1. Experience Summary
I joined Crosfield Electronics in 1979. The company manufactured computerised machines for
the Graphic Art and Pre-press Industry and became jointly owned by Fuji (Japan)and DuPont (USA). The main manufacturing site in Peterborough during the 1980’s employed approximately five hundred with a total company
world wide work force of nearly three thousand. A mixture of technologies were involved including mechanics, pneumatics, optics and electronics.
Soon after joining I quickly began moving towards other challenging roles taking the
initiative at each stage. This helped me to develop natural innovative and design skill which led to work in design and development of state-of-the-art electronics which culminated in 1985 with a Patent awarded for
Crosfields of which I was jointly responsible. In 1987 I started managing a team of design engineers with responsibility for multiple projects.
During 1990 when I was an Engineering Manager I was awarded a place at Cranfield Institute
of Technology (Cranfield University) to study advanced manufacturing techniques, industrial engineering and manufacturing management. It culminated with a three week study of various manufacturing companies in the USA.
The last eight years I worked at Crosfield have seen a revolution in manufacturing within
Crosfield and it has been a privilege to have been there at the time gaining first hand knowledge and experience followed up with academic studying at Cranfield. Japanese techniques have taken quite a hold in the company,
as they have done in Rover, Toyota and other key manufacturing sites in the U.K.
During my time at Crosfield my experience started with detailed testing
and repair of complex electronics down to component level and working with Mini Computers DEC PDP1104/05 and 1134.
I proposed the concept of designing equipment to simulate the mechanical, optical and
electronic mechanisms of the Crosfield 530/540 scanners that had been recently introduced as a new product. Actual machines were used for the testing of the electronics and by producing a simulator this would release
production equipment, reduce the floor space required and reduce the manpower resource required for testing. I was given the project to carry out with the management and execution my responsibility. All aspects of the
Scanner Simulator design, encompassing mechanical, electronic hardware and software design were carried out by myself. Motorola assembly language 6809 base was used throughout. Notably the electronic printed circuit
boards were designed using both the latest technology in digital and analogue Integrated circuit design. The project was completed and became very successful with a total of seventeen systems manufactured. The Parts Service
organisation formed repair centres in five locations world-wide each with two systems. A tribute to the concept and design has been the continuous operation spanning over ten years of operation.
Building on the success of the Scanner Simulator the next project undertaken was the design
of a Remote Diagnostics facility to allow remote interrogation by telephone and modem of the scanner at the customers premises. This used diagnostics and stored historic data sent to a central service area in Europe to
identify failure of equipment quickly and efficiently over the phone line. A further feature was to allow remote operation for training purposes. This project demanded a team approach with three design engineers including
my self responsible for the design. My main responsibility was for the actual remote scanner electronics and interfaces. A patent was awarded for the project against our names. The remote diagnostics centres were set up in
USA, Germany and UK and were in use for many years. . I also worked together in advanced development work alongside R&D design engineers using the very latest technology. For example the use of “state
machines” and multi programmable logic machines.
After the period of design I moved into first Line Management for the Test Equip Department
(TED). This department consisted of seven design engineers both in hardware and software that catered for a wide range of projects. The management of up to thirty projects was achieved through project management with
PC programs such as PMW. Both individual designers and management held regular reviews of progress. Projects ranged from small PC based test equipment through bar coding systems to environmental chamber purchase and
commissioning.
The design of test equipment used a variety of software languages and hardware which had
became difficult to maintain. One of the first jobs as manager was to introduce common platforms and common software language for the future. The introduction of the C++ language was key to producing effective software
programs. These was centred around PC computers and the C software language. Additionally the software was introduced in a modular format allowing modules to be re-used for other applications. A major aspect of this
was accurate documentation which vastly improved the initial design, project management and future maintenance. A further major improvement was to meet advancing technology and achieve more complex designs in terms of
visual and operational requirements. Use of colour screens displaying large amounts of data necessitated advanced software design and training of engineers formed a key activity.
A major part of my role was in defining future pcb strategies, particularly in terms of
design for manufacture. Involvement in the design and R & D teams at an early stage in new product development was crucial to forming future policies of new products yet to be introduced. A further important aspect of
DFM (Design For Manuafcturing) was to rationalise components and reduce component variation and consistently year on year of through hole technology the drive was to reduce this variation.
During my time in PCB Engineering many changes were carried out and layout of the factory
floor was continuously changing as improvements in process and material handling were carried out. In the last few years as Manufacturing Manager for new product introduction on image capture products I took on
responsibility for the complete introduction within manufacturing. Responsible for setting up all aspects of introducing new products from material flow, product design, suppliers and parts procurement through to test and
shipments. Responsibility for the manufacturing project management programme and representing manufacturing at reviews held with company directors and working with all crossfunctional areas within manufacturing, R & D ,
Marketing and Customer Service areas were also a key part of the management
In 1996 I volunteered for redundancy and left in July 1996 to continue with the Ronart Cars.
Crosfield Electronics Ltd.,
De La Rue Group, DuPont & Fuji Film.