5 - Y E A R A W A R D S

D e n n i s B o u g h t o n ( P a r t s M a n u f a c t u r i n g ) , Bas i l B r o w n ( Q u a l i t y E n g i n e e r i n g ) , T e r r y B u f f r y ( F i n i s h i n g ) , D e n n i s C o o k ( C o m m o d i t y O p e r a t i o n s ) , F red C o o m b e s ( H e r e f o r d S t o r e s ) , D e n n i s F isher ( C I V I S A ) , Esmee H a l f o r d ( C o n f i g u r a t i o n C o n t r o l ) , J e r e m y H e n w o o d ( S p e c i a l P r o j e c t s ) , Ken H o l l o w a y ( W o r k s E n g i n e e r i n g ) , B r i a n J a m e s ( E n g i n e e r i n g ) , W i n s t o n J e n k i n s ( C o m m o d i t y O p e r a t i o n s ) , N e v i l l e L i t t l e ( W o r k s E n g i n e e r i n g ) , I vo r P a c k e r ( A s s e m b l y O p e r a t i o n s ) , Eric P a r s o n s ( T r a i n i n g ) , J o h n P o w e l l ( I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s ) , La r ry S t e r r e t t (Pa r t s M a n u f a c t u r i n g ) , G e o r g e T u r n e r ( P a y m e n t O p e r a t i o n s ) , J o h n W e a v e r ( W o r k s E n g i n e e r i n g ) .

Controller Gerry Lane and Personnel Manager Derek Knibbs.

Topsy, MBE Vi Holder of Rank Audio Visual, 25-Year Club secretary, who has been 46 years with the Company, was warmly congratulated on getting another kind of award — the MBE for service in the field of personnel welfare. (Vi, better known as Topsy, later showed us her medal and told how she had been taken to the investiture last February in a Rolls specially hired by The Rank Organization ! ) . Finally, Jack paid tribute to the excellent work done by LSA secretary

Retired member Colin Weaver was one of those invited by secretary Dennis Barnard to 'take your pick' from a fine array of prizes.

Dennis Barnard. The improved visibility and communications of the association were due to his initiative and motivation, said Jack. As Personnel Manager, Derek Knibbs was naturally interested in the 'head count' and, in replying to the toast, he revealed that the Mitcheldean association's present membership of nearly 350 was expected to rise to 1,600 by 1990 I Past presidents and chairmen of the association — Fred Wickstead, Ray Camp, Henry Phillips and Frank Edwards — were each presented with one of the new LSA badges. These formed a gift from immediate past president Bernard Smith.

A few of the 200 or so people who attended the dinner. Continued overleaf

Life Starts on Retirement Pensioners are far from being a retiring lot these days. We heard during the evening that Jeff Sleeman (formerly Import Purchasing) had recently got married to Marjorie Marfell (congratulations to both ! ) . Sister Townroe has been showing her fox terriers at Crufts and is looking forward to a holiday in Hong Kong. Another bit of news — this time about former LSA member Cyril Powell. Cyril, who worked in Inventory Control and had been with us 23 years, recently left the Company to emigrate to Tasmania with his wife Angela, and we wish them well in their new life. Best wishes too, to Margaret Kellam (Elec. Subs) who has retired after 18 years' service.

New iVIembership Rule A new rule was introduced at the LSA annual general meeting on May 19, giving the committee the right to grant on application honorary membership to retired people who were previously members of the LSA employed at Mitcheldean and its satellite plants. The practice is subject to review after one year. Officers and committee are : chairman — Jack Woods; vice-chairman — Roy Steward ; treasurer— George Turner; secretary— Dennis Barnard; assistant secretary— Mary Meek; minutes secretary— Kathy Knight; members— Dennis Cook, Dennis Clarke, John Harris, Ernie Hughes, Eric Parsons, Joan Turley, Dennis Williams.

One of tfie original purchasing team at Mitcheldean, Bill Beech came to us in

1948 and joined the department in 1950. 'At that time the staff numbered only six,

compared with the 120 in Commodity Operations today', said Manager John

Wilks when presenting Bill with a B&D ' Workmate' and drill from colleagues on his retirement last April LSA chairman

Jack Woods commented that Bill had put in yeoman service in the association

and 'has always helped to get the best buy.' At an earlier get-together with old

friends Bill was given a lawn mower (as a prominent member of Ross Bowling

Club he must be a connoisseur of lawns!).

F i n i s h i n g T r i o — Last spring saw the retirement of three long-servers from the Finishing area. Roy Nicholls was involved in the setting up of the first Heat Treatment facility on site; in 1971 he was appointed Supervisor of Plating as well as Heat Treatment and in recent years he has supervised all Finishing Operations. After receiving a B&D 'Workmate', and his 35-year service award, from Parts Manufacturing Manager John Wood, Roy attended the presentation to a fellow long-server. Our picture shows him watching as foreman Herbie Compton tests the strength of his own leaving present! Herbie, who joined in 1951, worked in Heat Treatment with Roy for most of his time with us, taking over as foreman in Polishing B Manual Plating in recent months. B e l o w : John Wood was called on to make another presentation — of a carriage clock — a few weeks later when George Douglas retired. George started in the Paint Shop 27 years ago, became its foreman, and for the last four years has been Manager, Finishing Operations. Well-known as a semi-professional musician and band-leader, he was once introduced to visitors at the Plant as 'the pianist'!

Taking it easy in their respective retirement gifts of a lounger and rocking chair are Frank Abbott and Ivor Packer, both chargehands on the 5400 Assembly floor. Ivor was among those who recently received a 25-year service award; he was for many years a chargehand in the Press Shop and [not so well known) he holds a degree in engineering. Frank joined in 1962, starting in the Sheet Metal Shop and becoming assembly chargehand in 1963. A keen sportsman, he took an active part in the organization of cricket (he used to be treasurer of the Glos. Federation) as well as on the field where he played with Tom Goddard, Bomber Wells and other famous names. He also played football for Gloucester City along with Jack Venn (formerly Elec. Subs.). Once, while playing an Army eleven. Jack was in goal and Frank, playing centre-forward, had scored four goals. Jack was fed up with having nothing to do, so they changed jerseys . . . Then the other side was awarded a penalty — which Frank saved!

4

The Central Planning & Control Office set up in Bid 18 by Works Engineering to improve the control of and response to maintenance requests is working well. The office, which became operational in January this year, receives all breakdown service requests, distributes worksheets to maintenance workshops around the site and monitors progress until a task is completed. The first phase of the project concentrated on the communication aspects with the installation of an Ansafone, plus a telewriter service which has solved the problem of communicating with the more remote areas ('Office Services Manager Roy Brooks gave us technical advice and assistance here', says Co-ordinator Ray Powell). The service is operating initially between the central office and Bids 41 and 36 and will be extended to certain other areas in due course. When a call from these areas comes in on ext. 1471, a job request is filled in on the telewriter by means of a special pen and is transmitted to the relevant workshop at the press of a button on a selector panel. Within ten seconds, the telewriter at the receiving end prints out a replica of the request and this is pulled off and used as a worksheet, thus cutting out extra clerical work.

Radio Paging System During May, communications were further improved with the installation of a two-way radio paging system, enabling the office to make rapid contact with Works Engineering maintenance supervisors anywhere on site. 'We seem to be getting favourable reports from the various user departments'. Planning & Control Manager Graham Adams told us, 'and we have been able to streamline our safety procedures as a result.'

A call comes in and Ken Mead immediately 'telewrites' a job request to the electrical vehicle maintenance shop in Bid 41. In the background Don Roberts is seen contacting

a supervisor via the radio paging system in connection with another call

Copies of job requests displayed in this rack enable Central Control to monitor

the work in progress; here Mary Morgan helps with the filing.

Safety maintenance requests used to be channelled through the safety organization ; now they come through the central office and safety management can use the records there for reference. Site job requests from Facilities Planning too are being handled centrally for co-ordination through the various workshops.

The job request arrives in Bid 41 £.V. shop within seconds, and Supervisor Bob Ashmead hands the telewritten instructions

to electrician Chris Phelps.

Apart from speeding up service, the new facility provides Works Engineering with a means of establishing a central history file on ail critical plant. 'This helps us to analyse what sort of breakdowns have been experienced and where, and helps Works Engineering develop action plans for preventive maintenance,' Graham said.

Pictured (centre) among his many friends at RX Cinderford is auto-setter Don Trigg who also retired in April. Don worked on autos for all of his 30 years with the Company and from Vic Buhlmann, president of the LSA and Manager, Component Production, he received the appropriate service award along with gifts of a hedgecutter and cheques. Joining in the farewell was Sam Cocker who retired the

same day after seven years with us.

5

[Ul

Since the beginning of this year, a 'major assembly' of minor sub­assembly operations has been taking place in Bid 40/2. Some 70 per cent of minor sub­assemblies (by part number), with the exception of those at Lydney, have now been centralized in a custom-built area known as CMSA (Centralized Minor Sub-assembly Area). The other 30 per cent which have stayed put consist of those which, for some technical reason, have to be built in the main line area. Says Chris Saywood, who led the project team and is now Manager, Assembly Production Control, for this area : 'We wanted to clear the way for the new Iliad/Isaac replenishment procedure — that is, replenishing only major subs in main lines daily on a need basis, instead of the previous period basis.' Centralizing these minor subs, which have been brought from other parts of Bid 40, from Bid 11 and from Bid 24, has simplified the situation from the production control aspect on the major assembly lines.

These are now moving over to Replenishment only while CMSA is all SOLAR controlled.

'We're driving a "push" system of production control instead of a "pu l l " system', says Chris. 'In other words, instead of keeping main assembly lines going, we are feeding a finished parts store ahead of production build.'

All the jobs are run as bench subs. About two-thirds of the benches are used at a time, leaving a third to be set up for the next job. Each bench is universal — it can be used for any of the jobs — and the work comes in large batches.

There is a SUE input terminal in the area, and as soon as a batch of subs is made and QC have inspected them (on the same bench) the information is fed into SUE. Then, instead of moving into the next stage along an

Assembly Manager Mike Cooper in conference with his four CMSA foremen — (from left) Brian Watson, Yvonne Jones.

Sylvia Powell and Dennis Fisher (in charge of Press Et Adhesives).

R i g h t : Shop marshaller Ian Holmes checks on the parts

needed for a Job while forklift driver Ron Glover retrieves

them from the storage racks. F a r r i g h t : A battery of presses.

6

assembly line, the parts are despatched across the road to the main Production Stores, unless, of course, a SUE shortage exists, in which case the sub-assemblies are moved direct to the user department.

Says Chris: The main objectives of the project were to improve labour efficiency, and both materials and quality control. Xerox have a parallel shop in Webster which was set up by Bill Dalberth and we have been able to benefit from his help and experience in setting up CMSA.

'As it happens, we have been able to achieve the same rate of throughput as Xerox but in a third of the space — approximately 1,500 jobs in 30,000 sq. ft.

'There isn't the hassle about whether subs have been built or not, and where they are located, and everything can be kept tidy and

I 1 wrap-around style with suspended drills on air ividual lighting.

orderly, which makes for efficiency and safety.'

Pete Fox of QA points out that 'with only one operator working on one job from start to finish, quality is more consistent, and sampling by QC has become more effective in general, and more cost-effective In particular.'

In order to maintain continuity of work and ensure that the Plant gets the maximum benefit from CMSA, engineers identify the relevant subs by means of a special code at the process stage.

It is vital, too, that minor sub­assembly parts are available when a bench sub job is due to start, and that there is adequate build capacity.

For this reason, a computer-produced load projection system which scans the CMSA demands on SOLAR is being used and this means that steps can be taken to ensure there is the right labour at the right time to produce the work required.

Commented Assembly Manager Mike Cooper whose responsibilities include CMSA: 'Transference of

Mm ^ A b o v e : Bill Evans carries out a rail

assembly; in the tote tin on his left is the incoming work, on his right the completed

subs.

A b o v e : Pete Fox. QC foreman for CMSA, discusses a point of quality with

inspector Les Freeman.

L e f t a b o v e : Terminal operator Jackie Hamblett receives a stores delivery note from Sid Reid of PCD for feeding into the SUE system.

L e f t : Part of the adhesives section.

bench assemblies into CMSA has taken place without creating major losses of production. In fact, up to period 7, department output targets have not only been hit — they have been bettered. 'Inevitably there have been problems at the initial stage, but supervision in the area are co-operating well with the support departments to create a sound base from which CMSA can fulfil its potential.'

Tony Howard of Mfg Eng. and Malcolm Walker (Facilities Planning) collaborate

over the production layout.

B a c k t o t h e S t a t e s In the week that Rank Xerox was celebrating the Queen's Award to

Industry for Export Achievement last April, a large gathering of people in the club house marked the 'export' back to

the USA of two very popular assignees — Chuck Allen, who had been at Mitcheldean

for two years, and Bill Dalberth who had been with us for four. 'It is very rarely that two individuals have been able to

make such a contribution to such a site as this', said Richard Cowser, Manager, Assembly Production Control (pictured

below with Chuck (left) and Bill). 'They have done a splendid job assisting in

the field of materials management'. To remind them of their time with us. Chuck and Bill were given framed

cartoons and some casual gear bearing appropriate slogans, as our picture shows; and as a token of appreciation they were

each presented with some elegant glassware — for replenishment use I

7

Mitcheldean inventors pictured with Don Stephenson. Group Director RXEG, are (from left) Richard Walford, Cliff Knight, Mike Selwyn, Eric Real and John Badham.

Awards go to Mitcheldean Inventors

J O I N T NETWORK PROJECT

D i g i t a l E q u i p m e n t C o r p o r a t i o n , I n t e l C o r p o r a t i o n a n d X e r o x h a v e e m b a r k e d o n a j o i n t p r o j e c t t o d e v e l o p s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r a loca l area c o m m u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k w h i c h t h e c o m p a n i e s p r o p o s e t o u s e f o r m a n y o f the i r p r o d u c t s .

T h e loca l area n e t w o r k c o n s i s t s o f a c o a x i a l c a b l e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t r a n s c e i v e r s d e s i g n e d t o l i nk d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f c o m p u t e r s , c o m p u t e r pe r iphe ra l s , da ta t e r m i n a l s a n d o f f i c e e q u i p m e n t l o c a t e d in a b u i l d i n g o r i n a c o m p l e x o f c l o s e l y g r o u p e d b u i l d i n g s . Each d e v i c e c o n n e c t e d t o t h e cab le w i l l c o n t a i n a c o n t r o l e l e m e n t a l l o w i n g it t o c o m m u n i c a t e o n t h e c a b l e t h r o u g h i ts t r a n s c e i v e r .

X e r o x is p r o v i d i n g t h e bas i c l oca l area n e t w o r k ( E t h e r n e t ) a n n o u n c e d in D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 9 ; e x p e r i m e n t a l E t h e r n e t n e t w o r k s o f severa l h u n d r e d s t a t i o n s h a v e b e e n u s e d o v e r a p e r i o d o f f i v e yea rs in severa l X e r o x s i tes . U s e o f t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s b y o t h e r c o r p o r a t i o n s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i l l be e n c o u r a g e d — t h e a i m b e i n g t o p r o v i d e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s c o m p a t i b i l i t y a m o n g users o f a b r o a d r a n g e o f c o m p u t e r s , i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s a n d o f f i c e p r o d u c t s .

Five people at Mitcheidean, whose innovative work has helped to lengthen the list of Rank Xerox patents, received recognition at an Invention Award dinner held at the Tara Hotel, Upton St Leonards, on May 1 when they were presented with framed copies of the patents by Don Stephenson, Group Director RXEG.

Of the five, four were from Engineering (John Badham, Cliff Knight, Mike Selwyn and Richard Walford) and one was from the Supply Centre (Eric Real). Three of their inventions concerned the 7000 document feeder. John devised what is known as 'the sewing machine foot' — a ski which controls the document as it enters the pad area and prevents creasing; Cliff invented a device for separating and sequentially feeding documents from the bottom of a stack, while Richard designed a stack normal force handle for use on the 7000 document feeder accessory.

Contamination of corotrons causes poor copy quality and Mike evolved a means of automatically cleaning corotrons so as to reduce service calls to machines of the 4000 family. It was necessary to develop a method of cleaning for each corotron and this resulted in five separate designs using mechanical, electrical and piezoelectric techniques.

Eric's contribution enabled one basic pallet to be used for a wide variety of machines, spares and consumables.

All this inventive work took place several years ago, but it generally takes a long time for patent applications to be examined and finally accepted. In the meantime, these people's individual achievements have been helping us to keep ahead of the competition.

The vertical milling machine in use at the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School

SCHOOLTECHNOLOGYGETSALIFT

I For s o m e yea rs t h e R o y a l Fores t o f D e a n G r a m m a r S c h o o l has i n c l u d e d a t e c h n o l o g y c o u r s e in t h e c u r r i c u l u m a n d p u p i l s w h o h a v e c o m p l e t e d t h e c o u r s e h a v e , f o r t h e m o s t par t , le f t s c h o o l t o t a k e u p a p p r e n t i c e s h i p s in i n d u s t r i a l f i r m s in t h e l o c a l i t y .

O v e r t h e yea rs t h i s has l ed t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s t r o n g l i a i s o n s b e t w e e n t h e s c h o o l a n d t h e f i r m s c o n c e r n e d a n d t h e s c h o o l has b e e n g r a t e f u l f o r t h e i n te res t s h o w n b y i n d u s t r y in i ts w o r k .

W e at R a n k X e r o x h a v e a l w a y s s t r o n g l y s u p p o r t e d s u c h a l i a i s o n a n d f r o m t i m e t o t i m e h a v e g i v e n t h e s c h o o l p r a c t i c a l a s s i s t a n c e in m a n y f o r m s v a r y i n g f r o m a d v i c e o n t e c h n i c a l m a t t e r s t o t h e a c t u a l m a c h i n i n g o f i t e m s r e q u i r e d f o r t h e h a r d w a r e o f t h e c o u r s e .

W r i t e s M r A . Ru t t , h e a d m a s t e r : ' A l t h o u g h t h e w o r k s h o p s o f t h e

s c h o o l are c o m p a r a t i v e l y w e l l e q u i p p e d t h e w o r k t h a t c a n b e u n d e r t a k e n is u n d e r s t a n d a b l y l i m i t e d a n d m i n o r c o m p a r e d w i t h t h a t o f i n d u s t r y a n d t h e p r a c t i c a l h e l p g i v e n in t h i s r e s p e c t has b e e n o f p a r t i c u l a r v a l u e . '

M o r e r e c e n t l y , w e h a v e b e e n ab le t o d o n a t e an i n d u s t r i a l v e r t i c a l m i l l i n g m a c h i n e t o g e t h e r w i t h i ts a n c i l l a r y e q u i p m e n t w h i c h w a s n o l o n g e r n e e d e d o n s i te .

' S u c h a m a c h i n e , w h i c h w o u l d n o r m a l l y be far b e y o n d t h e reach o f a n y s c h o o l , g i v e s t h e p u p i l s an i n s i g h t i n t o t h e i n d u s t r i a l s c e n e a n d e n a b l e s t h e m t o u n d e r t a k e w o r k o f a m u c h m o r e c o m p l e x n a t u r e ' , says M r R u t t .

' T h e s c h o o l is e x t r e m e l y g r a t e f u l f o r t h e g i f t o f a v a l u a b l e p i e c e o f e q u i p m e n t t h a t has w i d e n e d h o r i z o n s f o r p u p i l s u s i n g t h e w o r k s h o p s . '

8

They dropped 2,600ft-and raised £3,600!

First jump certificates were recently presented to Mitcheidean's parachutists whose courage and sporting spirit enabled the

splendid sum of £3,600 (including £500 donated by the Company) to be given to the Cobalt Unit Appeal Fund. Said

Personnel Manager Derek Knibbs, (pictured right handing the cheque to Dr Hanna): 'We're very proud of you all'.

Also in the picture are Bob Moore of the Tool Room who organized things at the Mitcheldean end, and (far right)

Alan Rosebery, campaign organizer. The whole sponsored parachuting project has raised £25,000 in 18 months, Mr

Rosebery told us.

EYESBNUPETY Total number of

accidents for period:

M a r / A p r '79 iVlar/Apr '80

New Books Two recent publications — one a collection of poetry and the other a book of childrens' stories — have connections with us at Mitcheldean. 'The Search' is the name given by Plant poet John Johnson (Electrical/ Electronic Engineering) to the selection of 20 poems he has just had published. John has been writing poetry for

The figures on the left seem to indicate a disappointing trend but, for the year to date, the total figures are 81 compared with 92 for 1979 (11 down). For those who haven't heard the good news, RX Mitcheldean was one of the 2,000 companies to win a British Safety Council Award for 1979 (for achieving a lower accident incidence rate than the national average for the applicable industry).

over 30 years and has had individual items published before, but this is the first book devoted to his work alone.

As well as being a spare-time poet, John is also a painter and readers will recall that he was the man behind the first arts and crafts show we held on site a few years ago.

'Five Delightful Stories' for young children is the work of Janette Marie Box who wrote them at the age of 16 while convalescing after a year in hospital. Janette, now married to Wilf Box (Assembly Production Control) and the mother of two sons, decided to make them available to other people's children and has illustrated the stories herself.

Wilf tells us that she is currently trying her hand at science fiction with a story called 'The Rock Monster'.

Bill Austin receives his prize from president Ron Morfee. R i g h t : Fuji Xerox resident engineer Takeshi Itoh and his wife, who came along with Mike Selwyn, take a look at the

FX photographic exhibits.

President's Nigiit Amateur Photographic Club chairman Mike Dewey welcomed about 120 people to President's Night on April 25 — the club's 'prestige event of the year'. They included Mildred Sothern, general secretary of the Midland Counties Photographic Federation to which our club belongs, representatives of neighbouring camera clubs and local parish councillors. Last year the main feature concerned a chilly expedition up Everest; this year it was the steamy jungle of New Guinea. John and Julie Batchelor, a widely travelled pair, presented a slide show entitled 'Journey to the Stone Age' depicting their travels to the interior. We learned of the strange ways of the friendly Yali tribe who nevertheless believe in eating an enemy or two after battle and whose punishment for adultery is a fine of one pig and a night spent in a hole in the ground — alone ! President Ron Morfee afterwards presented prizes to 'Clubman of the Year' Bill Austin who also won the black & white print section, and to Mike Wilkinson, winner of the colour slides competition. There were also gifts of photograph albums for the three models — Jill Mingham, Nicola Prosser and John Harris — who had kindly posed for club members on their earlier 'Portraiture Evening'. There was a fantastic response to the photographic exhibition held in the ballroom as a run-up to the big event — about 1,700 came along, Ian Thomas reports. There was great support from Fuji Xerox, and Venray too would have featured but for a hitch in delivery of their photographs. Using this as an opportunity for recruitment, the club dished out membership application forms to visitors and those who intend to join but have not yet returned their forms are asked to send them to Vance Hopkins, Facilities Planning, Bid 23/3, who was elected club secretary at the recent AGM.

Other officers are: chairman — Ian Thomas; vice-chairman — Mike Wilkinson; treasurer— Martin Stock; competition secretary— Colin Wyman.

B r i d g e T r o p h v A l m o s t O u r s Eighty players of local bridge clubs competed for the Rank Xerox Trophy in the function room of the club house on May 6. Playing prepared hands, half-time (excellent buffet!) saw joint leaders in Cheltenham, CEGB and Rank Xerox (our team consisted of Brian Bowen, Jim Griffiths, Mick Churchward, John Johnson, Brian Charmley, John Robinson, Keith Holbrook and Wilf Jones). However, an unfortunate play of the cards against a select Odds and Ends team enabled the latter to push us into second place. Personnel Manager Derek Knibbs kindly presented the trophy on behalf of the Company to the winning team captain. Miss E. Castle.

With RX finishing third last year, second this year — could it be third time lucky? The RX Pairs event was won by Brian Bowen and Jim Griffiths with the individual trophy going to Richard Walker.

Wilf Jones

S p r i n g Gol f The RX Golfing Society had their first outing of the 1980 season at Boughton Park, Worcester, on April 16 where they competed for the Spring Bowl. This is a 36-hole Stableford scoring with high and low handicap mixing. Some good combinations were in the field to play the four-ball better ball competition and the end of the day saw new names appearing at the top of the result shee t— namely. Bob Howells and Vere Christopher with a aggregate score of 85 points. Runners-up were John Miles and Don Parkinson with 79 pts after a count-back on the last nine holes with Richard Matthews and Danny Haines who also carded 79 pts.

The next competition held at St Mellons, near Cardiff, on May 8 was a 36-hole Stableford scoring one to decide who would be the first winner of the newly inaugurated 'America Cup' presented by John Wigg, Assembly Manager. The day was a very successful one both as regards attendance and weather, with some very good all-round scores coming in. The eventual winner was Mike Newlove who is no stranger to the winners' enclosure in the society; he returned an excellent 69 points off a 7 handicap.

On Cabaret Night, the Motor Club handed over an outsize cheque for the Kidney Unit Appeal Fund (including £100 from our Company and £135 from Cinderford Tennis Club) to Tony Neary (far left), Gloucestershire's longest surviving kidney transplant

patient. With him are (from left) his wife. Motor Club officials Pete Fisher, John Hally, Adrian Richards and Mrs Joy King, appeal fund treasurer. R i g h t : Mike Newlove (Supply

Centre) won both the America Cup as a golfer, and first prize in the Motor Club's raffle, giving him one week's free use of a Porsche !

10

The runner-up was Geoff Paton with 67 points which, off a 5 handicap, was more than commendable. The best morning round was logged by Mike with 35 points, and in the afternoon John Spratley tied with Roy Turley in carding 36 points. The cup was presented by John Wigg who, I may add, was also in the running after the morning round to win his own trophy.

Harold Gardiner

Of A p p l e s a n d P e t s Who's afraid of a computer? There's no need to be, as novices who attended the RX Forest of Dean Amateur Computer Club's first open meeting soon discovered. Anxious to put paid to the myth that computers represent the new controlling class, the club invited people to come along and 'play' with Apples, Pets, Nascoms I and II and other models at the Manor Hotel, Longhope, on May 1.

4

Secretary Wendy Jenkins of Engineering has fun with a 'Pet' microcomputer; looking on is Marion Taylor (Technical Library).

Representatives from local technical colleges and other computer clubs were among the 50 who enjoyed a friendly and interesting evening. Welcoming them, vice-president Mev Shelley explained that hitherto the club had tended to attract only technical enthusiasts and they were keen to encourage a wider range of members. For the benefit of novices, treasurer Keith Jones then gave a brief introduction to computing, explaining the mysteries of processors, and showing ways in which information can be stored on devices such as cassettes and floppy discs. Then everyone was invited to go and play with the range of about ten small computers on display. Owners were on hand to show how to communicate with the models and conversations were carried on in 'Basic' — a simple-to-understand programming language. Some models produced patterns or played games (computers don't always win) and one musical Triton got so carried away it played 'When the Saints Come Marching In ' !

' Service Awards T w o m e n r a i n e d t h e i r 3 0 - y e a r s e r v i c e a w a r d s last A p r i l — D e n n i s B u r f o r d a n d Ray R e e d , b o t h o f w h o m w o r k in Par ts M a n u f a c t u r i n g .

A n e x - c o a l m i n e r at N o r t h e r n U n i t e d f o r t e n yea rs , D e n n i s j o i n e d us in 1 9 5 0 t o w o r k in t h e Pa in t S h o p w h e r e h is w i f e M a r y w a s a l r e a d y e m p l o y e d . ( N o w w o r k i n g in E lec t r i ca l S u b - a s s e m b l y , s h e g e t s her o w n 3 0 - y e a r a w a r d in A u g u s t ) .

D e n n i s w e l l r e m e m b e r s o n e s p e c i a l s p r a y i n g j o b t h e y h a d in t h o s e Be l l & H o w e l l d a y s . T h i s w a s t o g i v e a s p e c i a l c o a t i n g t o pa r t s o f a 6 0 3 c i n e c a m e r a t o p r o j e c t it f r o m i n t e n s e c o l d . It w a s t o g o u p Everest w i t h t h e s u c c e s s f u l e x p e d i t i o n led b y C o l . J o h n H u n t in 1 9 5 3 .

' W e all had a c h a n c e t o d o s o m e f i l m i n g o n e year w h e n Fred W i c k s t e a d let e v e r y o n e h a v e a 6 2 4 c a m e r a o f f t h e l ine t o t a k e o n the i r A u g u s t h o l i d a y s ' , D e n n i s reca l l s .

In 1 9 6 6 D e n n i s le f t t h e P a i n t S h o p t o t a k e o v e r t h e s p e c i a l u n i t set u p in t h e M a c h i n e S h o p t o h a n d l e n e w c o a t i n g t e c h n i q u e s w h i c h M i t c h e l d e a n h a d d e v e l o p e d f o r fuser ro l le rs used in t h e 2 4 0 0 ( la te r t h e 3 6 0 0 ) m a c h i n e .

T h e c o p p e r - c o v e r e d ' r o l l i n g p i n s ' h a d t o u n d e r g o v a r i o u s s t a g e s o f s h o t b l a s t i n g , n i c k e l p l a t i n g , p r i m i n g , s p r a y i n g w i t h T e f l o n ' , s i n t e r i n g in o v e n s , m a c h i n i n g a n d p o l i s h i n g .

S a y s l e a d i n g h a n d D e n n i s , ' W e t h o u g h t it w a s a c o m p l i c a t e d p r o c e s s t h e n , b u t i t 's m u c h m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d n o w a n d t h e ro l le rs last t w i c e as l o n g as t h e y u s e d t o d o w i t h t h e n e w P F A c o a t i n g s . '

Ray Reed

W e d i d n ' t h a v e t o i n t e r v i e w Ray R e e d a b o u t h is f o r m a t i v e y e a r s w i t h t h e C o m p a n y — he h a d t h e h a r d f a c t s all r e a d y f o r us .

'I s t a r t e d s t r a i g h t f r o m g r a m m a r s c h o o l as a v e r y b u r l y p e r s o n o f 5 f t I J i n w e i g h i n g in at 6s t 31b I M y p r e s e n t p r o p o r t i o n s say w o n d e r s f o r t h e e n v i r o n m e n t at M i t c h e l d e a n , t h e w o r k , t h e e x e r c i s e a n d p o s s i b l y t h e c a n t e e n f o o d .

' M y f i rs t j o b w a s as s h o p b o y in S m a l l B a t c h — t h a t m e a n t I w a s t e a b o y , f l o o r s w e e p e r , d i d g e n e r a l e r r a n d s a n d o p e r a t e d a m a c h i n e j u s t t o m a k e s u r e I w a s k e p t b u s y . T a k e h o m e p a y — 1 6 s 6 J d o l d m o n e y .

' P r o m o t i o n in t h o s e d a y s w a s v e r y m u c h a h e l p - y o u r s e l f a f fa i r , s o , b e i n g y o u n g a n d r e a s o n a b l y a m b i t i o u s , w h e n a v a c a n c y o c c u r r e d in t h e T o o l R o o m f o r a s h o p b o y , I p r o m p t l y a p p l i e d a n d w a s g i v e n an i n t e r v i e w — t h e t o u g h e s t I h a v e ever e x p e r i e n c e d .

Dennis Burford

' I w a s c o n f r o n t e d b y n o lesser p e r s o n a g e s t h a n t h e T o o l R o o m m a n a g e r G e o r g e Fr icker , T o m D a v i e s ( t h e s h o p ' s ' h a r d m a n ' ) a n d Les T u f f l e y — n e e d I say m o r e ?

' W e l l , t h e j o b w a s m i n e a n d so s t a r t e d m y g r o w i n g - u p yea rs .

Every year t h e C o m p a n y h e l d a s p o r t s d a y a n d e v e r y o n e w a s e n c o u r a g e d t o e n t e r f o r s o m e t h i n g , so I w a s p ressu r i sed by Les a n d T o m i n t o r u n n i n g in t h e m i l e race , c o m p e t i n g a g a i n s t T o o l R o o m c h a r g e h a n d Fred B r o w n w h o a l w a y s w o n t h i s e v e n t .

' T o m a k e it m o r e e v e n I w a s g i v e n 2 0 0 y a r d s ' s ta r t , t w o p i n t s o f beer a n d a " r o l l u p " o f F r a n k l y n ' s S u p e r f i n e S h a g . A f t e r t w o laps I w i t h d r e w .

' T h i s race a n d i ts c o n s e q u e n c e s w i l l a l w a y s b e w i t h m e . For r i g h t t h e r e I l e a r n e d t w o m o s t v a l u a b l e l e s s o n s : ' t h e r e is a t i m e a n d p l a c e f o r e v e r y t h i n g ' a n d ' n e v e r , n e v e r q u i t I'

S i n c e t h o s e d a y s , R a y has w o r k e d in v a r i o u s s p h e r e s i n c l u d i n g E n g i n e e r i n g a n d S p a r e s C o - o r d i n a t i o n ; h e is c u r r e n t l y N i g h t S h i f t M a n a g e r , M a n u f a c t u r i n g 1 , 2 a n d 3.

H i s w i f e Pear l w o r k s in m i n o r s u b - a s s e m b l i e s at L y d n e y ; w e reca l l r e p o r t i n g t h e i r w e d d i n g in t h e v e r y f i rs t i ssue o f V I S I O N — e x a c t l y 2 0 yea rs a g o .

T h e f o l l o w i n g h a v e a l s o b e c o m e e l i g i b l e f o r C o m p a n y s e r v i c e a w a r d s :

2 0 Y e a r s

April—Gloria B e n n e t t ( A s s e m b l y O p e r a t i o n s ) , R e g F isher ( R X C M a c h i n e S h o p ) , M a u r i c e L e a k e ( S m a l l B a t c h ) ; May — T e r r y D u b e r l e y ( M o d e l S h o p ) , S i d J o n e s ( M a c h i n e S h o p ) , K a t h y K n i g h t ( A s s e m b l y O p e r a t i o n s ) , Pe te S t e v e n s ( M a c h i n e S h o p ) .

2 5 Y e a r s

April— D e n n i s C o o k ( C o m m o d i t y O p e r a t i o n s ) , E s m e e H a l f o r d ( C o n f i g u r a t i o n C o n t r o l ) ; May — D e n n i s B o u g h t o n ( P a r t s M a n u f a c t u r i n g ) , I vo r P a c k e r ( A s s e m b l y O p e r a t i o n s ) .

ANY NEWS FOR VISION

If y o u h a v e , t h e n p l e a s e —

m a i l i t t o m e c / o P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s , B i d 0 6 / 1 ,

o r l e a v e it at a n y G a t e H o u s e f o r

c o l l e c t i o n b y m e ,

o r p o s t it t o m e at T ree T o p s , P l u m p H i l l , M i t c h e l d e a n ,

o r r i n g m e — ex t . 5 6 6 o r D r y b r o o k 5 4 2 4 1 5 .

Myrtle Fowler, Editor

11

B i r t h s Cla i re M a r i e , a d a u g h t e r f o r Ian G r e g o r y ( R X C i n d e r f o r d ) a n d h is vs/ife C h r i s t i n e , o n M a r c h 1 1 .

M a t t h e w R o b e r t , a s o n f o r T e r r y Pea tes ( T o o l I n s p e c t i o n ) a n d h is w i f e A n n e , o n A p r i l 1 3 .

E n g a g e m e n t K i m R o b e r t s t o M a r k J o r d a n ( b o t h o f M a n u f a c t u r i n g P r o g r e s s ) o n M a y 8.

W e d d i n g s J a c k i e S m i t h ( s e c r e t a r y t o M i k e C o o p e r , M a n a g e r , B i d 4 0 / 2 A s s e m b l y ) t o A l a n K e n n a u g h ( P r o d u c t T r a i n i n g ) at A b e n h a l l C h u r c h o n A p r i l 5.

B e t t y Prosser ( S u p p l y C e n t r e ) t o T i m B e n n e t t at H o l y T r i n i t y C h u r c h , D r y b r o o k , o n A p r i l 7.

S a n d r a M e e k ( S u p p l y C e n t r e ) t o J o h n B r a d l e y at H o l y T r i n i t y C h u r c h , D r y b r o o k , o n A p r i l 1 2 .

H e l e n F l u c k ( S u p p l y C e n t r e ) t o E d d i e L e w i s at G l o u c e s t e r R e g i s t e r O f f i c e o n A p r i l 1 9 .

D a w n H a m b l e t t ( E l e c t r i c a l S u b s ) t o T o n y Y e m m ( R X C i n d e r f o r d ) at H o l y T r i n i t y C h u r c h , D r y b r o o k , o n M a y 1 0 .

N i c o l a B u l l o c k ( C o m m o d i t y O p e r a t i o n s ) t o M i k e P r i t c h a r d ( S u p p l y C e n t r e ) at R u a r d e a n C h u r c h o n M a y 2 4 . Mike and Nicola Pritchard

Goodbye presentations to two people whose retirement was listed in our last issue — l e f t : Joe Smith of 9400 Assembly (15 years' service) receives a departmental gift and good wishes from Manager Roy Powell; and

John and Sandra Bradley

R e t i r e m e n t s

A l l t h e bes t t o t h e f o l l o w i n g w h o re t i red r e c e n t l y : S a m C o c k e r ( R X C i n d e r f o r d ) 7 y e a r s ; H o w a r d C r e e d ( 5 4 0 0 A s s e m b l y ) 1 4 i y e a r s ; Ph i l De l l e r ( M f g Eng . ) 11 y e a r s ; R o n F a r r i n g t o n ( E n g . ) 1 2 years ; C la r i ce F r e n c h ( P r o d u c t i o n C o n t r o l ) 8 y e a r s ; Cyr i l H i n t o n ( A s s e m b l y ) 8 y e a r s ; C h r i s P h e l p s ( g a r d e n e r ) 11 y e a r s ; A r t h u r Prosser ( M a i n t e n a n c e ) 6 J y e a r s ; J a c k T h o m a s ( T E D ) 11 y e a r s ; B o b T a y l o r ( C o m m o d i t y O p e r a t i o n s ) 1 0 J yea rs .

R e v . R u s s e l l G r i f f i t h s A n o t h e r r e c e n t r e t i r e m e n t w a s t h a t o f Russe l l G r i f f i t h s , w h o c o m b i n e d a f u l l - t i m e j o b in E n g i n e e r i n g as s e c t i o n l eade r in S t a n d a r d M a t e r i a l s & C o m p o n e n t s w i t h a f t e r - w o r k d u t i e s as a n o n - s t i p e n d i a r y p r i e s t in t h e A u x i l i a r y Pas to ra l M i n i s t r y .

In a reversa l o f t h e usua l t r e n d , Russe l l w a s a s k e d t o t a k e u p m i n i s t r y f u l l - t i m e a n d he has n o w lef t us , a f ter 11 y e a r s ' se rv i ce , t o serve at t h e c h u r c h e s of B r i d s t o w w i t h P e t e r s t o w in H e r e f o r d s h i r e .

b e l o w l e f t : Ralph James of SOA, with 14 years' service under his belt, is presented with a gift by Manager Ron Teague. B e l o w : Phil Deller, a senior engineer in CBA Mfg Eng., took early retirement in April — here he receives his colleagues' goodbye present from the hands of Manager Roy Taylor. Phil had been 11 years with the Company.

O b i t u a r y

W e repor t w i t h reg re t t h e d e a t h s o f t h e f o l l o w i n g : J a c k C o o p e r ( W o r k s E n g i n e e r i n g ) o n A p r i l 1 2 , a g e d 6 2 , a f ter 6 i yea rs ' s e r v i c e ; D i c k J o n e s ( se rv i ce o p e r a t o r ) o n A p r i l 1 5 a g e d 5 6 — he j o i n e d in J u l y 1 9 7 7 ; M a y n a r d M e e k ( 5 4 0 0 A s s e m b l y ) o n M a y 4 a g e d 61 — he h a d b e e n w i t h us s i n c e J a n u a r y 1 9 6 7 .

W e w e r e a lso so r ry t o hear o f t h e d e a t h s of t h e f o l l o w i n g p e n s i o n e r s : G e o r g e E d w a r d s o n A p r i l 1 6 , a g e d 6 4 ; Fred G a m m o n d o n A p r i l 3 0 , a lso a g e d 6 4 . O u r s y m p a t h y g o e s t o t he i r r e s p e c t i v e fam i l i es .

Save i t !

When the sun shines, don't

forget to switch off any

unnecessary lights.

12 Printed in England by Taylor, Young (Printers) Ltd., Cheltenham