At four on a Friday afternoon a supplier of pressed steel panels rang our breakdown line: the main cylinder on their 1,200-tonne press had cracked, and the line fed a car plant that expected parts on Tuesday morning.
Friday: find out what is actually broken
Two engineers were on site by seven. By midnight the cylinder was out, the crack was measured and photographed, and our fabrication shop had the drawings. A new cylinder would take eleven weeks; a repair would take two days if the shop started at dawn.
We did not need a meeting. We needed someone to tell us what was going to happen and when, and they did that every four hours.
Fannie Rowe, plant manager
Saturday and Sunday: machine, weld, test
The shop machined out the damaged section, welded in a new sleeve and pressure-tested it to one and a half times working pressure. On site, the crew replaced every seal and hose they had disturbed rather than reusing them.
Monday: run it in
The press ran its first trial stroke at two on Monday afternoon and full production at six. A new cylinder is on order, and the repaired one will come out at the planned summer shutdown.
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