(Top Left: Paul Thomson, Sykes Group/Primax CEO, with SuperSkid. Top Right: Production Team with Extended SuperSkid. Bottom Right: MineSpec Lighting Towers. Bottom Left: Extended SuperSkid)
In July, the Sykes Group Western Australian production facility completed the final 12 of 24 MineSpec lighting towers for international customers, Schlumberger. With a one-piece-flow process, built using Lean Manufacturing principles, the team completed the machines on budget and on time. As the customer requested a staged delivery of 6 months for the project, it was vitally important that all machines were built to the same exacting standards – facilitated by standardising work into repeatable activities ensuring consistency across the whole order.
July also saw the first delivery of 2 ALLIGHT SuperSkid lighting towers to Vale, via the Sykes Group international Barloworld Power distribution network. Whilst these machines are a static build, the Lean principles of creating standard work were essential to the successful on time delivery of these machines. Production flexes the principles to the situation – the machines are big – too big to move easily, but they are made up of a number of assemblies that can be standardised and built off line. This has enabled work to be carried out in parallel, minimising our throughput time on the shop floor. These 2 are the first of a batch of 5 machines, to be built over July – September.
Sykes Group CEO Paul Thompson said: “Despite a depressed market globally for mining and resources capital equipment, the quality, reliability and short lead times for our mining specification lighting towers has resulted in another round of export orders to support Multi-national customers”.
