The last trip on our list was the trip to Schlumberger. Many people would not have heard of this company but it is one of the world's largest oilfield service provider. Anything that has to do with gas and oil, they are doing something with it. They invent, engineer, design and apply technologies to make extraction of oil and gas beneath the surface of the Earth more efficient and cost-effective. It is a big company with 110,000 employees in almost 80 countries. The factory in Singapore that we were visiting specialise in manufacturing ESP (Electric Submersive pump) and Gas lift pump.
These pumps are required because as time passes and more oil from underground rise to surface, the pressure that force the oil up the normal pipe is too low and a lot of oil are still stuck below the surface. These pumps either increases the pressure, or forcefully push the oil up the pipe to the surface. The functions of the pipe will be elaborate later.
The Schlumberger compound has four main areas that we visited, the DHE Machining Centre, DHE Motor Winding centre, Gauge lab and the Gas Lift Valve centre.
I believe we went to the foundry first, where they melt iron and other metals. This is one of the three foundries in Singapore as many companies have moved theirs away to other countries such as China. They melt iron and use them to make their machine parts. They also make their own mould, core and therefore their own parts. The mould is the basic shaping of the soon to be machine part while the core is the real thing that shapes the molten iron to its specific shape. We did not see molten iron on day 1 but on day 2, we finally saw the melting of iron and pouring in action. It was a ray of golden light. Its really beautiful to watch. Iron in the molten form was bright and captivating. The people pouring the iron had a very serious and dangerous job. They had to wear a silver colour suit that was said to be made from aluminate. Sparks flew everywhere so the workers have to be protected. The foundry is certainly not a comfortable place to be. It was hot and stuffy. We had to wear helmets, goggles, mask and headphones to listen to the tour. I felt dizzy and nauseous. I believe it was due to the mask. The lack of oxygen made me feel weak and about 20 mins into the tour of the foundry that I told the teacher about my condition. Therefore, I was taken away from the foundry and missed the tour of the DHE Motor winding centre. I was given water and time t rest before I joined the tour again. The foundry was certainly not comfortable to be in and the workers there who worked everyday had my admiration.
We went to the gas lift valve centre. Basically, when an oil reservoir is found under the Earth surface, the way to get the oil out to the surface is by putting a pipe from the surface down into the reservoir. The pressure on the oil is massive and since stuff flows from a place with higher pressure to lower pressure, under normal circumstances, the oil could be pushed to the surface for us to collect. However, reality is cruel and we need to work for the things we want. As more oil is collected, the pressure in the oil reservoir decreases and no more oil reaches the surface. Therefore pumps like the ESP and gas lift pumps are needed to force oil out to the surface. Gas lift pumps pump high pressure gas into the oil reservoir. This "lightens" the oil and makes it easier to reach the surface. To make the pump, a lot of steps are involved. One of the most significnt one was the heat treatment.Heat treatment is the heating and cooling of the metal rapidly to change the structure and thus property of the metal used into machine parts. Apparently, the specific heat and cooling done in Schlumberger makes the pipe hard but not too hard to make them brittle, thus the pipe will be able to withstand high pressure.
The gauge lab is a clean room where all the testing and quality control is done such as heat testing, vibration testing and so on. This ensures that the manufactured parts from Schlumberger is of high quality so it does to trouble the buyers when it malfunctions. Apparently, in an oil rig, time is gold and any time loss equals millions of dollars flushed down the drain.
Next, we job shadowed an engineer and she brought us to the DHE Machining centre. It was normal. We saw grinding machines, high speed-cutting machines and many many more machines.This is where the ESP is built or at least the parts of it. It was noisy stil there was grinding of metal. We got to see how the engineers and workers work. Apparently, they have designated "fire" zones. What I meant is, those are the places where there are sparks, burning or melting of iron ( potential fire places) They also have to get a permit for it. Safety is Schlumberger greatest concern and anyone worker who feels it is dangerous to do something has the right to stop production. They have many safety measures too. We saw many more huge machines that cut metal blocks or punch holes into them. Each machine easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Metal scrap percentage was 0.6% which I thought was low but when I realised how much metal is used in making the parts, a lot of metal was actually scraped.
Following that, we followed the engineer to a meeting. She had a meeting with other engineers and so we sat in. We had no idea what they were talking about. Apparently, they were discussing the use of a programme that was suppose to increase efficiency by easing the planners' jobs. Planning the arrival and use of metal parts or something like that. There were errors and they were discussing how to fix it. The meeting was inconclusive and required many more meetings in the future to get the job done. It was interesting to see engineers of different races in such a small meeting alone. This shows Schlumberger is a true blue MNC. It was a privilege to sit in the meeting and we experienced a real corporate meeting. It was certainly interesting to see the intellectual sharing and discussion between professionals and the gestures they used to convey their message.
Not many people knows what the oil and gas companies do. Many people focus on going green but oil and gas industry still plays a significant part in our economy. With no oil ,there will be no electricity and people cannot live without electricity. As oil soon runs out, Schlumberger would be out of business. Actually, many people from other sectors would be out of business too. However, as oil is running out, people will dig deeper for this precious resource and the demand for such pumps would go up. It was an invaluable experience and certainly open our eyes to the oil and gas industry
Thursday 24 November 2011
Saturday 19 November 2011
A Trip to Goodrich
The first spot on our list of MNCs (Multinational Corporations) that our school would be visiting is Goodrich. This company certainly has a pleasant name and the name actually came from its founder, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. Goodrich is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in North Carolina. They manufacture many important parts in the aircraft such as the landing gear and the nacelle.
Even though Goodrich does not manufacture the engines of the plane,its contributions like designing and manufacturing the nacelle( the cover of the engine) should not be overlooked as the nacelle plays a vital role in the aircraft. The nacelle not only protects the engine from the harsh environments of the atmosphere thousands of metres above sea level but also consist of components such as inlet cowl, fan cowl, thrust reverser, core cowl and nozzle. The only one I remember more clearly of its function is the thrust reverser. The thrust reverser as its name suggest reverse the direction of the thrust created by the engine. This is used in the landing of the aircraft. An aircraft weighs hundreds of tonnes and the speed it comes in landing is high. Therefore, the aircraft possesses great momentum and requires a longer runway to decelerate and reach taxi speed. With the thrust reverser, less force is needed to stop the aircraft and shorter runways can be built. This also make more places suitable for building an airport.
On 14 November, students from Hwa Chong Institution organised a visit to Goodrich to learn more from such multinational corporations and perhaps develop an interest in the aerospace industry. It was a 3 hour visit. The first half was a presentation by the engineers of Goodrich, explaining an elaborating the process of the development of products of the company such as the nacelle and what are the precautions taken in developing products.
First, the engineers talked about the designing of the nacelle which is the main product manufactured by Goodrich. For every series of aircraft, their engines are different, therefore a different nacelle is needed to suit the engine. This is where Goodrich plays an important role. Goodrich has manufactured nacelle for world class commercial airliners such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A350 XWB, Bombardier CSeries and the Mitsubishi Regional jet. They design the nacelle through a 3D simulation program. Before such technology, engineers had to draw from every possible angle of the nacelle to give a "360 degree" view of the part. Now, using such a program, engineers can draw up a new 3D design much faster.
The engineers also talked about the potential dangers to an aircraft due to the design. Firstly, the material used to make the aircraft needed to be light yet very strong. The pressure difference between the aircraft cabin and the atmospheric air several thousands feet up in the sky is drastically different. A lot of pressure in on the surface of the aircraft and the material used to build the external surface of the plane needs to withstand this pressure or it would endanger the lives of the people in the cabin. Also, especially for the nacelle, it has to withstand great temperature difference. The engine in the nacelle creates a lot of heat and the temperature may rise to thousands of degrees Celsius. The atmospheric air would be in the negative region and drastic temperature changes and expansion and contraction could cause the nacelle to crack, exposing the engine to the harsh environments, leading to ultimate failure of the jet engine.
The material used nowadays in making the body of the aircraft are composite materials. They make up 70% of the body of the aircraft. It is a common misconception that aluminium is used to cover the aircraft. Composite materials such as carbon laminate are lighter and stronger and corrosion resistant, making it a more suitable material than aluminium. However, the carbon laminate is painted over to give a shiny feel. I guess not many people would feel safe if they knew that what separates them from the air outside is carbon. Also, we learnt that bird strikes, hail and even lightning are common hazards to the plane. Bird strikes and hail damages the exterior of plane and could dent or penetrate the hard external structure of the plane. Lightning strikes could potential destroy the plane completely. However, with ingenious engineering, lightning bolt that strikes the plane would be conducted through the plane and back into the environment. Therefore, the passengers would be safe.
Then, we were split into three groups to go down to the workstation to see the manufacturing, repairing processes first hand. There were three stations set up for us to view. The first station I went was the automated cutting machine. A roll of composite material is unrolled onto the cutting board. The engineer would then input the specific dimensions to be cut. A vacuum would suck the sheet of material to the board tightly. With the laser pointing, it guides the knife to cut the material at the exact spot to the specified dimensions. It is fast ,accurate and save on labour cost. However, one disadvantage is that it is tedious to configure the machine every time and the operator must be highly trained. The room is also kept at 17 degrees Celsius at a controlled humidity in order to give the composite material longer shelf life.
Next, we arrived at the vacuum packing station. Ever wonder how people fix dents and damages to the exterior of the aircraft. One of the most important step in this process is vacuum packing. This is actually material curing. Several layers of composite materials are placed under a heating blanket. Also, putting tacky tape around the material and covering it with a layer of plastic, a vacuum pu.mp is connected to the "bag". The person had to constantly look for gaps in the "bag" to prevent entry of air. The vacuum pumps sucks out air and with heat and pressure, the layers of materials are fused together to form a strong and hard material. The real process of repairing damage of aircraft would require numerous repeats of the vacuum packing process. It is really tedious.
The last station is the laser projector design station. With a software and laser projection, the operators can check whether the composite materials are cut to the exact dimensions. Accuracy is vital in the aircraft as excess or deficiency could cause much problems to the aircraft as parts may not be able to fit well together.
To be such an engineer in the aerospace industry, you really need to have great patience and have steady hands. Everything needs to be precise and exact. The engineers all try to work for perfection as with perfecting the aircraft, the aircraft can bring comfort and more importantly, safety to her passengers. We definitely gain insights to the working of the aircraft. However, we did see some familiar concepts such as pressure and lift and drag of an aeroplane.However, what stood out for me the most was that the engineers had great passion for their job. The job is tedious and could be repetitive but I feel that it is the sense of satisfaction of contributing to the building and designing of aircraft parts that spur many engineers to continue and do their utmost in their job. Every step of the manufacturing process is vital and Goodrich has strove for perfection in its manufacturing which could explain their success. As long Goodrich has committed staff and engineers and that jet engines mounted on the plane's wings remain popular and commercially viable, I believe Goodrich will continue on this road of success. This visit to Goodrich is certainly an eye-opener and I am once again grateful for such an invaluable opportunity.
Even though Goodrich does not manufacture the engines of the plane,its contributions like designing and manufacturing the nacelle( the cover of the engine) should not be overlooked as the nacelle plays a vital role in the aircraft. The nacelle not only protects the engine from the harsh environments of the atmosphere thousands of metres above sea level but also consist of components such as inlet cowl, fan cowl, thrust reverser, core cowl and nozzle. The only one I remember more clearly of its function is the thrust reverser. The thrust reverser as its name suggest reverse the direction of the thrust created by the engine. This is used in the landing of the aircraft. An aircraft weighs hundreds of tonnes and the speed it comes in landing is high. Therefore, the aircraft possesses great momentum and requires a longer runway to decelerate and reach taxi speed. With the thrust reverser, less force is needed to stop the aircraft and shorter runways can be built. This also make more places suitable for building an airport.
On 14 November, students from Hwa Chong Institution organised a visit to Goodrich to learn more from such multinational corporations and perhaps develop an interest in the aerospace industry. It was a 3 hour visit. The first half was a presentation by the engineers of Goodrich, explaining an elaborating the process of the development of products of the company such as the nacelle and what are the precautions taken in developing products.
First, the engineers talked about the designing of the nacelle which is the main product manufactured by Goodrich. For every series of aircraft, their engines are different, therefore a different nacelle is needed to suit the engine. This is where Goodrich plays an important role. Goodrich has manufactured nacelle for world class commercial airliners such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A350 XWB, Bombardier CSeries and the Mitsubishi Regional jet. They design the nacelle through a 3D simulation program. Before such technology, engineers had to draw from every possible angle of the nacelle to give a "360 degree" view of the part. Now, using such a program, engineers can draw up a new 3D design much faster.
The engineers also talked about the potential dangers to an aircraft due to the design. Firstly, the material used to make the aircraft needed to be light yet very strong. The pressure difference between the aircraft cabin and the atmospheric air several thousands feet up in the sky is drastically different. A lot of pressure in on the surface of the aircraft and the material used to build the external surface of the plane needs to withstand this pressure or it would endanger the lives of the people in the cabin. Also, especially for the nacelle, it has to withstand great temperature difference. The engine in the nacelle creates a lot of heat and the temperature may rise to thousands of degrees Celsius. The atmospheric air would be in the negative region and drastic temperature changes and expansion and contraction could cause the nacelle to crack, exposing the engine to the harsh environments, leading to ultimate failure of the jet engine.
The material used nowadays in making the body of the aircraft are composite materials. They make up 70% of the body of the aircraft. It is a common misconception that aluminium is used to cover the aircraft. Composite materials such as carbon laminate are lighter and stronger and corrosion resistant, making it a more suitable material than aluminium. However, the carbon laminate is painted over to give a shiny feel. I guess not many people would feel safe if they knew that what separates them from the air outside is carbon. Also, we learnt that bird strikes, hail and even lightning are common hazards to the plane. Bird strikes and hail damages the exterior of plane and could dent or penetrate the hard external structure of the plane. Lightning strikes could potential destroy the plane completely. However, with ingenious engineering, lightning bolt that strikes the plane would be conducted through the plane and back into the environment. Therefore, the passengers would be safe.
Then, we were split into three groups to go down to the workstation to see the manufacturing, repairing processes first hand. There were three stations set up for us to view. The first station I went was the automated cutting machine. A roll of composite material is unrolled onto the cutting board. The engineer would then input the specific dimensions to be cut. A vacuum would suck the sheet of material to the board tightly. With the laser pointing, it guides the knife to cut the material at the exact spot to the specified dimensions. It is fast ,accurate and save on labour cost. However, one disadvantage is that it is tedious to configure the machine every time and the operator must be highly trained. The room is also kept at 17 degrees Celsius at a controlled humidity in order to give the composite material longer shelf life.
Next, we arrived at the vacuum packing station. Ever wonder how people fix dents and damages to the exterior of the aircraft. One of the most important step in this process is vacuum packing. This is actually material curing. Several layers of composite materials are placed under a heating blanket. Also, putting tacky tape around the material and covering it with a layer of plastic, a vacuum pu.mp is connected to the "bag". The person had to constantly look for gaps in the "bag" to prevent entry of air. The vacuum pumps sucks out air and with heat and pressure, the layers of materials are fused together to form a strong and hard material. The real process of repairing damage of aircraft would require numerous repeats of the vacuum packing process. It is really tedious.
The last station is the laser projector design station. With a software and laser projection, the operators can check whether the composite materials are cut to the exact dimensions. Accuracy is vital in the aircraft as excess or deficiency could cause much problems to the aircraft as parts may not be able to fit well together.
To be such an engineer in the aerospace industry, you really need to have great patience and have steady hands. Everything needs to be precise and exact. The engineers all try to work for perfection as with perfecting the aircraft, the aircraft can bring comfort and more importantly, safety to her passengers. We definitely gain insights to the working of the aircraft. However, we did see some familiar concepts such as pressure and lift and drag of an aeroplane.However, what stood out for me the most was that the engineers had great passion for their job. The job is tedious and could be repetitive but I feel that it is the sense of satisfaction of contributing to the building and designing of aircraft parts that spur many engineers to continue and do their utmost in their job. Every step of the manufacturing process is vital and Goodrich has strove for perfection in its manufacturing which could explain their success. As long Goodrich has committed staff and engineers and that jet engines mounted on the plane's wings remain popular and commercially viable, I believe Goodrich will continue on this road of success. This visit to Goodrich is certainly an eye-opener and I am once again grateful for such an invaluable opportunity.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
A Trip to Caterpillar
The first thing that I thought about the name Caterpillar was not about a huge remanufacturing plant but rather the green little insect that we all know since young. My school, Hwa Chong Institution, with the help of EDB, managed to organised visits to the Multi-National Corporations in Singapore to help us(students) gain exposure to manufacturing and working life as a whole. It is hoped that students This is a once in a lifetime opportunity which our school and her students are really grateful to be given this opportunity.
On the 16th of November, we arrived near Pioneer Road or 7 Tractor Road to be precise. Our school had organised a visit to Caterpillar and job shadow some of the engineers over there for half a day. It was a huge facility with 188 employees. So what do all of these people do? This specific site or part of the focusses sole on remanufacturing. To be honest, I did not know about the existence of remanufacturing. I knew at best vaguely of reusing machine parts but not much about the details. Caterpillar remanufactures old worn-out machine parts usually from giant engines of off-road trucks. The people dissemble worn-out engine parts, clean them with chemicals and environmentally friendly methods like laser metal deposition, inspect them, salvage as much parts as possible, reassemble them before putting on a new coat of paint to be resold. The worn-out parts becomes as good as new!
We were first welcomed by a Caucasian man, whose name I could not remember...(I apologise). He was cheerful and looks like he had years of experience in the remanufacturing plant in Singapore. He gave us an overview of Caterpillar.
These are some cold hard facts ---
1.The company remanufactures 2.2 million metal products which is 134 million pounds of remanufactured products every year
2. Caterpillar have 18 remanufacturing facilities in 8 countries
3. Caterpillar does not do only remanufacturing but also manufacturing such as engines, batteries, machines etc
4. Caterpillar remanufactures old worn-out parts to as good as new parts with the same performance, specifications, reliability and durability
5. Caterpillar has been awarded the Greenmark gold plus award. This means they are very environmentally friendly. The remanufacturing process by Caterpillar uses 93% less water, 86% less energy, 61% less greenhouse gas emissions, 99% less material and landfill space when compared to manufacturing new machine parts.
With that out of the way, I shall recount my "Caterpillar" experience. A friend and I jobbed shadowed an engineer for two hours at the remanufacturing plant. She was an environmental engineer and held another engineering degree which I have forgotten. Apparently, most engineers in Caterpillar have a degree in mechanical engineering.This engineer that we followed was from the Philippines and completed her studies there before coming or rather being transferred to Singapore to work. She seemed very passionate for her work, explaining the process of the remanufucaturing to us in details.
Firstly, the remanufacturing process starts with the disassembly. After checking that the machine parts or engine parts are in acceptable condition for remanufacture, the engine is taken down into pieces, down to the nuts and bolts. Each nut and bolt is very important as they would be used later in reassembly of the machine. The parts were all categorised into different metal cages. Those that are beyond repair are put into the scrap box, where it would be melted for scrap metal. Well, working in the diassembly line is not the cleanest job as you can see black oil along the surface of parts. Those workers that can take pride in their work should be respected.
Next is the cleaning process. There wasn't much said in this process. Either the engineer did not really want to say, have forgotten to say or perhaps it was that it was not in her field or expertise since she was the quality engineer for the company. The cleaning process is done through chemicals to remove paint, oil and other potential harmful substances.
Following that, we entered the clean room where the cleaned parts are inspected. The workers and engineers, based on their judgement, decide which parts are accepted and which are rejected. They have a huge database for all the parts of every machine they have manufactured. When they have not seen a part that comes into the workshop, they would check the database or enter in a new part. I bet there are billions of guides of machine parts in their database. Workers check for cracks and damages that could potential affect performance. Every few days, the team meet up to discuss "controversial" machine parts. Some would be scraped or put in the rejected box. The rejected box will be sent to the salvage team where the magic of remanufacturing happens.
The clean room was huge and it is where the assembly line is. The parts are brought over and the skilful engineers assemble them by hand. It is amazing that they know how to screw everything in place but I guess that they did it over thousands of time already so practice makes perfect. The workers there gave us a quick lesson on how engine works. They gave a very simplified overview. Combustion of fuel leads to the pushing of pistons and transfer power to the torque converter which transfers energy to the transmission(gear system) before to the final drive which turns the wheels.
At the back of the facility, salvaging of materials take place. There is grinding of machine parts to remove rust or make the parts shinier.There is a crackhouse, which is a black box, to find cracks on parts using ultraviolet light. People fixes threads which nuts go into while huge machines that look like refrigerators wash parts with chemicals green in colour. There is a huge storage space of machine parts which was at least 6 metres high and workers drive forklifts to carry boxes containing parts. The workers replaces parts too worn out with new manufactured part there so that there is a complete set of parts to be reassembled. At the back is where the final products are painted too since the cleaning process had removed them. They are given the characteristic yellow colour which is representative of Caterpillar. These remanufactured engines are sent and resold
Even though the workspace is hectic, the workers remain cheerful and take pride in what they do. Though they make jokes during work, they always focus on task and get the job done. We could really see that they love what they do. In Caterpillar, everyone works as a team and this should how companies should work. Every step of the remanufacturing process is vital since no one can do everything. Everyone relies on another. Everyone does their part in the process until the final product is completed. If anyone questions why Caterpillar is so successful, I would say it is due to their committed staff and their impeccable teamwork. Even though they are not meeting their goal of 1 engine a day, I believe they are already very efficient.
I think that I took notice was that the work in the remanufacturing plant was rather manual. Most work was done by hand such as diassembly, assembly and even the cleaning process. Before this trip, I thought stuff are made on a conveyor belt. Apparently, the machinery were not so sophisticated ( the word the manager used) as the other plants in the United States but I guess it does have its advantages. The painting in Singapore is done by hand ( Spraying by hose). They said that the Singapore Branch has the best paint job which is the pride of many workers there. Painting done by machine is not as good.
The visit to Caterpillar was an eye-opener. Not only did I learn a bit more about remanufacturing but also take a peek into how is the working life in such a company. Remanufacturing is the way of the future as we always have to consider the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Although Caterpillar, as a company, at the end of the day aims to make money, they never once put money above sustainability and customer satisfaction. Their environmental friendly methods and consideration for their customers put Caterpillar as world's best remanufacturing company. It was a pleasure for us students to take part in this tour.
On the 16th of November, we arrived near Pioneer Road or 7 Tractor Road to be precise. Our school had organised a visit to Caterpillar and job shadow some of the engineers over there for half a day. It was a huge facility with 188 employees. So what do all of these people do? This specific site or part of the focusses sole on remanufacturing. To be honest, I did not know about the existence of remanufacturing. I knew at best vaguely of reusing machine parts but not much about the details. Caterpillar remanufactures old worn-out machine parts usually from giant engines of off-road trucks. The people dissemble worn-out engine parts, clean them with chemicals and environmentally friendly methods like laser metal deposition, inspect them, salvage as much parts as possible, reassemble them before putting on a new coat of paint to be resold. The worn-out parts becomes as good as new!
We were first welcomed by a Caucasian man, whose name I could not remember...(I apologise). He was cheerful and looks like he had years of experience in the remanufacturing plant in Singapore. He gave us an overview of Caterpillar.
These are some cold hard facts ---
1.The company remanufactures 2.2 million metal products which is 134 million pounds of remanufactured products every year
2. Caterpillar have 18 remanufacturing facilities in 8 countries
3. Caterpillar does not do only remanufacturing but also manufacturing such as engines, batteries, machines etc
4. Caterpillar remanufactures old worn-out parts to as good as new parts with the same performance, specifications, reliability and durability
5. Caterpillar has been awarded the Greenmark gold plus award. This means they are very environmentally friendly. The remanufacturing process by Caterpillar uses 93% less water, 86% less energy, 61% less greenhouse gas emissions, 99% less material and landfill space when compared to manufacturing new machine parts.
With that out of the way, I shall recount my "Caterpillar" experience. A friend and I jobbed shadowed an engineer for two hours at the remanufacturing plant. She was an environmental engineer and held another engineering degree which I have forgotten. Apparently, most engineers in Caterpillar have a degree in mechanical engineering.This engineer that we followed was from the Philippines and completed her studies there before coming or rather being transferred to Singapore to work. She seemed very passionate for her work, explaining the process of the remanufucaturing to us in details.
Firstly, the remanufacturing process starts with the disassembly. After checking that the machine parts or engine parts are in acceptable condition for remanufacture, the engine is taken down into pieces, down to the nuts and bolts. Each nut and bolt is very important as they would be used later in reassembly of the machine. The parts were all categorised into different metal cages. Those that are beyond repair are put into the scrap box, where it would be melted for scrap metal. Well, working in the diassembly line is not the cleanest job as you can see black oil along the surface of parts. Those workers that can take pride in their work should be respected.
Next is the cleaning process. There wasn't much said in this process. Either the engineer did not really want to say, have forgotten to say or perhaps it was that it was not in her field or expertise since she was the quality engineer for the company. The cleaning process is done through chemicals to remove paint, oil and other potential harmful substances.
Following that, we entered the clean room where the cleaned parts are inspected. The workers and engineers, based on their judgement, decide which parts are accepted and which are rejected. They have a huge database for all the parts of every machine they have manufactured. When they have not seen a part that comes into the workshop, they would check the database or enter in a new part. I bet there are billions of guides of machine parts in their database. Workers check for cracks and damages that could potential affect performance. Every few days, the team meet up to discuss "controversial" machine parts. Some would be scraped or put in the rejected box. The rejected box will be sent to the salvage team where the magic of remanufacturing happens.
The clean room was huge and it is where the assembly line is. The parts are brought over and the skilful engineers assemble them by hand. It is amazing that they know how to screw everything in place but I guess that they did it over thousands of time already so practice makes perfect. The workers there gave us a quick lesson on how engine works. They gave a very simplified overview. Combustion of fuel leads to the pushing of pistons and transfer power to the torque converter which transfers energy to the transmission(gear system) before to the final drive which turns the wheels.
At the back of the facility, salvaging of materials take place. There is grinding of machine parts to remove rust or make the parts shinier.There is a crackhouse, which is a black box, to find cracks on parts using ultraviolet light. People fixes threads which nuts go into while huge machines that look like refrigerators wash parts with chemicals green in colour. There is a huge storage space of machine parts which was at least 6 metres high and workers drive forklifts to carry boxes containing parts. The workers replaces parts too worn out with new manufactured part there so that there is a complete set of parts to be reassembled. At the back is where the final products are painted too since the cleaning process had removed them. They are given the characteristic yellow colour which is representative of Caterpillar. These remanufactured engines are sent and resold
Even though the workspace is hectic, the workers remain cheerful and take pride in what they do. Though they make jokes during work, they always focus on task and get the job done. We could really see that they love what they do. In Caterpillar, everyone works as a team and this should how companies should work. Every step of the remanufacturing process is vital since no one can do everything. Everyone relies on another. Everyone does their part in the process until the final product is completed. If anyone questions why Caterpillar is so successful, I would say it is due to their committed staff and their impeccable teamwork. Even though they are not meeting their goal of 1 engine a day, I believe they are already very efficient.
I think that I took notice was that the work in the remanufacturing plant was rather manual. Most work was done by hand such as diassembly, assembly and even the cleaning process. Before this trip, I thought stuff are made on a conveyor belt. Apparently, the machinery were not so sophisticated ( the word the manager used) as the other plants in the United States but I guess it does have its advantages. The painting in Singapore is done by hand ( Spraying by hose). They said that the Singapore Branch has the best paint job which is the pride of many workers there. Painting done by machine is not as good.
The visit to Caterpillar was an eye-opener. Not only did I learn a bit more about remanufacturing but also take a peek into how is the working life in such a company. Remanufacturing is the way of the future as we always have to consider the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Although Caterpillar, as a company, at the end of the day aims to make money, they never once put money above sustainability and customer satisfaction. Their environmental friendly methods and consideration for their customers put Caterpillar as world's best remanufacturing company. It was a pleasure for us students to take part in this tour.
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