Gary was a Modern Apprentice based at a small engineering company working within the installation and maintenance section, when he was asked by his employer to look at improving the company’s spray weld powder coating rig, a crucial piece of equipment. The rig was previously prone to breaking down and its movement was erratic, leading to increased costs, due to downtime and repairs.
Gary designed and built a new control panel for the spray rig, which improve the machine’s efficiency by enabling operators to make quicker, more accurate adjustments for different jobs, giving faster set-up and turnaround times, which in turn increased productivity. Gary’s improvements also reduced materials and manufacturing costs per job and increased the safety features of the equipment. Altogether, his improvements resulted in a saving of around £10,000 a year for the company.
Gary received recognition for his efforts and was awarded a “Highly Commended” certificate by the judges during the National Training and Modern Apprenticeship Awards where he received his accolade at an auspicious event held at the Branwyn Hall in Swansea.
Gary has now completed his modern apprenticeship programme and has enrolled this year on an HNC engineering course at the College.