Summarise your role at Salamander in just one paragraph
I guide my team to help drive the company forward. This is done by setting targets and plans, in order to maximise new business development , and nurture – and support – existing customers. We are constantly looking at new ways of staying ahead of our competitors.
What’s your absolute favourite part of the job?
I most enjoy the variation that comes with working with such a broad client base across many sectors – it’s never a dull day!
Share an interesting fact about you that we might not know
I was one of a handful of people to fly on Concorde the day it came out of service.
Which one word would your Salamander colleagues use to describe you?
Confident.
And the word you think best describes Salamander?
Family.
Why do you personally think Salamander stands out from its competitors?
The level of service can be very personal – we always aim to ensure that our communication is clear, and often.
The phone rings and it’s your dream client… who would it be?
Amazon – they have their fingers in so many pies!
What’s the most personally satisfying moment in your Salamander career so far?
Seeing the business grow on many levels, and not just concerning our turnover. I’ve seen several exciting changes in the eight years I have been here, and it’s been great to see us both flourish – financially and professionally.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I’ll let you know when it happens – I always fancied being a train driver!
What is the biggest challenge facing the sheet metal manufacturing industry over the next 12 months?
Staying ahead of the game. We’re in quite a saturated industry and are based in a highly competitive location. The challenge is to make sure we look after people and keep looking at new ways in which to improve – whether that’s via investing in technology or putting systems in place to give us that all-important advantage.
Prototypes are used in many industries to provide confirmation (or not as the case may be) that a design is viable and will meet end user needs. They’re also built to answer questions around the design – for example, to ascertain whether the costs of the build outweigh the benefits or provide better visualisation if stakeholders are yet to be bought into the idea.
What is a prototype?
Between the design phase of a product and its market introduction, a prototype (or early model or sample) is built to help identify any gaps in its design and assess where extra work might be required. This working example helps manufacturers to improve and better the product after receiving valuable feedback from clients and end users. Because of that, it can be a crucial stage of the manufacturing process.There are many benefits of prototyping including:
Better visualisation and understanding
Bringing designs to life in this way helps the team better understand the look and feel of the final product and provide strong visualisation for any stakeholders or potential end users.
Cost-saving and efficiencies
Because prototyping takes place in the initial stages of a build, any changes or improvements can be carried out early on, before any real effort or money has gone into developing the final product. Assessing where improvements are needed and making those changes early enables designers and manufacturers to achieve their objectives and have certainty in the final version.
Gain valuable user feedback
The impacting results from prototyping come from the users themselves, as designers are given a clearer picture of what works for them – and what doesn’t. User testing gives you immediate answers as to how valuable and usable a product will be for its intended audience. This might mean new features are required or some parts may need to be redesigned – but this will have been identified at an early enough stage.
To speak to a member of the team about prototyping in the manufacturing industry, get in touch.
We know our manufacturing is just as important as our people. That’s why we want you to get to know them a little better. So, first up is Colin Johnson, our technical manager…
Summarise your role at Salamander in just one paragraph
I ensure that my team performs within set technical guidelines to maintain Salamander’s high-quality standards.
What’s your absolute favourite part of the job?
Working with the different types of the latest software – no two days are ever the same.
Share an interesting fact about you that we might not know
I used to be an amateur wrestler!
Which one word would your Salamander colleagues use to describe you?
Thorough.
And the word you think best describes Salamander?
Efficient.
Why do you personally think Salamander stands out from its competitors?
We provide an excellent, quick, reliable and quality service for our customers.
The phone rings and it’s your dream client… who would it be?
JCB.
What’s the most personally satisfying moment in your Salamander career so far?
When I was promoted to technical manager at the firm in 2012.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I always dreamed of being a bin man.
What is the biggest challenge facing the sheet metal manufacturing industry over the next 12 months?
The increasing price of raw material – it’s set to cause challenges and opportunities for many firms within our sector.
Thanks to its unrivalled strength, resistance to corrosion and minimal maintenance, stainless steel is an extremely competent material widely used in the medical field. And because of the significance of its usage, there’s a requirement for a rigid design and fabrication process.
Here we discuss where you’ll find stainless steel in healthcare and pharmaceutical settings and consider the processes required to manufacture stainless steel medical furniture and equipment with such precision.
Why stainless steel is a versatile solution
With such high levels of sanitation and cleanliness required in medical settings, it’s little wonder stainless steel is the metal of choice for most equipment found there. In fact, it now plays a crucial role in the modern hospital. As well as being found in the make-up of beds, wheelchairs and handrails, stainless steel is ideal for cannulas, MRI scanners and sterilisable surgical instruments. Plus, it’s also used in surgical implants as well as replacement joints like hips.
Stainless steel won’t deteriorate or corrode when exposed to the extreme temperatures often found in surgical procedures and sterilisation methods. It has low yield strength so it’s easily manipulated into complex shapes extending its uses even further. In such a hygienic setting with stringent requirements, stainless steel provides a rust-proof, recyclable solution with antibacterial properties.
Medical equipment in the manufacturing industry
Sheet metal fabrication is a valuable process for the medical sector – precision, accuracy and innovative technology combine to produce the highest-quality equipment. Combining traditional techniques with the latest software and advanced machinery, sheet metal fabrication aids the medical industry with precision manufacturing and efficient turnaround times.
Laser cutting machines are also commonly used within the sector because of their scope for precision and high-volume production. Where intricate life-saving equipment is of vital importance, laser cutting enables extremely fine and precise cuts needed for medical devices in surgeries.
Salamander offers both services in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors – and many others – using the very latest technology.
Want to know more about sheet metal fabrication or laser cutting and how they can benefit your project? Get in touch for expert advice.
The Salamander team are back in the office and ready to tackle a busy 2019. We have a lot of exciting projects lined up for this year so make sure you keep an eye out for any updates.
Our busy end to 2018 saw us pull together as a team as we held a company Christmas jumper day in aid of raising money for our chosen charity, Save The Children. We think it’s important that we use our platform to help raise money for charity and it’s something that we have always taken great pride in.
Aside from raising money for charity, we also gave back to our customers this Christmas. The Salamander team manufactured some bespoke coasters alongside some (very well received) bottles of wine. We value our excellent relationships with our customers and always like to do something a little different for them during the festive period.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff and customers at Salamander for their hard work and loyalty in 2018, we’re expecting this year to be our best yet!
Along with our wide range of fantastic customers and friends, our employees are what keeps the Salamander cogs moving and have done for so many years. We are always keen to invest in our staff as they are our brand ambassadors and deserve to be given opportunities to progress their careers in the right direction.
We’ve recently had a new employee join us at our Salamander offices in Slaithwaite. Gemma Williams has joined the team as office administrator, assisting Kirsty in accounts, payroll and administration duties. Gemma has joined us from a community services background and is excited about helping ‘shape the office’ with her mentor, Kirsty.
As Gemma is taking over the reins of the more administrative side of things in the office, Kirsty has been promoted to office manager. Her new responsibilities include managing the purchasing & buying duties of the businesses related to everything from sheet raw material to specialist fittings and fixtures. Kirsty’s new role will allow us to have a deeper competitive edge when it comes to achieving the best prices for products, meaning Salamander can become even more efficient on cost. Kirsty is already proving a great asset to the management team and we have more than welcomed having an extra employee help us keep on top of our busy schedules. Kirsty was also heavily involved in our recent ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditations.
If you would like to speak to us about opportunities to join the Salamander team, please get in touch.
Salamander is dedicated to making sure it remains at the forefront of the manufacturing industry and strives to stay up to date with the most recent software, training and audits. The business recently underwent a series of audits from the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). These included the ISO 9001 Quality Standards audit & the 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS).
So, what is ISO 9001 & 18001 OHSAS and what did we have to do as a business to meet the standards? Find out below in an outlined overview of each audit along with what the business did specifically to meet the requirements.
ISO 9001
The ISO 9001 is the recognised international standard that specifies requirements for a robust quality management system (QMS). Salamander uses the accreditation to demonstrate a high level of ability to consistently provide end products that always meet customers’ needs, alongside regulatory requirements.
There were various inputs required for this audit, including:
Providing customer feedback
Quality checking process steps
Process performance and product conformity
Follow up actions from previous reviews
Recommendations for improvements
There were many other factors involved, including the whole Salamander team working together in order to make this an achievable goal.
18001 OHSAS
This series has provided Salamander with major elements of effective health and safety management, which the business has integrated with our current management system. This in turn enables us to achieve better occupational health and safety (H&S) performance and economic objectives.
A few of the steps that were put in place in order to achieve this standard were:
Compared existing H&S policies against the OHSAS 18001 requirements.
Putting in place further policies, procedures and controls to ensure high levels of H&S at all times.
Staff and customer feedback on current Health & Safety regulations
Putting plans in place to regularly review the OHSAS 18001 system and implement continuous improvements.
This year, the ISO 45001 has been released which is the next phase of this standard that we will be looking at achieving within the next three years.
The Salamander team once again pulled together fantastically in order for the business to achieve this well sought-after working standard. We are happy to announce that we managed to achieve both and are now looking towards any additional audits that Salamander can carry out in order to improve all areas of the business.
At Salamander Fabrications, we’re committed to delivering a first-rate full design-to-delivery service. And our latest investment will ensure we’re more efficient than ever in turning out the quality products our customers have come to expect.
We’ve purchased Olympus Technologies’ universal robot welding system. This intricate unit consists of a Dinse torch and Lorch MicorMIG 300 welding machine to shorten the time spent on simple and repetitive welding processes. The new system is fully integrated, meaning we can make welding parameter changes mid-process. Plus, it has a high electrical efficiency, while the Dinse robotic torch is extremely high quality and can provide 300a welding at a 100% duty cycle.
With great accuracy and repeatability, the new system will mean we can take on longer runs and ensure consistent quality.
If you want to find out more our best-in-class equipment or find out our services, get in touch.
It’s been a busy year at Salamander HQ. We’ve made significant investments in technology to keep us on the frontline of the industry, made further appointments to the team and are looking to an even busier 2019. That said, we decided it was high time we took some well-deserved rest and relaxation and headed off for a day at the races.
Thirsk Racecourse was our venue of choice. We donned our finery for Ladies Day and prepared for a few hours of downtime, hoping for a win. Although the weather was not great it did not dampen our spirits.
At Salamander, we’re big advocates of rewarding the hardworking team and believe it’s important that a few times a year we spend quality time together away from the machines. It’s crucial for revitalising the staff, keeping morale high and simply taking the pressure off.
We had enough wins to keep everyone smiling and, while there were a few sore heads the next morning, a good day was had by all. And we’re now on with planning the Christmas festivities before coming back bigger and better next year. Watch this space.
As a family oriented and local business, Salamander is dedicated to helping the local area progress in any way we can. Recently the business was approached by Colne Valley High School to attend their ‘Business Breakfast’. Here we met with the senior leadership team, Local MP Thelma Walker and Jimmy Christian (Principal) and we discussed how we could offer something that would engage students, preparing them for what working life can be like after leaving school.
After many meetings and discussions, the facility tour for the students came to fruition and they visited the Salamander factory on 14th June 2018. General Manager, David Mcstrafick was there to greet the students and Business teacher, Mr. Kuszyk. The 12 strong group of students aged 14-15 and currently undergoing their GCSE Business studies, were chosen in order to give them a real ‘hands-on’ experience with a local business.
The tour consisted of David (GM) taking the students on a step-by-step tour of each department through the process of a completing a real-life project, starting with the sales and marketing department and finishing with the delivery of the goods and the accounting department. Members of staff on the factory floor spoke to students and they were allowed to ask questions along the way.
Accompanying Businesses teacher, Mr. Kuszyk, made this statement following the tour –
“The aims for the students were to be able to understand and ‘see’ what a business looks like and how it operates. Businesses like Salamander, supporting education like this is vital and really enables students to visualize and understand the work that is undertaken in the class room.
The tour and talk were both really well linked to our exam specification and the students were able to see how new technology and working practices has enabled a business to improve productivity and efficiency, as well as how a number of job roles are interlinked to ensure that the manufacture process is run smoothly and effectively.”
By involving real employers into the school curriculum, it gives teachers some ‘evidence’ about the information they relay to students, and also gives students a true insight in to life as a working adult. Salamander are proud to help the local community and welcome all other opportunities to do so, if you know of any please Get in Touch.
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