THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF RANK XEROX MITCHELDEAN
FIRST AID
Signs of Safety at Work
There are plenty of them in evidence — and we don’t mean just the display signs in the Carpentry Shop (pictured above) on which Mike Weaver and Harold Bullock (centre) are working.
Or the information boards which Harold Potter is seen completing and which are being set up across the site to advise people about the structure and activities of our Safety Organisation.
Works Engineering & Facilities as a whole have a big part to play in the safety scene. They have to ensure
that tools, plant and equipment are maintained in safe working order (requisitions that are rubber-stamped ‘Safety’ jump to the head of the queue). They have to ensure that not only their own staff but also contractors on site work in a safe manner.
So, in addition to the sessions for safety representatives (see pages 2 and 3), the department is running an in-house programme of training to keep their staff fully alert to possible hazards.
Emphasis is laid on the importance of ‘Safe to Work’ systems — such as the ‘Permit to Work’, which lays down the correct procedure for carrying out a job and certifies that all hazards have been eliminated as far as is practicable; and the ‘locking-off system, which makes sure nobody can turn the power back on until the key-holder has removed the padlock.
Says safety sub-committee chairman Tony Newman: “Our record at Mitcheidean has been good in the past — we aim to make it even better in the future.”
15 STTE? “There has been a steady decline overall in accidents on site over the past six months.” Announcing this news at the first annual safety meeting held last May, John Spratley, secretary of our Safety Organisation main committee, said that he believed the change in the Organisation had played a major part in this reduction. This ‘change’, reported earlier in VISION, resulted in some 100 safety representatives, nominated by the Trade Unions, being asked to serve on 14 sub-committees covering Mitcheidean, Cinderford, Lydney and outside storage areas. Their responsibility? To advise their fellow employees on safety and act as a link between them and the senior managers responsible. At the time of the May meeting, the number of accidents was dropping at a rate of three per month. “If we continue at this rate, by the end of our safety year (October 31) our total number of accidents for 1978 will be around 120 — a drop of 38 or less from the 1977 total,” said our Safety secretary. The most dramatic decrease in accident rate was achieved by subcommittee no. 7 (Machine Shop Bid 36) where they sustained only four accidents of all types in the previous six months under review — a remarkable achievement in what could be regarded as a high risk area. Chairing the meeting was Director Ron Morfee who said that the Company did not believe that the demands of production should be allowed to prejudice the safety of Rank Xerox personnel or indeed of anyone visiting the site for any reason. As a high priority, therefore, our plant, premises, equipment and systems of operation had always been designed, operated and maintained with these thoughts very much in mind.
Involved with industrial safety for many years. Bill Simpson (far right), chairman of the Health B Safety Commission, was an honoured guest at the recent annual safety meeting. Seen chatting with him are (from left) Stan Davies, Brian Vaughan and Joe Burke, all members of our Safety Organisation. m W $ORE efE’>#
If he hadn’t been wearing his spectacles, machine operative Gareth Clowes (centre) might have lost the sight of one eye recently. He was toying with an etching gun while it was still connected to the compressed air supply when the pin shot out like a bullet, shattering the glass of his spectacles. Here he shows Machine Shop safety reps Colin Lewis and Ray Christopher how it happened, with the hope that others will learn from his experience.
So far, he said, a ‘very participative style of working’ had been engendered and we were in a good position for when the Safety Representatives and Committee regulations, part of the Health & Safety at Work Act, actually became law in October this year. Tours of Inspection A big step forward had been made with the recently introduced workplace audit — a regular tour of inspection by safety representatives looking for possible causes of accidents, not only things like faulty guards on machinery, inadequate protective gear, etc., but also the everyday hazards with which we are all too familiar, such as trailing extension leads, blocked gangways, or cars parked inconveniently, even dangerously. How to carry out such audits effectively was the subject of one of the sessions in the initial training programme for safety representatives which commenced at the beginning of this year and continues right up to the autumn.
Geared to specific areas — office, assembly and manufacturing — these have covered, to date: an introduction to safety legislation and the Company’s safety policy; procedures for reporting accidents; safety legislation as a means of accident prevention; electrical and chemical hazards; and design and layout from the safety angle (we’ve featured the latter separately here and we’ll be featuring others in coming issues). There has also been some general training for employees on eye protection. We Lead the Field The Health & Safety at Work Act and all the numerous earlier acts which come under its ‘umbrella’ and are relevant to our operations add up to a hefty slug of legal language. Peter Kirby, a lecturer from Gloucester College of Technology who has been spelling out the law in everyday language at the training sessions, says we at Mitcheidean are leading the field in this part of the country as regards safety training.
2
~ Office!
That was the
invitation extended
to safety representatives
attending a recent
training session
Under the professional eye of John Williams (Facilities Engineering) some safety reps ‘have a go’ at office layout— (/ to r) Ken Williams, Richard Carter, Bob Helm. Roy Webb and Joan Findlay, Said Joan afterwards: “I never realised there was so much to consider.’
It was what we’ve all said we wanted at some time or another — an opportunity to show the planners how we’d do the planning. John Williams, who heads up Facilities Engineering, had been explaining to the safety representatives how his department went about the job of designing an office. Then he invited them to ‘have a go’ themselves. Each group was supplied with basic plans, details about the number and grades of personnel to be accommodated, and cut-outs representing partitioning and screens, furniture and equipment. The ‘planners’ had a lot to consider — like the work flow between sections, the cost of aluminium partitioning, and, above all, the safety aspect. Were all enclosed areas covered adequately by rate-of-rise heat detectors ? Were the ‘break glass’ fire alarm points and fire-fighting equipment easily accessible ? “We’ve got to keep those gangways straight — they mustn’t snake all over the place.”
“I know we must make sure everyone can hear the fire alarm bells but if we put that man there the bell will burst his eardrums when it goes off I” “We can’t put that desk there because of the telephone point — she’ll be tripping over the lead to get to the filing cabinet.” Every group came up with a different layout, none of them identical with the master plan which John Williams revealed afterwards. “You don’t like it ? That’s our problem every time 1”
Safety Reps’ OK Needed On this occasion negotiation wasn’t necessary — it was purely an exercise designed to accustom safety representatives to an important part of their responsibilities. Whenever an area is being designed or redesigned, the layout must now have the approval of the relevant safety sub-committee as well as that of our Chief Fire Officer and the local Fire Authorities. Once approved, that layout should not be altered in any way without consulting Facilities Engineering. A
hazard can be created just by moving a desk a few feet out of its planned position. In subsequent sessions, safety representatives from assembly and manufacturing areas did similar exercises. Geoff Harrison of Facilities Engineering (himself chairman of Bid 23 safety subcommittee) presented them with basic floor layouts to which they were asked to add main exit gangways, safety rails, fume extractors, eyewash stations and other equipment to protect the operators. “Their questions showed clearly that our safety reps are really involved,” he told us. And the safety reps ? All those we spoke to said they had found these, and the other training sessions, helpful, informative — and interesting. The whole programme will be an on-going thing, so newly appointed reps or those who missed out on some of the sessions will get a chance to attend later on.
continued from facing page
But, as Mr Morfee pointed out at the recent meeting, “We will never get to the stage where we can say: ‘We’ve done everything we can so we can forget it all for a time.’ ” Continuing vigilance is needed — not just on the part of safety representatives but on the part of everyone, employer and employed. It’s a sobering thought that we are each and all accountable under the new legislation. So if you see something which you think is a hazard, tell your supervisor or safety rep. Your action could save a colleague from serious injury.
Lecturer Peter Kirby from Gloucester Technical College, who has been spelling out the letter of the law at training sessions. Here he talks to Safety Manager Jack Timms and (centre) John Spratley, Secretary of our main Safety Committee.
I
7,
Above: (left to right) Bob Luff man, Dave Mi/es, John Mou/d, Flay Reed, Bob Rogers, lanto Stephens, Left: Another member to have notched up 25 years’ service — Brian Mould (brother of John), seen receiving his award from Personnel Director Lionel Lyes.
Photos: J. Ingram
LETTER
Happy Anniversary Dinner “Where’s the champagne?” asked Margery Osborne. After all, the LSA annual dinner held on May 5 at the Chase Hotel, Ross-on-Wye, was a rather special one —the 25th. But the 25-year awards available were for individuals only and Personnel Director Lionel Lyes went along to make the presentations to the following : Bob Luffman (Model Shop), Dave Miles (New Products PC), two brothers Brian (Assembly Operations) and John Mould (RX Cinderford), Ray Reed (Works Engineering), Bob Rogers (RX Cinderford) and lanto Stephens (Quality Assurance). Geoff Howell was unable to collect his 25-year award, being on secondment in the USA. At these annual dinners the talk is inevitably of the past; Mr Lyes, however, took the opportunity, in proposing the toast to the LSA, to talk of the present and look to the future. The economy of the European countries was taking a long time to pick up, he said, but there were encouraging signs that more and more people were beginning to recognise this country’s economic ills and were anxious to do something about it. There was plenty of demand for our machines, and a lot of good living to be got from the copier market still; but to compete with other companies we had to get our costs down and our goods out on time. We were, he said, moving into an era when we would see entirely new office systems. “We are going to have to change skills, be flexible and work hard to develop alternative business.” “We rely largely on you people who have served for a good many years to create, by positive thinking, positive attitudes, the right climate that will help assure us of a good future at Mitcheidean.” On a lighter note. Administration Manager Jack Woods proposed the toast to the guests who included Group LSA and 25-Year Club secretary Vi Holder and other representatives from Rank Audio Visual, Brentford; Rank Xerox, Welwyn Garden City; Rank Optics, Leeds; and Rank Radio International, Chiswick and Plymouth. In his reply on their behalf. Personnel Manager Ron Barnett paid tribute to the organisers of the event Two of the organisers — assistant secretary Mary Meek (far left) and (centre) secretary Valerie Cleal with Jean Marshall, a winner in the menu card number draw. “who do these things so very professionally.” inflation Again! The main draw prize, upped from £20 to £25 this year (not because it was the 25th dinner but on account of the shrinking pound), went to Cyril Beard, for once not busy behind the bar! There were many other prizes handed out, and then Richard Holland, switching his engineering ‘hat’ for his entertaining one, brought on his group, the Sundown Showband, for dancing. ANY NEWS FOR VISION If you have, then please — mail it to me c/o Public Relations, Bid 23/1, or leave it at any Gate House for collection by me, or post it to me at Tree Tops, Plump Hill, Mitcheidean, or ring me — ext. 566 or Drybrook 542415. Myrtle Fowler, Editor
4
WINDY WESTON
Their RedLett^I^
Although the LSA committee took the retired members to Burn(h)’em last year, the attempt could not have been very successful for there were still two coachloads for this year’s outing. Seriously though, we all had a very pleasant day even though the weather was not of the kindest. Having been seen off by Henry Phillips from Mitcheidean, we went direct to windy Weston-super-Mare where packed lunches (excellent as usual) were issued and members dispersed to find their own choice of ‘dining-room’. Resisting the temptations of donkey rides, whelks and mussels for sale, or a few miles’ walk to the sea edge, we strolled around the town, occasionally meeting each other and having a natter about old times and mutual friends until it was 5pm and time for tea at the ‘Melrose’. Our return journey was broken at Newport Towers for liquid refreshment; there was a cowshed near the entrance but we weren’t looking for milk. We could have been pushed for room on leaving the Towers if Ernie or Chris had had their way, although I couldn’t decide if they were trying to buy a cow for the freezer — or one of the cowhand-maidens ! Altogether an enjoyable day and all our thanks go to the organisers, stewards and LSA members for making it possible. Bill Carpenter
Four Diamond Award This August Henry Phillips, chairman of the LSA, gets a very special Rank Xerox award — for 40 years’ service. Henry, who is Manager, Fabrication QC, also has the distinction of being the longest serving employee on site. Happy Retirement, Vince! Our best wishes go to Vince Baxter of Finance Department who opted for early retirement at the end of July after nearly 20 years with us. Vince spent most of his earlier years at Mitcheidean working in the Import area, finally switching to Finance in 1967. He was then made Bought Ledger Supervisor — a post he held until his appointment as Accountant, Inter-Company/Foreign Suppliers, about two years ago. Vince’s plans for retirement include oil painting, indulging his love of music (he plans to take an Open University music appreciation course) and taking a greater part in church activities in his home town of Painswick.
Above: Exchanging news at the reception. Right: Harry Andrews snapped some of our pensioners on a trip to fl/lorocco during their holiday in Spain last spring. Now Bill Jones is working on a group holiday in Malta for 1979.
“Pensioners look forward to this day more than any other”, said Doris Coulson (better known to Mitcheidean people as Doris Barker, former secretary of the LSA) as she thanked the management for “wining and dining us right royally” at the seventh Pensioners’ Luncheon and Reunion. Held in the Social Centre on Saturday, May 13, it was, as always, a very happy get-together for those who used to work here and for their long-serving former colleagues who acted as hosts — an opportunity to chat, dance or consult Pensions people from London personally about any problems. ‘Democracy’ was the theme of the address given, in Director Ron Morfee’s unavoidable absence, by Personnel Manager Ron Barnett at the luncheon. Change, he pointed out, was an inevitable part of the growth of the democratic process, presenting problems which “we have all got to learn how to handle”. At RX Mitcheidean we tried, he said, to push the democratic process to the role of participation, and he quoted, as an example, the economic education programme which was helping employees to understand what running a business like Rank Xerox is all about. The Company was facing up to competition in the marketplace by altering its pricing scheme and marketing strategies, but much of the future prosperity of Rank Xerox depended on “the efficiency of Mitcheidean in producing machines at as low a cost as we can.” Welcoming newcomers to the ranks of the retired, he mentioned that Rank Xerox Ltd now employed over
35,000 people and the number was still growing. Some 340 social, educational, medical and cultural causes had been supported in 1977 through donations and our Social Services Leave Scheme (see story on page 7). In return, our pensioners told us, individually, how they were coping with retirement — interesting snippets of information including the discovery that Ken Bunn is a convincing palm reader and that Ron Wrigglesworth goes treasure hunting with his metal detector I Ron collected a good deal of silverware in the 1940’s and ’50’s as a long-distance runner when the Sports Et Social Club held an annual sports day at Mitcheidean (Henry Phillips, a former club chairman and runner himself, has shown us the programmes he has kept). One of the faces sadly missed this year was that of Annie Knapgate; Ray Camp, also a former chairman of the Sports & Social Club and of the LSA, recalls that Annie was a hard worker for both. “If financial support was needed for either, Annie was always first in the field to help raise the cash”, he told us. In those days the club was “almost broke”, and members were glad to have the use of the old Mitcheidean Town Hall which then belonged to the Company for their meetings. “We decorated the place ourselves and Dudley Newstead, our ‘boss’, gave us what was almost the first TV set in the village,” said Ray. The club kindly decided to let the local children have a chance to gaze at the magic box and Annie Knapgate used to sell tickets at a few pence each and supervise the viewing sessions.
5
All set for the finals — the RX ladies’ team (I to r) Sue Corbin, Daphne Derbyshire and Christine (Champion) Charmley. Daphne took over from Sue Walker when the latter had to withdraw because of injury.
Want a good tip for the women’s individual championship in the Computastars final next September? Keep it quiet, but we’re backing Christine Charmley, a programmer in our Information Services Department at Mitcheidean, having heard about her star performance in the recent South West regional heat of the event. How’s our welly throwing ? Are we as good at press-ups as we are at print-outs? Thoughts such as these must have raced through the minds of our IS people when they read about Computastars — a nation-wide competition to test the all-round athletic and sporting skills of computer personnel, launched by John Goldsmith (Computer Services) Ltd in conjunction with Computer Weekly. To find out just how they measured up to others in the DP fraternity, our people sent three teams — two fiveman teams and one female team of three, with reserves — to the regional heat at Bristol on Saturday, May 21. No one knew beforehand which of the 18 or so events (athletics, gymnastics, football, games of skill and novelty) they would be called upon to take part in, so training was a bit of a problem. All members of each team had to compete in ten events, five in each of two rounds, ranging from sprinting and football penalties to shot putting and frisbee throwing. Led by Gwyn Richards, our team ‘A’ got through to the Bristol final which took the form of a 400 metres steeplechase in which they came sixth. Gwyn, as the seeded competitor, also had to compete in an 800 metres steeplechase at the
end of a gruelling day and did well to come third overall. The ladies had to do ten similar events (but hockey instead of football, etc.), and with Christine Charmley as their No. 1 coming 13 points ahead of her nearest rival from Burmah Oil to win the ladies’ individual Computastar title, our team go forward to the national finals in London in the autumn. Also through to the national finals are Rank Organisation (Plymouth) against whom our own ‘B’ team found themselves competing in the men’s team event.
Search for a Superstar Inspired by the above, programmer Dave Morgan, one of the RX contestants, set about running an IS ‘Superstar’ event at Mitcheidean with the aim of ‘enhancing harmonious working relationships’ (or the opposite I) within the department. The search for the Superstar is distinctly male-oriented. With activities like sprinting, football penalties, chess, skittles, darts, pool and putting, he will have to have a good aim, superior mental ability, strong legs (preferably hollow), and a powerful drinking arm. We’ll be reserving a special slot for this wonder man in a later issue.
We batted a couple of eyelids on first glancing at the list of teams entered for the Rank Xerox Cricket Knock-out this season. The MCC ? Captained by Laurie Walker? A closer look revealed them to be not Marylebone but Materials Cricket Club. At the time of writing we hadn’t heard the results of the matches between this team and the others — PPP (Purchase & Production Planning), Finance Cricket Squad, Information Systems MIS-Hits, the SC Cavaliers (International Supply Centre), Industrial Engineering Dept (lED & Burpees) and the — er — Cock-Ups (Data Processing Services), but more news later. This ‘cricket spectacular’ is being organised by Doug Wightman, one of Information Systems’ Computastars contestants — yet another instance of this department’s sporting enterprise.
Emerging from the steeplechase bath (far right) the RX Computa.
Captain Steven Powell holds aloft the Peter Bi (from left) team members Paul Mason, Paul Bei reserve Gary Hopkins (front) and Wayne Rudd) won the inaugural
The fact that they won five out of the five games they played might suggest that the Rank Xerox team found the annual Under-20 Apprentice Seven-a-Side Rugby Tournament a walkover. In fact, the boot was on the other foot — they had a pretty tough fight on their hands before they could bring the Peter Butler Boot trophy back to Mitcheidean. Sixteen teams in all took part in the inter-company contest held on May 21 at the Gordon League Ground in Gloucester. Our apprentices scored 32-0 against Simon-Barron, 16-0 versus the Training Centre, and lost just four
; F/nlay Gemmell, watched by other members of ir men’s ‘A’ team
rr Boot trophy. Enjoying a well-earned rest are ey, Martin Jones, Wayne Davies, Graham Read, .ike Steven, Paul Mason was in the team which urnament in 1976. wmmi points while playing Gloucester Foundry to win 20-4. In the semi-final they scored 24-0 against Police Cadets and in the final, played against Williams & James, they won 18-0, their total points score being a splendid 110 for, 4 against. All this despite the fact that, with temperatures in the seventies, it was not exactly rugger weather. Many of our lads had examinations the following day and in between playing they cooled off by doing a spot of revision! Team captain Steven Powell, who plays for Berry Hill RFC, would like to thank the club for kindly lending our team the necessary gear.
Not Superstars, nor whizzkids on wheels, but the best British touring cyclists converge on Suffolk next September for the final event in the annual British Cycle Tourist Competition. Competing in this event, for the third time, will be design engineer Derek Shuttleworth and his wife Valerie. Derek, who comes to work on a pushbike in all weathers, cycled some 80 miles in organising the 35-mile course for the South Wales regional heat this year, a task in which he had Valerie’s assistance. So they took part instead in the Bristol heat, along with Vernon Dancey of Mfg Engineering (Electronics). Derek came in first and his wife also qualified for the final. Another regional heat winner was design engineer Stuart Edinborough so he too will be off to Suffolk in September for the two-day final. Vernon Brookes of Field Engineering, making a come-back to cycling after 12 years ‘off the saddle’, came off again when he broke a crank (part of the machine, not another competitor I). This was rotten luck for Vernon who had worked hard to get back on form again. For the benefit of those, like your editor, who know precious little about cycle touring, Derek explained that the event is not actually a race; the competitor is judged on performance in map reading, cycle control, knowledge of Highway Code, and answers to questions about landmarks, natural history, etc. All good stuff for keeping the mind in trim as well as the muscles.
TOP PERFORMERS Management won the toss and the day when, after a bit of a lapse, their annual cricket confrontation with the Apprentices took place on July 13. There’ll be an account in the next issue but we can report here that Management achieved a massive 192 for 7 in the allotted 25 overs, against the Apprentices’ 90 all out. Al Hagen kindly presented the trophy to Frank Edwards, captain of the Management side. Captaining the Apprentices was Paul Bedney, who had somewhat less success with a round ball than with an oval one ! (See story left).
Ian gets the Forest on Rim
Venturing down a freemine, lying in special hides to photograph bird life, meeting notable Forest personalities— life is currently proving very different for Ian Thomas from what it was in the first half of 1978.
An expediter in Commodity Operations, Ian has been granted six months’ Social Service Leave as from July 1 to undertake an unusual project: the preparation of a book throwing into focus the rich pattern of life in the Forest of Dean in the 1970’s — something to interest Forester and stranger alike.
Some time back Ian felt that there was a need for a book of this kind to fill the gap between the histories and the tourist guides, and he plans to portray the Forest, its inhabitants and its activities in mainly photojournalistic style, which means his Pentax camera outfit is going to be working overtime.
A keen photographer, he has won various competitions and is a member of the Forest of Dean Camera Club as well as being a member of our own Amateur Photographic Club.
He is particularly interested in the conservation aspect and has had the co-operation of the RSPB warden at Parkend in taking many of the bird pictures he already has ‘in the can’.
“If I hadn’t been successful in obtaining Social Service Leave, I was going to pursue this project in my spare time, but it would have taken me about five times as long that way”, said Ian, who was born in the Forest and now lives at Yorkley with his wife and three children.
We’ll be reporting on his progress from time to time.
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Home wine-maker Nick Swan (Engineering) writes about equipment, the fermentation process, and making YOUBFffiST
Equipment will be built up as you get more involved, but to start with you only need a white plastic bucket with lid (coloured plastics can contain toxic substances and may be attacked by the natural acids of the wine causing spoilage); a large plastic spoon; a coarse and an extra fine straining bag; two demijohns (1 -gall, glass jars) fitted with corks and airlocks; a siphoning tube; and a funnel to fit the jars. The necessary ingredients will be yeast, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, citric acid, grape tannin and Campden tablets for sterilising. All these, and the equipment, can be purchased from most Boots branches or your local ‘home-brew shop’. Fermentation is the process by which wine is made. The alcohol which we seek in our wine is a by-product of yeast’s self-reproduction process. When yeast is put into a sugary solution it starts to reproduce vigorously. If left in an open container, the yeast absorbs oxygen and sugar to reproduce itself and produces very little alcohol. If after 3—4 days this yeast colony is transferred to a demijohn with an airlock fitted, the oxygen supply is cut off and the yeast stops multiplying and gets down to the business of converting the sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
Temperature is a critical factor for good fermentation; it must be around 70°F (21 °C) and fairly constant. A slow, quiet fermentation around 65°F — 70°F usually produces the better quality wines. Now to produce your wine. Take your basic ingredient, generally 3—41b fruit, 6—8 pints capacity leaves or 2 pints petals. These amounts are very general and can vary quite considerably for some ingredients, e.g. strong scented petals or weak flavoured fruits like apples. Place these ingredients in your bucket and add about 6 pints of cold water (fruits must be previously de-stoned and crushed); add to this 2 crushed Campden tablets for sterilising the fruits, etc., and 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme, stir well, cover well and leave for 24 hours in a warm place. Next day stir the ‘must’, as we now call it, adding the sugar, acids, tannins, yeast and yeast nutrients as instructed. The sugar must be completely dissolved. This is then left to enable the extraction of fruit juices and growth of the yeast colony. After three days in the bucket, the pulp must be removed by straining through your coarse, then fine, bags. We now start the secondary fermentation process. Pour this clean juice into your demijohn and fit the bung and water-filled air lock. At
this stage the demijohn must only be filled to within about 1 in. of the shoulder of the jar because for the first week or so the wine will be frothy on top due to the initial violent fermentation. When this has quietened right down, the jar is topped up with cold water to about 1 in. below the stopper. This is now left to ferment quietly for about three months, during which time it is very important to keep the airlock topped up with water to prevent oxidisation of the wine and bacterial infection. The above method is very general and may vary slightly from recipe to recipe according to the ingredients used. I’ve given you here a recipe to make a simple dry rose-type wine drinkable in about six months; I’ll be telling you what to do next in the following issue and also take a more detailed look at sterilising of equipment and stabilising of finished wines.
ROSE PETAL WINE
Fresh red perfumed petals 2 pints Sultanas, chopped 1 lb. Grape tannin J teasp. Citric acid 2 teasp. White sugar 2-2lb. Wine yeast, yeast nutrient and water to 1 gall.
/VIethod— Place petals in clean bucket with 2 crushed Campden tablets, add 4 pints cold water, cover and leave for 48 hrs. In second bucket place chopped sultanas, tannin, citric acid and sugar, add 4 pints boiling water, cover and leave for 48 hrs. Then strain contents of both buckets and bring the clean juices together. Add wine yeast and nutrient as instructed on packet, cover closely and leave in a warm place for a further 48 hrs. After this time, transfer to your demijohn, fit airlock, and leave in warm dark area until wine has finished fermenting and is cleared. Checking up on Progress
Brian Fisher (right), IVIachine Shop Service Chargehand, is one of those who took the NEBSS exam last June. His project was concerned with the shop control system and here he talks to Shop Control Analyst Ralph Grindle about the profile board which indicates the state of each job and machine in a particular cell.
This year has seen an exceptionally high number of Mitcheidean people sitting management/supervisory examinations (the results yet to come). Forty-seven, almost seven times as many as last year, have been taking the NEBSS (National Examinations Board in Supervisory Studies) course; commented Training Department: “We really took Cinderford College by surprise !” Possession of this certificate, plus the necessary experience, opens up a shorter route to the Diploma in Engineering Management (DEM) and ten of our people who qualify have taken the NEBSS/DEM Endorsement course — an innovation for Mitcheidean. Yet a further 17 have taken Institute of Works Managers courses.
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• ‘ ! II
The End of the Une Feelings were a mixture of pride and sadness when the last 660 machine to be produced at Mitcheidean came off the line on Wednesday, June 14. This great little machine, which has been counted ‘out’ five times but has always got back on its feet again, still holds its own against the competition. It made its first appearance in 1964 as the 813, the second Rank Xerox model to be made at Mitcheidean. Through the medium of closedcircuit television, Mitcheidean participated in the presentation to the press in London while they in turn were able to see BBC personality Raymond Baxter at Mitcheidean explaining the principle of xerography and showing how the 813 was produced.
Many of those involved with the initial drive came along to the final celebration in honour of the machine; there was Jeremy
Henwood of Mfg Group, the first 813 Production Manager; Ray Pyart of Design Engineering; Roy Powell, one of the team who did the pilot build, and Mike Bullock, who was on the pilot run; Graham Linley, Myrtle Rosser, Mary Acland and others associated for so long with 660 production. Paying tribute to the model. Works Manager Don Elliott said that hundreds of thousands of production machines had been made over the years and there were still many thousands in the market, including the EEO countries. A great many had been made at Mitcheidean; others had been made at Venray or refurbished by Lille with Mitcheidean support. Of the people who had produced it, Mr Elliott said they had shown a ‘hell of a good team spirit’. They themselves expressed their feelings in some verses penned by Ken Saville — here are the opening lines:
V 7
Top: Line-up for tfie last Mitcheidean 660, dressed for the occasion. Above: Works Manager Don Elliott presents flowers to Mary Acland, the only operator to have seen it through its whole ‘life’ at Mitcheidean. Mary, like the 660, was saying goodbye, having decided to take early retirement. SEXLESS 660 ‘Twas in September sixty-four That this little baby took the floor. And through the years it has perplexed For this was a youngster which had no sex !
Male or female none could tell; None could buy — they would not sell; But sex or not, with no seducer This was a marvellous reproducer!
Claiming their prize cakes are raffle winners Rita Burford and right Gerald Hoare. The guiding hand on the knife belongs to Mervyn Harper, the man who made Rita’s cake.
A Super Sel^Kdising Eflfort Medical Department’s latest fund-raising project on behalf of the Cheltenham Cobalt Unit has produced the splendid sum of £406 31. A jumble sale in May yielded nearly £214 of that amount, while a bumper raffle produced £114; sales of secondhand books and donations made up the rest. First two prizes in the raffle were the super cakes, pictured left, one made by our canteen baker Ron Meek, the other by Mervyn Harper of 9200 Assembly. As a professional confectioner artist, Mervyn told us, he used to work with Walls Ice Cream at Gloucester, where he once made a guitar in ice cream for the Beatles! His cake was claimed by Rita Burford (Supply Centre) who appreciated the rich wedding cake mixture steeped in brandy — it arrived just at the right time for her silver wedding. Gerald Hoare, also of 9200 Assembly, won the Canteen cake but generously gave it to Medical staff as a well-deserved reward for their efforts. They in turn extended grateful thanks to all who helped them achieve such excellent results.
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Showing his lacic of bias — Don IHolder pictured with (left) the winning Crusaders and (right) the runners-up. The Pros. ON A KNIFE EDGE!
Football Tournament Last year’s winners of the Interdepartmental Football Competition, the Ardrionians, made a determined attempt in the semifinal match with the Machine Shop Pros to secure the trophy a second time. The match turned into a marathon affair with some excellent football taking place. At the end of normal time the two teams were still level and extra time was necessary, but still both sides remained in deadlock. The match now had to be decided on penalties. With tension mounting, J. Spiers made two very decisive penalty saves to put the Pros into the final. The other semi-final, between PED Crusaders and Finance Follies, was decided in normal time; the Crusaders got into the swing of things very early and finished up comfortable winners at 4—0. The final of this competition was held at Harrow Hill on Saturday, May 20, amid glorious sunshine. Throughout it was played at a fantastic pace with the game swinging from end to end, and balancing on a knife edge. The Pros took the lead through N. Howell and within a few minutes Crusaders had equalised through T. Peates’ own goal. The Pros again went ahead through N. Howell to put them 2—1 up at half-time. At the restart D. Dukes put Crusaders level but, not to be outdone, the Pros battled back into a 3—2 lead. Then disaster overtook the Pros — a lack of concentration and the Crusaders were in the lead for the first time. This really upped the pace of the game and for a long period the Crusaders’ defence looked suspect, but the ball would just not go in. A score of 4—3 at the final whistle brought delight to the Crusaders and bitter disappointment for the Pros.
(Cheer up lads; Crusaders lost last year so on current form you should make it next year I) The committee would like to thank: the referees for doing such an excellent job; Don Holder, Section Manager, Electrical Sub-assembly, for presenting the awards; Mrs J. Boseley and Mrs R. Bowkett, our two hard-working ladies, who put on such an excellent spread ; and all the clubs who loaned us their facilities, especially Harrow Hill FC who went out of their way to ensure that this competition was a success. Terry Peates
The Teams
Crusaders: Philip Bowdler (capt.), Richard Cooke, Gordon Davis, Stephen Davis, Dennis Duke, Lloyd Gill, Peter Hughes, John Jeffs, Keith Marfell, Christopher Rawlings, John Sparkes, Tony Tovey, Derrick Trigg, Roger Trigg, Peter Walby.
The Pros: Roger Beckett, Stephen Boseley, Gareth Clowes, Alan Essex, John Hall, Norman Howells, Vince Hurn, Tommy Jenkins, Wayne Jones, Philip Morgan, Terry Peates (capt.), Jim Spiers, Kenneth Stephens, Melvyn Williams, Ian Winney.
Ref: Brian Norris. Linesmen: Reg Taylor, Mick Jones.
Cups and Courses
The second Golf Society outing of the 1978 season, held at Henbury GC on Friday May 19, was unanimously voted an unqualified success — probably the finest day out to date. The sun shone continuously from a cloudless sky, the course was challenging and in magnificent condition. Arthur Sollars proved to be the king of the day, winning the overall aggregate by a clear 8 shots from Frank Baker (140 against 148) —his reward being a tankard and a possible reduction in handicap. Scores were as follows: Morning Medal (18 holes) — 1 st Arthur Sollars (68 nett), 2nd Don
Meek (69 nett), equal 3rd Geoff Paton, Harold Gardiner (75 nett). Afternoon Medal (18 holes) — 1 st Denis Robins (70 nett — excellent golf considering his 3 handicap), equal 2nd Arthur Sollars, Frank Baker, Roy Powell (72 nett). Overall {36 holes) — 1 st Arthur Sollars (140 nett), 2nd Frank Baker (148 nett). Our thanks to the organisers Don Parkinson and Harold Gardiner, and especially to the Henbury Golf Club catering staff who provided such excellent food morning and evening. The beer was good too. Weather and venue (at beautiful Burford, Oxfordshire) proved perfect for the third outing on Monday, June 19, when 45 contestants, 15 teams of three players each, competed for the Inter-departmental Cup. Once again the Manufacturing Engineering Electronics team were the winners with a nett aggregate of 281. There was no doubt that the magnificent effort of Tony Knight (nett aggregate 135) ensured their success, with admirable support given by John Miles and Danny Haines. Runners-up were another Mfg Eng. team (Dave Robinson, Roy Taylor and John Sawyer) with nett aggregate of 285 while third place went to Reliability Eng. (Bob Howells, Vere Christopher and Rich Schofield) with 286. Individual prizes were as follows:
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The happy Hopefuls and (right) the runners-up, the Seven B Fours (notice the likeness between the two sister captains?).
Morning — 1 st nett Tony Knight (69); joint 2nd nett Dave Robinson, Roy Taylor, Keith Murray (70). Afternoon — 1 st nett Tony Knight (66); 2nd nett Vere Christopher (68); joint 3rd nett Harold Gardiner, Tony Osborne (69). At the halfway stage of the season, the Order of Merit is taking shape with Mike Newlove (44 points) and Graham Gardiner (40 points) having established a clear-cut lead from Tony Knight (34 points) in third place. As we went to press, the Summer Cup competition was due to be played at Cirencester (July 19). Roy Powell
Karate Upgrade
The Karate Club now has 13 brown belts among its members — that’s only one step (albeit a major one) away from black belt (instructor) status. Says secretary Brian John : “We graded the whole club in April and all novices taken in a year ago have been graded through from 7th to 4th Ku (orange belt), having jumped two belts. One girl and one man went one better and jumped three belts. We were all very delighted about this.” The section has been getting about a bit more these days and during the last six months has visited two other clubs — Southampton and Blackwood in Gwent — on training weekends. Next October the RX Karate members hold their own training weekend when the head of the Shotokai style of Karate will be giving them instruction. As you may have gathered from the posters around the site, new members would be welcomed. Meetings are held in the Ballroom on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9pm and you don’t need anything other than suitable loose-fitting clothes for initial training. Contact Brian on ext. 16, Cliff Bent (451) or Roger Kempster (454) if you’d like more details.
Happy Hopefuls ! A sisterly duel took place in the club house on June 24, the night of the ladies’ skittles tournament final. Captained by Daphne Cooper, Esme’s Hopefuls realised their hopes when they won 264 : 229 playing against last year’s runners-up, the Seven & Fours, whose captain was Daphne’s sister Joan Davies. There were two claimants to the title of highest individual scorer — Peggy Taylor (Pound Stretchers) and Maisie Davies (Live Wires), with 44 apiece. Club chairman Tony Haynes kindly presented the trophies. Stop Press: The final match in the men’s skittles tournament has been fixed for August 19. The darts final, between Lydney Sparks and Eddie Boys, is on August 12.
Training Pays Off “That’s what tug-of-war is about.” says Colin Williams. Training has been hard, twice a week, and up to three competitions, but at last it’s paying off. On Saturday, July 1, the Rank Xerox Tug-of-War Team, boosted by this year’s new members Tony Cole and Andrew Humber, reached two semi-finals in a 3A’s competition at Cwmbran.
The Men with The Mostest
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“Dedication is the answer,” says Dave Whitfield. “Andrew Humber and Brent Watkins, by far the keenest members, travel 35 miles for the training sessions — and Andrew hasn’t missed one all season.” Other successes include winning the Ross Challenge Cup along with 13 gallons of beer at this years’ Ross Gala; but, say all the members, “We’re not only here for the beer!”
‘Silent’ RXA’s RX Aeromodellers have been sampling May Hill, and two family outings took place there on June 11 and 18 in glorious sunshine, with some good demonstrations of soaring. The club’s glider (or ‘silent’ powered) section are adopting these slopes for their activities but, for power and general flying, efforts to date have failed to find a suitable site. The proposed visit by Herman Mijiing (RX Venray) and members of the Apollo ’68 Club (mentioned last issue) has been postponed until 1979. The club’s newsletter, renamed ‘Newsmag’, now includes kit reviews. Featured in the June/July issue was the Algebra 100 glider; editor/reviewer Martyn Holbrook test flew it from May Hill. His comment: “Algebrafantastic!”
At a presentation last May, four members of the Men’s Skittles Section — Bill Constable. Bay Watkins, Terry Brown and Alan Haines — received trophies for achieving highest averages over the past two seasons.
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We picture here farewells to three people whose retirements were announced in our last issue: Above left: Joe Griffiths of Production Stores receives a ‘Teasmade’ complete with bone china cups and saucers — and teabags ! Making the presentation jointly are Manager Andrew Bentley-Taylcr and Supervisor Gordon Davies. Above right: Tom Lardner (Manufacturing Production Control) is presented with a camera, lighter and cigarettes by Manager John Court on behalf of Tom’s colleagues on site. Left: Bert Crowder’s retirement was marked by the presentation of an inscribed silver tankard and a carriage clock, handed over by Manager John Smith on behalf of friends and colleagues. Bert, a founder member of Components Manufacturing section (Mfg Eng.), was joined earlier by present and former section colleagues at a hilarious skittle match. With help and coaching from regular skittle players, Bert emerged the astonished winner of a trophy especially made for the occasion.
Retirement Len Laken (RX Lydney) opted for early retirement at the end of May after 15 years with the Company, chiefly in the Reconditioning/Refurbishing sphere of activity. We wish him all the best for the future.
Engagements Harold Hale (Design Engineering) to Jane Davis (formerly Design Engineering) on May 30.
Helen Daunter (Despatch) to Adrian John (Goods Receiving) on July 1.
Service Awards
“I gave myself a fortnight when I came but I must have liked it to stay for 30 years,” reckons Phil Davis (Finishing) who joined the ‘three genuine diamond’ award holders in May this year. He recalls his first job was to clean straw out of some baths ready for the start-up of the manual plating section under Harold Hartley. Today, this section, partnering the automatic plating section in Bid 29, is engaged in most types of plating operation. Here in the midst of steaming sulphurous cauldrons and bubbling baths of what looks like hot chocolate and black ink, Phil, now leading hand, supervises processes such as electro-less nickel plating, chrome and zinc plating, anodising and oxidising, and other methods of finishing piece parts for
Phil Davis (second from left) with some of his colleagues — Arthur Moore (far left), Nigel Meek and Lil Roberts.
every machine we make, from drive shafts to tiny screws.
At home, away from these ‘witch’s brews’, Phil gets great pleasure out of tending his his garden, stocked with some 300 rose trees.
More Awards
In the past two months. Rank Xerox emblems for long service have also been awarded to the following :
25 Years June — Bob Rogers (RX Cinderford); Ju/K —John Mould (RX Cinderford); lanto Stephens (Quality Assurance).
20 Years July — Alan Cryer (Payment Operations).
Roger Byett (Mfg Eng. Finishing) and his bride Susan nee Everett (secretary to Manager Dave Sanderson) after their wedding at Woolaston Church on June 3.
Wedding Ross Stevenson (Cycle Counting) to Susan Baldwin at the Forest Church, Drybrook, on May 27. Birth Daniel Townsend, a son for Barry Torrance (Field Engineering) and his wife Sheila, on June 7.
Obituaries We regret to have to report the death of Leonard Miller (RX Cinderford) on July 3; aged 44, he joined us about eight years ago. News of the death of three pensioners has also recently reached us. On New Year’s Day, Rex Tarrant, former supervisor in SPAD, died at the age of 66, having taken early retirement in September 1975 after seven years’ service. Assembly inspector Harold Freeman, who took early retirement after nine years’ service, died on March 15, aged 55; he came to us in 1966 and was obliged to leave three years ago because of ill health. Eric Worsley who died on May 24 at the age of 73, came to Mitcheidean from London, starting as an inspector in Production Control in 1947. After a break in his service, he rejoined us in 1958 and from then until he retired in March 1970 he worked in various areas including Production Control, PED, Reconditioning, Stores and O & M.
We would like to express our sympathy to the families of all of them. 12 Printed in England by Taylor. Young (Printers) Ltd.
