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Daniel rises to the challenge!
Sucessfully applying inspiration, imagination and innovation to overcome a challenging problem has resulted in savings of over £1.4 million for Management Services, Sellafield, thanks to the hard work and determination of Thorp manufacturing support team member, Daniel Capers.
By redesigning the locking mechanism on 50 surplus fuel storage containers, Daniel’s modifications meant they could be used elsewhere on the Sellafield site, helping to ensure the continued receipt of spent fuel from customers.
Purchasing the same number of new containers would have cost over £1.6 million, however the design of an adapter kit, able to remove the old locking mechanism and replace it with a new Thorp compatible kit meant that all 50 containers could be modified for a total cost of £150,000.
Daniel, who has an engineering degree but works in Operations Support, rather than design, did initial scoping design work at home in order to demonstrate the design feasibility. When the necessary design software was installed on his work computer he was able to complete the detailed design. This enabled him to create a prototype, ensuring the final product was fit for use before incurring manufacturing costs.
Once the designs were formally approved, the modification work was carried out on site by fitters from Ponds and Thorp, together with assistance from Engineering workshops machine shop.
“When I started on this project a lot of people thought that modifications wouldn’t be possible,” said Daniel. “The work was challenging, but the first container went into the pond before Christmas, meeting one of our Performance Based Incentives successfully, and since then another 25 have also been modified and are in use.”
John Campbell, manufacturing manager, added: “This is an excellent example of applying innovative solutions to solve difficult issues. Dan’s container modification kits could be produced quickly, meaning we could continue to meet customer fuel delivery expectations and at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new containers. I am very proud of what Dan has achieved”
John Clarke, Director of Thorp, also commended the achievement, saying - “Innovation is vital to the future success of the company, and it is great to see that people are finding new solutions to the challenges we face. Many congratulations, Daniel.”
