January
John Neville and Frank Grehan PA Testing in Coolquay
2019 began with a new PA Testing system being brought in. We discovered that almost 2/3 of all Jones Engineering plant and equipment required PA Testing every quarter. Testing involves a visual inspection of the equipment and any flexible cables for good condition, and al-so where required, verification of earthing continuity, and a test of the soundness of insulation between the current carrying parts and any ex-posed metal that may be touched. No electrical equipment may be used unless it has a valid PA test label attached. There is also a new colour coding for PA test labels. A different colour label is now used for each 3 month spell making it much easier to see if a tool has had a valid test.
QSP-07 and QAP-08 were reviewed.
February
Jones Engineering has taken delivery of it’s first Electric Vehicle. By choosing the 2019 Citroen Berlingo we are helping to reduce harmful air pollution from exhaust emissions. Electric Vehicles produce zero exhaust emissions, so they have no adverse effect on the environment, which is in line with our company’s commitment to helping lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In February Jones Engineering became a Corporate Member of Lean Construction Ireland. Richard Fitzpatrick, Chairman of LCi sent this message: “
On behalf of the Board of Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for becoming a corporate member of the LCi.
As a corporate member you have become part of a national community of leading Irish companies and organisations who are not just demonstrating their support for the LCi and its vision and objectives, but also demonstrating a commitment to deliver capital programmes and projects differently by adopting Lean thinking and practices. “
March
In March the question was asked, “Is each step or action producing value to the customer?”
This is the question asked by any company who has Lean principles as core values of their business.
A JEG delegation recently visited the Orbitalum factory in Singen, Germany following an invitation from our local agent “Walsh Engineering”.
Orbitalum are the manufacturer of the new orbital welding machines and rotary pipe cutting machines that JEG are now buying.
The purpose of the visit was twofold:-
1). Orbitalum wanted to showcase their latest product innovations
2). The orbital design team wanted to sit with it’s customer and get some feedback on what changes we would make to it’s welding equipment if we had the opportunity.
April
Along with the April Showers Inspector Gadget himself, Paul Lynch from Jones Engineering’s Maintenance Division, shared his array of tools and showed how they could make life much easier for the Pipe Fitter.
The Jones Engineering Lean Dept; agreed that Paul deserved to be an “A Better Way” winner and rewarded him with €100 gift voucher. Paul is seen in the above image receiving his voucher from Paul Donnelly.
We also learned that, by using Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) as your personal operating system you will learn.
The essence of Lean is learning – learning that is closely linked with action.
May
The 7th Annual WIT Lean Enterprise Excellence Forum was held in Waterford IT in May. Two members of the Jones engineering Lean Department were guest speakers. The image above shows Paul Harding delivering his presentation on “What factors may inhibit the implementation of Lean in a large construction organisation.”
In May’s issue we were also informed how the Project Teams on a Grangecastle project were increasing efficiency by using Sikla fixings in their supports.
June
Engineering students from HFT Stuttgart in Guinness Brewhouse No. 4
Whilst nearing the half-way point of the year the Lean Department’s Simon Watson hosted a group of University students from Stuttgart, Germany.
Simon told us, “The students are currently studying Lean as one of the modules on their course.
We arranged to show the group around the Guinness brewery in James’ Street and explained how JEG form an integral part of the daily planning system used by Diageo to co‐ordinate all site activities, without interrupting the brewing process.”
Rob Hughes from the Geo-Surveying Division displayed the Geoslam Zeb Revo. This is a handheld instrument that allows surveyors to quickly measure installations with unrestricted mobility. See issue 76 more information.
July
In July, Jones Engineering’s Celtic Bio Division gave us an insight and an inside view of their operations at their Huntstown Project and how the purpose of the project is to utilise the patented JCBE’s Thermal Hydrolysis Technology to process :
so that the bio-gas generated can be converted by 2no. CHP Engines into electrical energy for export to the National Grid.
August
With the summer drawing to a close we learned how no job can be done well without the right tools, regardless of profession. This especially applies to the Construction Industry. As one of the largest M & E contractors in Ireland Jones Engineering has a massive array of tools, plant, vehicles and equipment to successfully complete any project we take on. As part of our Continuous Improvement ideology we are constantly upgrading our equipment with the latest technology and innovations from the marketplace.
September
In September one of the legends in Jones Engineering retired after an amazing 45 years of loyal service. Everyone was sad to see Brendan Stafford finally hang up his overalls and put the lid on his tool box. Everyone in the company wished Brendan well in his retirement.
This issue also informed us about the Trimble fixings being used in NCH.
October
On October 3rd the LCi hosted it’s second annual one day Symposium in Croke Park. One of the highlights of the day was the launch of the Lean Pass training course. This is a new course with the aim to provide participants with an introduction to the fundamentals of Lean and Lean in Construction, and to enable construction personnel speak the same Lean language onsite and in the office. Ray Curley and Simon Watson from the Lean Department were part of the team along with industry experts chosen by LCi to develop the Lean Pass course and resulted with Ray and Simon becoming the first internal sector organisational trainers to be approved.
November
In the cold November rain Jones Engineering showed it’s commitment to boosting the Construction Industry by supporting the training of young upcoming students. The company announced a €1 million donation to Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) to support the building of Design & Construct, Ireland’s first centre of excellence for construction education at TU Dublin in Broombridge, Cabra.
We were told how to do more with less and how small minds want more space.
At the end of another successful year for Jones Engineering, let’s keep the momentum going into 2020 and keep thinking LEAN.
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