April 75 No. 109
THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF RANK XEROX MITCHELDEAN
Walbrook Photography
Now it’s Their Move
The whole of Manufacturing
Engineering i s being levelled out on
one floor.
First move has been made by
PED who, w i t h the exception of T E D ,
are currently moving from Building 44
into the middle upper storey of the
adjoining computer block.
A flexible programme of moves has
been prepared for Operation P E D by
the co-ordinating committee which
includes representatives f r om three
a s p e c t s of engineering — Production,
Industrial and Works — the latter being
responsible for carrying out the actual
removal over a s e v e n – w e e k period.
The start of the operation marked the
culmination of the e f f o r t s of many
people — in F a c i l i t i e s and Resources
Planning and other a r e a s — w h o for
many months have w o r k e d in
conjunction w i t h our a r c h i t e c ts
Preece Payne Partnership to ensure
that the n ew accommodation meets
accepted Rank Xerox standards.
Pictured here in the area shortly to be
taken over by P E D personnel are (left
to right) Alan Carney ( F a c i l i t i es
Planning), J o h n Wellington ( P E D ‘s
co-ordinator) and Graham Taylor
( P r o j e c t s Planning), all of w h om are
closely involved in the operation. (See
story on page 2.)
Moving P i c t u r e s : Jack Brooks, section leader in Machine Simp {Lumponents) Planning, scans the news while waiting for his
desk to Join him. And here it comes {right) brought by Works Engineering men under the direction of Bill Inkster.
Supervisor (Contracts). Each item of furniture is numbered to ensure there’s no mix-up.
A MOVING STORY With his plans tucked under his arm,
John Wellington looked at the scene
much as the Iron Duke might have
surveyed some military manoeuvre
and said :’It’s going well. By the end
of the first week in April we shall
have 160 people moved in.’
At that rate, it would seem that the
whole operation of getting a
battalion of some 300 production
engineers and their equipment from
Building 44 into their new quarters
in the computer block would be
completed in much less than the
allotted seven weeks.
But, as on the battlefield, tactics have
had to be adapted to meet
unexpected events — such as the lift
going temporarily out of action, or
the fire exit in Building 50 getting
gummed up and so postponing any
large-scale advance into that part of
the block.
As a result, units have in some cases
had to prepare to march within a few
hours of the order coming through.
As every military man knows, an
army marches on its stomach, and the
first section to be set up was the
refreshment area. As Wellington
(PED-style) remarked : ‘At least we
got our priorities right!’
Looking at the scene during the
early part of the action, it was not
easy to make out the strategy behind
the new positioning of the troops,
who included a detachment
previously based in the Terrapin
building. But strategy there has been.
Engineering Orders are the bread and
butter of the department, and the
kind of configuration chosen is
tailor-made to meet PED’s special
requirements.
Says John Williams, Assistant
Manager, Facilities Planning: ‘We
have adopted what is known as a
matrix layout. The idea is that we
have the planning, electronics and
other functions of PED working on
one particular product ranged in line,
enabling product control in one
direction throughout the floor, while
management control of the individual
functions operates in a cross-wise
direction.’
When the operation is completed
(some time in May), PED will
occupy the entire third floor — the
first of the upper storeys in the
computer block to be released to us
by our contractors, W. F. Giles &
Sons.
An archway connects this with floor 3
in Building 44, where Tool
Engineering and the Ozalid section
are staying put, to be joined later by
Industrial Engineering (from the floor
below) and the Quality Assurance
team from Building 23.
Apart from a better layout, the new
PED quarters offer a number of
improved facilities, while conforming
Continued on page 3
Progress Report on Solar
In the three months since we last reported on SOLAR, a tremendous
amount of hard work has been carried out by the User Departments
in resolving those problems associated with the successful
implementation of our SOLAR objectives — ie to enable us to control
our stock to the required levels to ensure that we do not have resources
tied up unnecessarily, and yet have the right parts available at the correct
time to ensure we build to the planned production programmes.
In the main, the requirements of the working of the system are
communicated to those of us who need to take action (and that means
a great many of us !) in the form of ‘procedures’. It is important that
all concerned participate in establishing these procedures and in the
required follow-up implementation action.
Recent significant instances of Users making a positive contribution
include:
• Dave Sanderson and his team in introducing Stores Counting
Methods and Cycle Counting Procedures.
• Alec Jones and his team in co-ordinating and introducing
Inlet/Exit Checking into the Production areas.
• Ernie Wood and Dennis Brown (and associated personnel in various
departments) in devising and implementing a Floor Stock Check
procedure that has been successfully ‘pilot’ tested on ADF.
Whilst we are only now just beginning to feel some of the advantages
of the SOLAR system {eg computer printed STF’s), we still have quite
a way to go and a lot of hard work to do in order to achieve our
overall objectives; but there is every confidence that the growing
impetus being applied to SOLAR will achieve this.
Frank Whinyates
2
Ralph Perry joined Engineering
Group staff as from March 1 as
Manager, Change Co-ordination,
reporting to Ted Elliott, Manager,
Systems and Procedures.
This appointment is made to
establish and maintain appropriate
change control of systems,
procedures and operations
consistently through RXEG with
particular emphasis on the
multinational aspects of current and
future product programmes.
Mr Perry will also have specific
responsibilities in the assessment of
high cost design change projects for
top management approval prior to
issue in conjunction with Site
Engineering and Manufacturing
Management, TSSG and Programme
Management.
Don Stewart has taken over Mr Perry’s
position as Manager, Change
Co-ordination (9200), and Brian
James, formerly Chief Draughtsman,
has succeeded Mr Stewart as
Manager, Change Co-ordination
(Copiers), also from March 1.
A number of changes in Engineering
consequent upon the appointment of
Mike Smith as Manufacturing
Programme Manager have not yet
been published in VISION ; these
are as follows:
Bob Murray has succeeded Mike
Smith as Engineering Programme
Manager, 4000 family.
A MOVING STORY
Continued from page 2
with the new Health & Safety at
Work Act.
There is a conference room which
can be divided into two smaller rooms
by an acoustic sliding screen.
Better control of the ‘whisper’
speakers, heating and ventilation has
been achieved, and special trunking
in the floor for electrical outlet
sockets gives greater flexibility.
Says Tony Valentine, Facilities
Planning section leader who has been
working with engineer Alan Carney
on the project: ‘We have been able to
blanket cover the floor with telephone
wiring, which means we shall be
able to reposition telephones more
easily and cheaply in future.’
Design Engineering will eventually be
moving into the computer block too
(on the floor below which has yet to
be completed). And the link bridge
connecting them with the rest of
Engineering remaining in Building 38
is to be built as planned.
Moving Comments
• Who said : ‘I can’t answer that ‘phone —
I’m laying Anne Fox out.’ ?
• Whose new office gives him privy insight
into matters normally outside his province?
Ron Boakes has taken over
responsibility as Design Manager for
the 4000 as well as for the 4500.
Richard Holland has been promoted
to Assistant Design Manager of a
new product, reporting to Bob Murray.
Bernard Page’s group, responsible for
first generation products, now report
to Jeff Kew, EPM Input/Output.
MOVE TO MILTON KEYNES
Sid Wright, formerly Manager,
Capital Projects (PED), has moved
from Mitcheldean to Milton Keynes to
join the Manufacturing Engineering
Special Projects Section as from
April 7. He reports to Peter Salmon,
Manager Manufacturing Development,
Manufacturing Group.
DR TIPPLE
LEAVES WELWYN
Dr Peter Tipple left the Welwyn
Garden City Plant during March after
seven years as General Manager, and
began a new international
assignment as the Company’s
Technical Director for the
development of certain areas of the
world, with initial special emphasis
on the Protocol Agreement with the
USSR which was announced some
time ago.
During his time at Welwyn he
encouraged the development of
advanced electronic processes as a
result of which the plant is now
widely recognised as a pace-setter
within the industry.
Ralpfi Perry Don Stewart Brian James
Presentation to College
Dean Forest Studios
The close partnership w h i c h e x i s t s between the West
Gloucestershire College of Further Education and local industry
w a s acknowledged when w e presented the college w i t h a
much-needed dividing head for use by engineering students.
The Principal, Mr J . P. Welburn (centre), expressed the gratitude
of the college when he accepted the gift f r om General Manager
Ron Morfee on March 4. A l s o at t h e presentation were
J a c k Tester (far left). Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, and
Technical Training Co-ordinator Frank Edwards (out of picture)
who i s vice-chairman o f t h e college governing body.
3
He Could
Save Your Life
Today if you get into difficulties
while water-sporting and there is a
lifeguard on patrol in the area, you
will probably find yourself being
towed back to shore on a polystyrene
torpedo buoy, instead of in the
time-honoured way.
‘These are now standard issue to
lifeguards, together with a reeling
line which is used by teams for
longer distance rescues,’ we were
told by lifeguard Ken Fox. ‘We also
use a motorised rowing boat.’
This doesn’t mean that life-saving
has gone up in price like almost
everything else — the equipment is all
sponsored, and the lifeguards are
voluntary workers.
Lifeguard Ken is an electrical
adjuster in 4500 sorter assembly; if
you’ve heard his name over the PA,
it’s almost certainly a call not for
him but for his father, foreman
inspector in 4000 Department.
Ken Fox junior has been with us for
ten years, during which time he has
worked on just about every one of
our machines.
In leisure-time he is secretary and
training officer of the Gloucester &
District Lifeguard Club. During the
season club members patrol at places
like the South Cerney marina,
wherever water-sports are enjoyed.
Out of season they train at Gloucester
Baths, and Ken is working hard to
pass the lifeguard proficiency
examination to add to his present
string of life-saving qualifications.
It was at a life-saving event that he
met his fiancee, a PE teacher. She
holds the advanced resuscitation
award and Ken holds the preliminary
one — ‘but I’m going to change that
before long 1’ he said.
Dean Forest Studios
Lifeguard Ken Fox preparing for patrol.
‘I’ve never been called on to save
anyone’s life yet but I hope I’ll react
in the right way when the moment comes.’
Last year Ken went along as
photographer, helper, and life-saver
if needed, when a group of our
apprentices went on a course at
Drake’s Island Adventure Centre near
Plymouth. He’s interested in helping
young people and is leader of the
Drybrook Youth Club which meets on
Monday nights at the Memorial Hall
(6.30 to 8pm juniors, 8 to 9.30 seniors).
‘We’ve got about 70 members but
we’d welcome more,’ said Ken.
A Degree for Jim
Jim Watts, electrical adjuster in
Electrical Sub-assembly, is believed
to be the first person working at
Mitcheldean to gain a degree
through the Open University, and the
Company has recognised his
achievement with a financial award.
We asked Jim his reasons for
studying. ‘Firstly, I was once a
full-time student, and secondly, I
happen to like studying,’ he told us.
His BA degree, awarded mainly in
pure and applied mathematics, was
his subject when a full-timer.
Jim, who has been with us for eight
years, says the Open University
courses were ‘tailored to my
requirements, so I got in straight from
the start.’ Time for study is limited;
he has two young sons and his wife
is a full-time teacher. Completing the
Watts household are some prizewinning
Pharaoh, Ibizan and Afghan
hounds.
Jim hasn’t finished yet with the Open
University. ‘I’m doing history of
science now — I’m interested in
research in this subject.’
Ted Sage, Electrical Sub-assembly Manager,
presents Jim Watts with his financial award.
R. King
Walkie-talkie GiSt
Langton Adventure Centre in the
Lake District is one of the places to
which we have, over the years, sent
quite a few of our apprentices for
character training.
Our lads noticed that the walkietalkie
radio set, which is an essential
item of equipment on the expeditions,
was in need of replacement and they
had a whip-round among their
fellow apprentices to get a new one,
the Company making up the
difference in cost.
Last month the new walkie-talkies
were presented to Prebendary
John Thursfield at Ross-on-Wye
(Langton is run by the Diocese of
Hereford). Rodney Dix (an
apprentice in his fourth year) and
John Murreli (who recently
completed his apprenticeship)
handed the sets over.
Courtesy Ross Gazette
At the presentation of the walkie-talkies on March 20 are (from the left)
former apprentice John Murrell, Technical Training Co-ordinator Frank Edwards,
apprentice Rodney Dix and Prebendary John Thursfield of Ross-on-Wye.
»lace meetirii. p l a c e meetmg Btin- f-e mee
n e e t i n g p l a ce m e e t i n g p l a ce meeting place rr»’ • = ; e rtjeeting p l ac
>lace m e e t i n g i i s l a c e meeting p l a c e we^lir*! * i>? •jtina p l a c e mee
Doris Boseley works in the
management offices in Building 23 —
when everyone else has gone home.
She’s been coming to the Plant in the
evenings now for 16 years, and is
not only the longest serving of
Mrs Stephens’ cleaning staff but is
also ‘top of the class’ when it comes
to attendance record.
‘It’s different from cleaning at home,
because 1 know I’ve got three clear
hours to do the work. I don’t have to
stop to answer the door or see to the
cooking as well, and I can enjoy a
chat with Maureen Holder who
works with me while we’re dusting
and polishing.’
Doris gets a great deal of pleasure
out of doing the crosswords in her
daily paper — ‘not the very hard
ones’. If she’s stuck she gets some
help from Stan, her husband, who
works in the Supply Centre
Warehouse.
The couple live at Harrow Hill and
have a married daughter and a
grand-daughter of five.
Last year Doris came to the LSA
annual dinner for the first time.
‘Stan doesn’t qualify for membership
yet, so I came along with
Mrs Stephens who was attending for
the first time too, and we’ll be there
again on the second of May,’ she
said.
Mitcheldean Parish Council must be
hoping that the appointment of
Graham Adams has marked an end
to the recent rather frequent
turnover of their clerks.
Graham, who has worked in PED for
the last five years, told us that he is
a Forester (he was born at Brierley)
and he has always been interested
In local government matters.
He reckons his experience as TASS
representative on the Joint Office
Committee and on the Technical
Staff Grading Committee has given
him some useful committee
experience.
As a cost engineer working in the
Liaison Engineering section, he has
to keep a close watch on material
prices and manufacturing costs, an
area which has acquired added
importance in these cost-conscious
times.
He has, in fact, recently compiled a
cost estimating manual on the
instructions of Production
Engineering management.
Graham lives in Mitcheldean village
with his wife Janet, who used to
work as secretary to David Willday,
and their little son.
He keeps fit by playing squash at the
Wye Hotel. ‘I used to play rugby
too,’ Graham told us, ‘but I find that
having a 2i-year-old son to tackle
me at home gives me all the extra
exercise I need !’
Barbara Bevan came to us four
years ago this June. She worked
first in Materials Handling for Guy
Bedford; that was in Building 40
when it was one vast open space
before assembly operations began.
In February last year she moved to
Building 38, becoming secretary to
Tony Burke, now Engineering
Manager, Mitcheldean.
Barbara’s husband also works for us,
in a way; he is a partner in a coach
operating firm who fulfil a contract
for Mitcheldean Plant.
Forest-born Barbara believes in
keeping one night a week free for her
hobbies. She used to learn
dressmaking, then she switched to
swimming classes.
‘My husband and my nine-year-old
son both swim and I felt a bit left
out as I couldn’t swim a stroke. I
started learning last November and
now I can manage a length and a
half doing the crawl.’
She plans to take it up again next
autumn ; when we talked to her,
Barbara was busy trying to keep her
head above water, packing for their
move from Ruardean to Edge End.
‘I’m looking forward to getting the
new garden into shape. We’ve got a
super view there,’ she said. ‘We can
look right across to the Welsh
Mountains.’
Come the summer, the Bevan family
will be off for a holiday in Scotland —
and some more super views.
J t i n g p i ,-• : = , meeting p l a c e
WHERE EVERY DAY IS MY DAY
You may be motivated at work by a variety of things, but one of
the main ones is pretty certain to be the money. We went along
recently to see how the people in Payments Operations (the final
section in our series on Administration Department) get your pay
to you in packets or via the bank, and how they handle the Company
cash transactions on site.
The job of producing salaries and
wages to a strict timetable for the
4,500 or so people on site is a very
complicated affair, as anyone who
has seen Alan Cryer’s flip charts will
appreciate.
Three payroll ‘suites’ are dealt with as
a mechanised operation in Salaries
& Wages section : industrial staff
(hourly paid or people paid on a
performance basis), weekly staff
(including clerical and secretarial),
and monthly (supervisors and
managers).
A fourth payroll for senior monthly
staff is handled personally by
Payments Operations Manager
Alan Cryer and Cashier Marion
Cornwall.
Alan likens the wages week to a kind
of Grand National — here’s how it
runs in steeplechase terms:
On Friday, it’s the ‘off’ — that’s when
the clock cards for all weekly staff
are collected and the wages clerks
work at a steady pace between then
and 10am on the following Monday,
adding up the hours clocked in,
checking for cause of absence and
getting the cards down to the
computer together with an input of
adjustments.
Job tickets for those paid on a
performance basis go there direct,
bypassing the Salaries & Wages
section.
The punched cards prepared by
Data Assembly are run against a
master file, prepared from rate cards
giving the basic information
governing an individual’s rate of pay
and deductions.
Monday is the day when the hurdles
(or, if we’re steeplechasing, the
fences) are reached — that is, the
computer validations. After the first
print-out has been checked and
corrective action taken, a second
validation is produced and corrected
before the payroll is run on Monday
night.
A back-up service has to be provided
in case the computer should fail, for
no payroll would mean no pay — a
calamity too awful to contemplate.
Last year the computer did just that,
and Supervisor George Turner and
some of his staff had to go all the
way to the Lake District in the middle
of the night to gain access to a
compatible type of processor. When
they got back they found our own
machine had coughed into life again.
Tuesday is spent ‘jockeying for
position’ — doing a manual balancing
on the computer tab, notifying cash
requirements to the bank and
despatching some unclaimed wages
from the previous week by
registered post.
As from April 10, Tuesday is now
also the day for the distribution to all
industrial and weekly staff of a net
pay advice, hot from the computer,
showing how the net pay has been
computed.
Monthly staff pay, incidentally, is
handled throughout a four-week
period, with one extra busy week in
6
ir. Payments Operations
; explains how pay is
d. Left: Salaries B
ection where three payroll
; dealt with; some 40,000
1/ entries are made during
?e four-week period.
Christine Aston reimburses a
m. ‘We have to be particular
tout signatures on claim forms
ise of the auditors’ she told us.
four when the payroll is run and the
money paid through the bank.
Wednesday is the ‘run in on the flat’
when the staff work solidly on
getting the input into the computer
master file needed for subsequent
payrolls. This means getting to grips
with all those deductions which,
Alan tells us, come in no less than
18 different varieties — Sports &
Social Club, Bonanza Draw, Union,
LSA, savings, ‘specials’, repayment
of loans, and payment for protective
footwear by instalments, quite apart
from the obvious ones of pension, tax
and insurance.
Thursday brings the field in a quick
burst of speed to the finishing line —
the big pay-out.
About a year ago,’ George told us,
‘we started using Securicor’s pay
packet service and no one was
happier about it than I. My eyes had
Continued on page 8
. -Hilt'”
Cashier H/larion Cornwall with {left) June Ryland checking a pensions
tabulation. A believer in healthy figures, l\/larion was a founder member of
the Ladies’ Keep Fit group which started at the Plant in 1946. and she still
‘keeps fit’ regularly at evening classes.
Cash Flow-In and Out
Far left: Chris Hale
and Gill Bourne
take their turn at
answering pay queries.
Window sessions are
9.30 to 12.30 on
Monday, Wednesday
and Friday mornings,
2 to 4pm on
Wednesdays and
Thursdays. Left:
Assistant Supervisor
Mike Keen has worked
all his 12 years with
us in Salaries &
Wages.
In the Cashier’s office, every day is
paying-out day, for Marion
Cornwall’s responsibility is to meet
the Plant’s day-to-day commitments,
both inside and outside the site.
Outside payments include the
‘household bills’ that require prompt
settlement — the gas, electricity,
telephones, buses, etc.
Inside payments are mainly the
reimbursement of employees for
expenses incurred on the Company’s
behalf for travel or accommodation,
etc.
Occasionally money comes into the
office — payment for film processing,
payments for staff sales of anything
from pills to protective footwear, or
receipts from the sale of Plant assets.
Sometimes it’s a straight exchange.
Cashing of cheques for people in the
Plant is all part of the service. And
when there’s a collection for charity,
retirement or whatever, it’s to the
Cashier’s office that those piles of
coins in cardboard boxes or tins are
brought to be exchanged for more
convenient paper money.
Locked into the office with Marion
and her safe are assistants Christine
Aston and June Ryland. They help
her in carrying out a wide range of
further tasks — paying overseas
accounts in foreign currencies,
making tax office returns in
connection with expenses, banking
and reconciling accounts, or working
out VAT.
‘We had to get an additional
calculator when they changed the
percentage,’ said Marion. ‘We
managed the 10 per cent all right but
when it became 8 per cent it got a
bit trying.’
Marion has regular contact with the
computer, in connection with the
breakdown of expenses and VAT
(there are seven VAT codes for
mechanised analysis); her cash book
is computerised too.
Colditz, as the computer building is
unofficially known, also sees her
once a month when, with Alan Cryer,
she goes to supervise the senior
payroll operation, carried out under
conditions of strict security.
Marion is the longest serving person,
not only in Payments Operations but
also in Finance & Administration as
a whole. Apart from an initial spell
as girl-about-the-office and
switchboard operator, she has spent
all her 30 years with us in the
salaries, wages and cashiering
operations sphere — which says
plenty for her trustworthiness.
A Word f r om George
As we went to press we heard
encouraging news of George Turner,
Salaries & Wages Supervisor, now
convalescing after a mild heart attack.
By June this year, George will have
clocked up 20 years’ service; he is
treasurer of the Mitcheldean LSA and
it was while representing the
association on a visit to Welwyn that
he was taken ill. George wants his
staff to know how much he
appreciates the excellent support they
give him.
7
WHERE EVERY
• S PAY DAY
Continued from page 7
developed a swivelling action on
Thursdays, watching for any sign of
a smash and grab attempt as we
counted out the money.’
Today, when Securicor have arrived,
members of the Salaries & Wages
staff go out to their various pay
points and distribute the money with
some clerical assistance.
‘Everyone naturally keeps a lookout
for their pay delivery — that way it
spreads the insurance load,’ said
Alan.
After the payout, the queries come
rolling in. ‘We can get as many as
150 in one afternoon — about gross
pay, income tax, deductions of
transport charges, you name it.’
The section is expected to be expert
and up-to-the-minute on everything
relating to pay. George told us:
‘I once had a chap come along who
was getting transferred to another
location and he wanted me to advise
him on how much pay to ask for,
bearing in mind his mortgage
commitments ! But we don’t really
mind acting as financial consultants;
if we can help, we will.’
As Payments Operations Manager,
Alan has constantly to review and
update the system to meet changing
requirements. He communicates
alterations in payment structures to
Trade Unions and employees
following any changes in
agreements, pensions, taxation, social
The senior
monthly payroll
is a highly
confidential
operation.
security schemes and so on ; he
also works in an advisory capacity
with Personnel over agreement
negotiations.
Explaining to people how to check
their wages is one aspect of Alan’s
regular shop floor sessions on pay.
These sessions started during the
energy crisis when Alan talked to
people about how pay is made up,
how holiday pay is computed and
so on; the idea proved so popular
that the sessions have been
continued in a modified form as part
of Company Training policy.
‘People can bring their problems
along and we jointly agree how to
do things so there is a reasonable
chance of success. This way we can
identify potential troublespots and
deal with them at an early stage.
We report back on any major hurdle
to the J WC
The course in Payments Operations
seldom runs smoothly. When we
left his office Alan’s current problem
was the fact that the start of the
new tax year straddled the Easter
holiday payroll.
But in view of his 18 years’
experience at the Plant in handling
money matters, the co-operation he
gets from his team and the expertise
of Mike Bradley and his associates
in Information Systems who back up
changing payroll requirements, we
felt this ‘Becher’s Brook’ was as
good as cleared.
At the control board at RXC are Geoff Watkins and (right) Ivan Introducing the SllOP Control Clerk Baldwin, shop control aerk supervisor (IVIanulacturlng). Ivans
opposite number in Assembly is Terry Randall.
Breeding is part and parcel of the
horse-racing scene. To continue the
theme set in the previous pages, we
can announce that a new breed has
been evolved at Mitcheldean —the
Shop Control Clerk, by Time Clerk
out of Shop Loader, as the racing
man might say.
Hitherto the job of the shop loader
has been to control the flow of work
through the assembly or
manufacturing shop floor.
That of the conventional time clerk
has involved recording attendance
from clock cards; dealing with job
tickets for group and individual
performance rating; making the final
input of job tickets into the
computer for the payroll run; and, in
the case of senior time clerks,
undertaking a certain part of the
payout of wages.
It is envisaged that, by the end of
May, most of these two separate
functions will be combined and
carried out by Shop Control Clerks,
who will work in conjunction with
shop floor supervision.
‘We were already moving in this
direction, but SOLAR implementation
has had the effect of speeding up the
process,’ said Alec Jones, Production
Department Administration Manager,
who is responsible for the new teams.
What, we asked him, was the reason
for the changeover?
‘The time clerking function has
always related to an individual’s
performance,’ said Alec, ‘while the
shop loading function relates to the
flow of work through the shop. By
combining the two functions, which
are inter-related, we hope to
achieve improved performance and
better control of work flow in both
assembly and manufacturing areas.’
8
L e f t : Men’s singles winner Dennis Wadley {PED Electronics) receives the Ted Wenderlish trophy from
Mrs Wenderlish. Right: Runner-up in the men’s singles was Henry Lambert (O Et M).
Photos: Dean Forest Studios
L e f t : Drinking to their recent success as winners of the Hereford League Second Division are (/ to r)
Bob Toomer (Model Shop). Andy Davis (Finance 8- Admin.) and Rafe Cherry (Goods Inwards
Inspection). Right: (From the left) PhilJames (Works Lab.). Peter Hughes (TED) and Barry Smith
(Planning Ft Support. PCD) and his brother Brian (Service Engineer). Phil. Peter and Barry have
added lustre to the reputation of the Table Tennis Section by winning the Lydney League and reaching
the finals of the Lydney League Knockout. Brian was Dennis Wadley’s opponent in the semi-finals
of the men’s singles.
MEN ONLY AT THE TABLES
‘We’re just cannon fodder for the
table tennis section,’ said one of the
casual players who, having laid aside
his bat, was exercising his arm at the
bar.
True or not, the casual players played
as essential a part as the crack
players in making a success of the
Plant’s first open table tennis
tournament held on March 26 in the
Ballroom.
Not a single lady entered for the
ladies’ singles, so it was an all-male
contest, and the result wasn’t all that
predictable either. The occasion
produced an unexpected dark horse.
Whether the fact that three eminent
members of the section sported black
track suits unnerved their opponents
or not, we were unable to judge.
Certainly when Andy Davis, the
section secretary, took his track suit
bottoms off during a singles set to
reveal a pair of natty shorts, his
opponent Barry Smith couldn’t play
for laughing. He refused to remove
his own even though Andy offered
him a ten point lead.
Finalists in the singles were Dennis
Wadley (PED electronics), who plays
in the Gloucester League First
Division, and Henry Lambert of
0 & M, who was the surprise of the
tournament.
It was an open attacking affair with
Dennis winning the first game and
Who^s for Tennis ?
Quite a number of people, it seems.
With the backing of an initial 20
members a Tennis Section has
been formed, affiliated to the
Sports & Social Club. Chairman is
Hubert Evans (Perpetual Inventory,
PCD), secretary Olwyn Barnes
(Mfg. Group), and treasurer Mike
Keen (Salaries & Wages) with
committee members Jane Phillips
(Mfg. Group) and Bob Toomer
(Model Shop). Through Herbert’s
connection with Cinderford Tennis
Club, the use of two hard courts in
Dockham Road has been
negotiated together with social
club facilities. Contact Hubert on
ext. 604 for further details.
Henry the second, making the result
a matter of wild speculation. All eyes
were focussed on the ‘centre court’
as the decisive game was played in a
reverential hush, broken only by the
applause when Dennis was finally
acclaimed the winner.
By this time playing his eighth set of
the evening, Dennis partnered Rafe
Cherry against Andy and Bob Toomer
in the doubles final, the latter pair
scoring 21—15 and 21—17 to
emerge the winners.
The presentation of the cups and
replicas was carried out in admirable
style by Mrs Wenderlish. Her son,
Ted, who worked in Tool/
Consumable Stores before his death
last year, was a highly respected
player who competed in the Hereford
League, and the splendid cup
awarded to the men’s singles winner
was appropriately named after him.
All the silverware was provided by
the Sports & Social Club. To the
organisers, Andy Davis and Bob
Toomer, a tribute is also due for
making the evening such a successful
event in the Plant sports calendar.
More Sports B Social Club news on
page 10.
No Wool-gathering Among the Baa-Baa’s
Building 23 Barbarians, the latest and
possibly the best of the departmental rugby
teams (them’s fighting words!) started their
fixtures on March 9 by thrashing a Group XV
led by Keith Laken 16—8.
The game was played at Ross-on-Wye on a
muddy pitch which did not suit the
Barbarians’ fluid ball-handling style.
However, they soon established their
superiority with a try by flying winger Steve
‘Puff-puff Panting.
After some enterprising end-to-end play,
centre Steve Littlewood scythed through
Laken’s lax defence to increase the score to
8—0 in favour of the Baa-Baa’s.
It was at this point that Dick ‘Dastardly’
Laken, realising the oncoming defeat,
summoned his boys to desperate measures.
The Baa-Baa’s lost their accomplished
full-back J . P. R. Butterworth and flying
flanker ‘Fyffe’ (Robin) during this period,
and Group scrambled a try.
Group XV raised their game to contest the
often brutal forward exchanges more evenly
and ‘veteran’ prop Laken scored a somewhat
doubtful try. However, with scrum-half
Ken Ambury’s ‘intelligent’ distribution and
good running by Chris and Brian Hale,
centre Littlewood scored a further two tries
bringing the final score to 16—8 in the
Baa-Baa’s favour.
Group were spared further humiliation when
‘Hooker’ Hamlen had a TRY disallowed by
Group referee ‘Wintle’ — thanks, Derek !
The challenge has been issued to Big ‘E’s
Invitation XV and accepted (reluctantly?).
W i l l i e – J o h n .
PS Thanks to all who braved the elements
and a special word of thanks to Derek
Wintle who kindly stepped down and took
the whistle. A mention must be made, too,
of all staff in Ross Cottage Hospital.
MAe Stone, assigned to the Lilie Plant
some while ago. has been learning about
French customs — the hard way. Playing
with a local club on a saturated pitch in the
middle of a storm, he damaged his spine.
The French doc fitted him out with a
bullet-proof chest plaster and prescribed a
series of painful injections. Says Mike:
‘The pain seems double when you have to
pay cash after each injection, even though
reimbursement follows in a few months’ time.’
11
M
Tom Rawlings receives his retirement present — a useful cheque —
from Jack Venn, Electrical Sub-assembly Supervisor
SP®RTSaS&CIALCLUB
Billiards/Snooker Facility
The Building 6 extension, until
recently occupied by Training
Department, has been offered for
use by the Sports & Social Club.
It has been decided to use this
facility for billiards and snooker; a
few alterations have been made and
it is expected that two tables will
be available for use in early May.
Chess Finals in May
A chess evening has been arranged
for Thursday, May 8, in the table
tennis room of the Club House. This
is a general open meeting and it is
hoped that as many as possible will
attend. Starting time: 7.30 pm.
The finals of the Wickstead Shield will
be played on this occasion. Further
details will be appearing on all
noticeboards, says hon. sec. John
Johnson.
The Shooting Year
Jeff Lewis, vice-chairman of the
Shooting Club, has given the following
list of provisional dates for clay shoots
on Sundays throughout the remainder
of the year: May 18, June 15, July 13,
August 10, September 7, October 5,
November 2, November 30 and
December 28. All these shoots will be
held at Shapridge Farm, Abenhall,
until further notice.
Committee members would be very
grateful for any assistance from
participants both in getting the traps
into position, and general clearing-up
operations afterwards.
Slide Contest
As we went to press, the Amateur
Photographic Club were feeling
reasonably optimistic about the
results of the Rank Xerox v. Xerox
Photo Club slide contest.
John Knight of Ross Photographic
Club had judged 25 slides from
either side and had awarded us 132
against 119 for Xerox. By the middle
of this month the results of a similar
adjudication across the Atlantic will
probably be known and a final
decision made from the aggregate.
4000 Overture
The first tangible manifestation of a
Rank Xerox contribution to the London
Symphony Orchestra — a 4000
machine — recently made its entry
through a third floor window of the
LSO offices.
The 4000 machine will be used mainly
for the orchestra’s schedules including
advance programmes and special
tours.
The remainder of the RX contribution
is going towards the cost of a tour of
Eastern Europe; with famous
conductors Andr6 Pr6vin and Leonard
Bernstein, the LSO will give concerts in
Czechoslovakia, Hungary and
Rumania.
IZHER
The annual general meeting is to
take place on April 28, to be
followed by the annual dinner on
May 2. This will be held at the
Chase Hotel, Ross-on-Wye, as usual
and J. Maldwyn Thomas, Chairman
and Chief Executive of Rank Xerox
Ltd, has accepted an invitation.
Tom Rawlings retired at the end of
February, after 25 years with the
Company. He worked in the Paint
Shop in Bell & Howell days, but for
the last ten years or so he had been
working as shop labourer in
Electrical Sub-assembly, because of
an eye disability.
Said Jack Venn, Electrical Subassembly
Supervisor: ‘We couldn’t
have wished for a more obliging chap
in the department and we were sorry
to have been deprived of his services
in the months before his retirement
because of health reasons.’
Tom came along to say goodbye to
his friends in the Plant and he was
presented with a cheque which, as a
keen gardener, he plans to put
towards another greenhouse.
10
Michael and Helen Jones J. Ingram
• Who in the N/C Centre turned a
car-load of sandwiches into a roll?
• Who in Machine Shop received a
presentation to the tune of the William
Tell overture on St Valentine’s Day?
• Who got locked in with the computer at
night and had to radio for help?
Retirements
Best wishes to the following who retired in
March: Ronald Nunley (PED Standards),
Jack Orme (Model Shop) and Ronald Wells
(QC inspector, 4000 Dept.).
Weddings
Julie Bright (secretary to Manager,
Administration) to Kenneth Bittle at
St Stephen’s Church, Cinderford, on
March 1.
Helen Tuffley (Production Control) to
Michael Jones at St Michael & All Angels,
Mitcheldean, on Easter Monday.
B i r t hs
Deborah Louise, a daughter for David
Young (Autos, RX Cinderford), and his
wife, on January 30.
Lisa Dawn, a daughter for Daryl Stephens
(RX Cinderford) and his wife Susan, on
March 12.
21st Birthday
David Hawkins (Finance & Administration)
on March 1.
Below: After more than 11 years with us,
Ron Wells, QC inspector, 4000 Dept said
goodbye last month. Here Geoff Darke,
Manager, QC (Assembly), presents him with
a complete pipe-smoker’s outfit, plus a
cheque; on the right is QC foreman Qwen
Clark. The gift came with all the good
wishes of Ron’s colleagues on the 4000 floor.
J. Ingram
Tom Bennett retired at the end of February,
he came to us from Northern United
Colliery in March, 1966, and worked in
Teardown (Remodelling). Our picture
shows Supervisor Mac Powell presenting
him with a silver tankard and cash from his
workmates in token of their appreciation.
‘1
HOME MARKET
When sending in items please give your
extension number and/or department to ensure
inclusion.
For Sale
8 sheets of Gyproc plasterboard, 9 8 i In. x
47J in. (2438 mm x 1200 mm). £1 each.
Delahay, ext. 1211.
Morris Oxford 1971, taxed, excellent
condition, towing attachment, dual controls,
radials £600. Ext. 871 or Drybrook 542218.
Two modern wardrobes, one lady’s, one
gent’s, ext. 374.
Green/white coach-style pram, excellent
condition, bargain £5. Drybrook 542898.
Marley concertina internal doors complete
with fittings and pelmet to suit 6ft 6in x 5ft
opening, in good condition, £5. C. Phelps,
ext. 678 or Hereford 65176.
‘World of Sindy’ — brand new Sindy doll,
apartment and all accessories. Valued £50,
accept £30. Drybrook 542821.
Leeway tandem pushchair (2-seater), good
condition, £15. Drybrook 542765.
Coleford — spacious detached 2-bedroom
bungalow, individual design. Large picture
window in lounge, kitchen/diner, central
heating, coloured bathroom suite, separate
WC, large garage, garden planted with
lawns, shrubs, trees. £11,950. Coleford 3175.
1971 white Austin Maxi, very good
condition, £750. D. Isles, RXC, ext. 19-16
or Whitecroft 562593.
Lydney — semi-detached house with
integral garage and full gas central heating,
off Primrose Hill with view of Severn
Bridge, 3 bedrooms, bathroom, lounge/
diner, fitted kitchen, all fully decorated,
£9,750 or offers. Mrs. J . Strickland,
Switchroom, ext. 898.
Volkswagen Variant, May 1971, 35,500
miles, four new tyres, in good condition,
£875 o.n.o. Bruce Hubbard, ext. 293.
Qualcast motor mower, 14ln. cut, £15.
G. T. Beavan, ext. 1108.
Ford Cortina Mkll tow bar and spring
assisters, £12 the lot. Ted Sherwin, ext. 834.
Touring caravan, Nene Valley ‘Dove’, 10ft,
4-berth, full length awning, £200.
P. J . Jordan, ext. 851.
1966 Vauxhall Viva SL90, one owner, low
mileage, very good condition, taxed June,
MOT March 1976, 35 mpg, £145 o.n.o.
Gordon Tippins, ext. 846.
Britax ‘Star Rider’ safety seat (black)
as new, complete with fitting kit for any
car or estate, £8. K. Rea, ext. 911.
Tow bar and ball hitch for Vauxhall 101,
£4. Longhope 350.
Wanted
Field or fields to rent for horse, in
Mitcheldean area. Alison Hobbs, ext. 413.
1964 Vauxhall Victor—VX 490 workshop
manual. D. J . Lewis, ext. 532.
Child’s high chair in good condition (not
the ‘7 in one’ type). Drybrook 542898.
10 cwt coal bunker. Mrs Edwards, ext. 719
or Coleford 3649.
Garden shed 8ft x 6ft or thereabouts; also
large dog kennel. J . Outhwalte, ext. 225
or Drybrook 542500.
11
“Cockney”
Cameraman
Dennis Clarke (They call me Cockney
but I come from Hammersmith’) used
to work at Wembley Stadium. He
came to Mitcheldean to visit his
wife’s parents in 1958 and by the
time the visit was over he had signed
on at the Plant.
He worked in Heat Treatment, then
Service Dept. When Bell & Howell
operations moved to London in
umpteen lorries in 1963, Dennis
went too. ‘We imported the
Mamiya range of cameras and
provided servicing; I remember
Peter Sellers was a customer.’
After six months he returned to
Mitcheldean to work in our
Assembly Departments; at present he
is temporary chargehand in
Remodelling, but he still remains
camera-minded.
Dennis has built up a collection of
23 models dating from around the
1850’s and including one of the first
wooden Kodak box cameras which
takes oval pictures.
‘I picked them all up around here,
advertising in VISION and so on.
Some have spirit levels to help avoid
a crooked picture. One is an
autographic type, which means you
can write details, such as aperture,
etc, of each shot with a special
pencil through a window in the
back of the camera. These notes
appear on the edge of the negative
when the film is developed.
‘I’ve also got several ‘pocket
cameras’, made to fit into the very
large pockets people sported in the
1920’s. These old cameras were
beautifully made with fine quality
brass fittings, and they’re all
operative today.
‘Of course, it’s the lens that matters,
not the appearance. I believe the
finest are the German Tessar range
of lens — they’re even better than the
Japanese ones.’
Although he does take movies,
Dennis is basically a ‘still’ man. He
likes taking portraits best and he
appreciates the sharp detail which
the Tessar lens achieves. He uses a
Microcord camera, similar to a
Rolleicord. ‘I’ve used it for 20 years
and I wouldn’t part with it.
‘Incidentally, a friend of mine flies
model aircraft and I’m trying to get
him to fit a camera to a ‘plane to
take aerial photographs.’
Dennis lives in Mitcheldean with his
family; his married daughter,
Marilyn Dunkley, works in
Production Control; his two sons.
Dennis Clarke with his daughter, Marilyn,
and some of the items from his collection.
The camera he’s holding is an old
‘pocket’ type complete with spirit level —
and the bubble’s still there I
one in the Army, one at Abenhall
School, are rising trampolinists I
Over the years the Clarkes have won
quite a few prizes with their original
floats in Mitcheldean carnivals. But
Dennis is more likely to go down in
local history as the man who gave
Mitcheldean its first betting shop — by
letting the premises for the purpose.
‘But I’m not a betting man myself,’
says Dennis, ‘even though I did
once help train racehorses.’
Ted the Modelmaker
‘Mine is a one-off kind of operation,’
said Ted Pelham of Tool Control
(PED).
We discovered him in his workshop
down in the old Brewery building.
Here he works alone making
models — in wood, fibreglass or
epoxy resin — of castings for
prototypes, or piece part models, or
holding fixtures and ‘nests’.
A major part of his job is working
on cableforms; following Tool
Design drawings, he makes the
prototype boards, fitting on the pins,
clips and holders which hold in
place the wires and end fittings. He
also repairs production boards.
With the exception of a few months,
Ted has been with the Company
since October 1939. (‘I always
remember the date I joined because
that’s when my income tax demand
arrived!’)
A Londoner living at Putney, he
joined British Acoustic Films, as we
were then known, based at Woodger
Road, Shepherds Bush. BAF were
engaged on war work and Ted was
located at Lime Grove Studios
making full-scale dummy aircraft
for use as decoys — the biggest
models he’s ever attempted I
12
After service in the Navy he rejoined
the Company and, on moving to
Mitcheldean, took charge of the
Case Shop where wooden cases
were made for our cine projectors.
He left for health reasons and after
four months returned to take up a
less demanding job making ‘nests’
Ted Pelham working on a cableform.
to hold cine cameras in the course
of manufacture. From this beginning
his present job developed along with
our present range of machines.
One of his latest commissions has
been a fibreglass cover for the sidekick
on a new model to be launched this
year.
Ted suffers from arthritis, which has
seriously interfered with his game of
bowls. Of his recent hip operation
Ted says: ‘It’s marvellous— I can’t
wait to get the other leg done now.’
He’s itching to get back in the team
at the Ross-on-Wye club with
Pat Jordan, Terry Wear, Jack
Footitt and other bowling types.
ANY NEWS FOR VISION?
If you have, then please —
let your departmental correspondent know,
or leave It at any Gate House for
collection by me,
or post it to me at Tree Tops, Plump Hill,
Mitcheldean,
or ring me —It’s Drybrook 542415.
Myrtle Fowler, Editor
Printed in England by Taylor Young (Printers) Ltd.
