MAY 2019 ROUND-UP
Did you hear... The best soundbites from around the industry
“The steel works is the heart of this town, our workers’
Notre Dame. Who will rebuild this? Who will rebuild our town?”
@DamianHealy on Twitter, following an explosion at the Port Talbot
steel works that left two workers with serious burns.
Pic of the month
“It is crucial for the future prosperity of the sector that we
revisit the STEM-based school curriculum.”
Ann Watson, CEO of Semta, comments on a report released by Semta and
Make UK that calls for a ‘rebrand’ in the way design & technology is taught.
Industry leaders from across Wales visited Ford’s Bridgend Engine Plant for the launch of
a new initiative to help the region’s manufacturers. The MADE (Manufacture for Advanced
Engineering) project, which is being rolled out now for 36 months, is designed to help
Welsh manufacturers – and SMEs in particular – understand the challenges they face
and how they can respond to them, by tapping into disruptive technologies and training,
appropriate for their businesses. Funded by the European Union, the project is being
delivered by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Centre for Advanced Batch
Manufacture. “The MADE initiative offers a smart suite of collaborative projects, providing
vital tools for manufacturers who are determined to be well-equipped for the future,” said
Prof. Robert Brown, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s.
Brose makes
AGV investment
A Coventry automotive
manufacturer is using
ground-breaking
technology to optimise
its logistics operation,
improve efficiencies
and win new business.
Brose, which makes
seat structures and
window regulators to
JLR, Nissan and Toyota,
has invested nearly £2m
into the introduction of
Automated Guided
Vehicles (AGVs), which
will speed up the
movement of finished
goods and eliminate
human error.
Over the last two
years, the factory
has extensively trialled
driverless vehicle
technology, with AGVs
expected to make more
than 650,000 different
journeys every year in
seat production.
Travelling at one
metre per second,
the AGVs will cover
67,000km annually –
the equivalent of
travelling around the
Earth 1.5 times.
Using the Brose
Transport Guidance
System, the AGVs are
able to communicate
with each other to
ensure materials are
moved smoothly
through the warehouse.
New study reveals managers’ insecurities
A third of managers see
competent subordinates as
potential challengers and
develop feelings of insecurity,
according to a study by Professor
Kirk Chang at the University of
Salford Business School.
The findings also highlight
that these managers will often
ostracise staff they feel are a
threat to their own position.
Professor Chang, an expert in
human resource management,
said: “While the competence
of subordinates is considered
desirable in the workplace,
it may create challenges in
managing people.
“Our project has discovered
that some managers regard
competent subordinates as
potential challengers and thus
develop a feeling of insecurity,
which creates motivation for the
ostracism of those competent
subordinates… the ostracism
damages workers’ morale and
can lead to demotivation – and
may even see these star workers
leaving their companies.”
Unlike observable
behaviours, which can be
recorded and managed in
line with personnel policies,
ostracism is more subtle and
difficult to recognise.
It can take various
forms; for instance, a top
salesperson may be isolated
by other salespeople from
the same department, a staff
member may be excluded
from social activities and
a whistle-blower may be
neglected by their manager.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s
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