Engineers Journal I Volume 60: Issue 10 I December 2006

Transcription

1 CPD helps ABB Dundalk establish profitable, stand-alone business The successful undertaking by ABB Ltd (Dundalk) of its international parent company s entire actuator business countered a global rationalisation plan with innovative local initiatives and led to its scooping of the overall Engineers Ireland Award This month The Engineers Journal profiles the winning project, the key role CPD played in ensuring its successful implementation and the multiple commercial, operational and technical benefits it has delivered. 623 EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:33

2 624 ABB Ltd (Dundalk) manufactures measurement, control and actuator systems, for use in the pulp and paper industry. In 2004, ABB took a strategic decision to develop the actuator side of the business. ABB Ltd (Dundalk) has two major product lines, measurement systems and actuator systems. Taking on the actuator business ABB is a world leader in measurement systems but the actuator systems side of the business was very small and un-profitable. ABB carried out product development, project delivery and manufacturing in 3 locations (USA, Canada and Ireland). ABB senior management decided to centralise the actuator business in Dundalk, achieve critical mass and try to grow it into a profitable stand-alone business. Today, ABB Ltd (Dundalk) is responsible for the full product life cycle (from market needs, product development, product release, manufacturing, product maintenance, end of life and obsolescence) and the full supply chain (from sales through delivery and acceptance) of the full suite of ABB actuator products. Reaching this point involved almost two years of a sustained team effort by everyone in ABB Ltd (Dundalk) on a project that started back in 2004 with the establishment of some core objectives. Core project objectives: The core objectives of the project were: 1. Centralise the actuator business in Dundalk. ABB Dundalk would become the Centre of Excellence for actuators within ABB. Prior to this project, the office in Ohio, USA was the centre of excellence for motorised actuators and the office in Vancouver, Canada was the centre of excellence for Steam and Air-Water actuator systems. (However, both of these offices were very small and were losing money) 2. Achieve critical mass. Build a team of actuator engineers in Dundalk who would be knowledgeable in all products in the actuator portfolio. 3. Grow the business into a profitable stand-alone business. Implementation of the project plan The project budget was established. A Steering Team / Leadership Team was established, consisting of senior managers in ABB Ltd (Dundalk). A Project Manager was appointed and a project team was set up. The project was split into distinct areas and an owner was assigned to each major area. A detailed project plan and schedule was developed for each of these areas: Facilities (Offices, Labs and capital equipment) HR hiring plan and opportunities for career advancement for internal candidates. Finance Knowledge Transfer from sister offices in USA and Canada and formal knowledge storage and management system (KnowledgeBank) Mentoring Program for new hires A project review meeting was held on a monthly basis. High priority decisions were identified and made. A phased approach was used for the project, for example hiring new engineering staff in Dundalk, relocation of 2 key engineers from Canadian office to Dundalk, downsizing of Canadian and US offices. The project involved a major recruitment campaign with the immediate addition of 5 new engineering staff from various engineering disciplines (physics, electronics, mechanical, and electrical engineering). It also provided an opportunity for career development and EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:35

3 Why ABB won The judges found that ABB s entry was outstanding under all three criteria (value of business benefit, linkage of business benefit to CPD practice and originality) and they were unanimous in their decision to award the 2006 Overall Award to ABB Ltd (Dundalk). ABB s entry really demonstrated the important role of CPD in both meeting the challenges faced by Irish engineers and technicians in a knowledge-based economy and in attracting employment to Ireland. The project brought new complex technology and new business disciplines along with the expansion of the engineering workforce in Dundalk and turned the actuator business into a profitable stand-alone business within two years. The judges were impressed with the highly motivated cross-functional team that developed a very detailed project plan hinging on a sophisticated knowledge transfer scheme. Over the course of the project ABB established a new global business activity that ensured the future of ABB in Dundalk in the face of international competition. Una Parsons, Industry Director Engineers Ireland, Chairperson of Judging Panel. 625 EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:40

4 The actuator project ensures the future of the local ABB organisation in the face of international competition. 626 advancement for existing ABB staff, for example an engineer moved to the marketing department. The vacancies left by this engineer also provided opportunities for other internal engineers and technicians. The project involved a structured approach to training, mentoring, knowledge transfer, knowledge storage and knowledge management. Newly hired engineers were sent on formal classroom training courses at the ABB Training facility in the USA where they received training on ABB products for the pulp and paper industry. They also attended in-company off-the-job training where existing domain experts gave training on their area of expertise. All engineers completed an e-learning course on the paper making process (organised by the TAPPI - The American Pulp & Paper Institute). ABB set up training field-trips where engineers were sent to our customer s paper mills in order to receive training on the paper making process and see it first hand. Existing experienced engineers and managers were assigned as mentors to the new hire engineers. Engineers were sent on a knowledge transfer program where they attended the ABB sister offices in USA and Canada for a number of months. ABB established a formal knowledge storage and management system in ABB Ltd (Dundalk) (known as KnowledgeBank). This is a database system where cases are entered into the database. Examples of cases are: - Description of a problem / symptom and its associated fix - Technical bulletins - Field Alert - Softcopy of manuals (documentation) with powerful search engine Outcomes and business benefits The project which was begun in 2004 and came to a close in summer 2006 represented a major expansion for ABB Ltd (Dundalk) with a budget of 1 million and as Tom Larney, European Business Manager, ABB Ltd outlines it has produced many deliverables : The Actuator Engineering Department was established and the Actuator R&D group Profit and loss trend: Actuators Business P&L Account 2004: Revenue Eur 4.3 m Loss Eur 454 K Actuators Business P&L Account 2005 : Revenue Eur 4.1 m Loss Eur 345 K Actuators Business P&L Account 2006: Revenue Eur 4.7 m (Year to Aug 2006) Profit Eur 60 K Projected forecast: Actuators Business P&L Account 2007: Revenue Eur 6.0 m (FORECAST) Profit Eur 300 K EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:42

5 Engineers have successfully transformed a small loss-making operation into a profitable stand-alone business. was also established. Five new engineering staff from various engineering disciplines (physics, electronics, mechanical, and electrical engineering) have already been hired and have completed their initial training programme and knowledge transfer. These engineers are now established in the Actuator Centre of Excellence (COE) in Dundalk and are actively working on actuator projects. The project also has the potential for another five engineers to be employed over the next 2 years. The new Actuator COE has already released some new actuator products and more development projects are underway. New capital equipment was purchased and an actuator lab was set up. New and complex technology has been developed in the area of steam actuators, fluid dynamics and control algorithms. New technical developments have been introduced in the areas of actuator development, physics, electronics, software, mechanical, and electrical engineering. The project has given the opportunity for training, motivation and career path development for existing employees, which has helped to address staff attrition. The actuator sales and marketing function was established in the Marketing Department in New business disciplines What an actuator does: ABB Ltd (Dundalk) manufactures Quality Control Systems, for use in the pulp and paper industry. There are 2 elements to these closed loop systems : The MEASUREMENT side which uses sensor equipment to measure the properties of the paper, for example the weight, the moisture content, the thickness etc. The CONTROL side which uses actuator equipment to control the properties of the paper, for example the weight of the paper can be controlled by using motorized actuators to adjust the amount of stock entering the paper making process, the moisture content of the paper can be controlled by using a water spray actuator to re-wet the paper, the thickness of the paper can be controlled by using an induction heater actuator to heat the paper machine rolls which expand and effectively squeeze the paper to achieve the desired thickness. 627 EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:45

6 An engineer s role on the actuator project A typical actuator project usually has a life of 3 to 6 months. The engineer will travel to the customers site for a project kick-off meeting and to agree the technical specification for the actuator system. This involves the engineer taking precise measurements of the customer existing plant and equipment and working out how the new ABB equipment will fit and how utilities such as air supply, water supply, steam supply, electrical supply will be routed to the new system. The engineer then returns to the ABB office and uses a CAD system to design the customisation necessary for this particular project. The CAD drawings are agreed with the customer and are released to manufacturing. When the system is shipped to site, the engineer travels to site to install and commission the new system. Accuray is vital at all steps along the way, so the engineer must ensure that the initial measurements and specifications are correct, the design drawings are correct and the system has been manufactured correctly, otherwise it won t fit! As ABB supplies systems globally from Dundalk, foreign travel is a big factor of the engineer s job. Most trips are for a few days duration. The engineers travel all over the world, Europe, Australia, Japan, China, India, USA, Canada and South America. 628 have been introduced in the areas of market research and product marketing along with the management of a global sales force. Significantly, according to Alan Binley, Marketing Manager, ABB Ltd.(Dundalk), the company has established this new business activity in Dundalk on a global basis. Most important of all, the actuator project ensures the future of the local ABB organisation in the face of international competition. Expected outcomes versus metric results ABB Ltd (Dundalk) is now responsible for the full product life cycle (from market needs, product development, product release, manufacturing, product maintenance, end of life and obsolescence) and the full supply chain (from sales through delivery and acceptance) of the full suite of ABB actuator products. The actuator business has now achieved critical mass in Dundalk in Tom Larney s view: ABB Ltd (Dundalk) has a team of actuator engineers in Dundalk who are knowledgeable in all products in the actuator portfolio. The human capital that ABB has built up in the actuator group in Dundalk will now drive the actuator business forward in the future. The actuator business has been turned from a small loss maker into a profitable stand alone business within 2 years. The actuator Profit & Loss account is on course to show a profit by the end of the financial year Strengthening CPD culture This project has demonstrated that by using CPD best practice, it is possible to turn a vision into reality, Tom Larney believes: Engineers have successfully transformed a small loss-making operation into a profitable stand-alone business. This is an engineering business and it s all about how engineers do their work. The seven criteria for CPD were used extensively in the planning and execution of this project. The continuing professional development of each engineer employed by ABB Ltd (Dundalk) was an essential ingredient to the establishment and success of this project. Tom Larney continues: The actuator project has helped strengthen the culture of continuous professional development in ABB with the immediate addition of 5 new engineering staff from various engineering disciplines. Indeed the ABB CPD policy and practices were put to the test by this project and the result was a resounding success. The timing was very fortunate in that ABB had the experience of making the CPD submission and receiving the accreditation just prior to this project being announced. CPD was very high on the organisation s agenda. The development of the actuator business has given the opportunity for training, motivation and career path development for existing employees, which has helped to address staff attrition. In addition, this project is viewed as a major vote of confidence in ABB Ltd (Dundalk) by the senior global management in ABB. Mr. Dinesh Paliwal, ABB Group Executive Vice President said that he viewed ABB Dundalk as a high value, high productivity and high knowledge operation. Incorporating the sales and marketing functions The global Sales and Marketing Manager and his support staff work out of the Dundalk office with support from the Irish Marketing Manager and his team. This is a huge benefit to the business as this link enables us to be close to the customers who are spread all over the world, Alan Binley states. feed them into our development roadmap. We are continuously conducting market surveys and customer testimonials that help us to adapt and respond to our customers changing needs, these coupled with our QCS Today publication allows us maintain a strong and close link with the customer. We also provide a lot of technical sales support to the salespeople out in the field. ABB appointed an engineer as the Actuator Sales Engineer as knowledge of the products and of the paper making process is a key skill set in this business. EI_Journal_December2006.indd /11/ :31:49