Manufacturing makeover: Rolls-Royce's high-pressure turbine blade facility is the very model of a modern manufacturing plant, to paraphrase light opera playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan

摘要

The high-pressure (HP) turbine blade facility at Rolls-Royce Wilmore Road, Derby looks different to the other buildings around the sprawling site from the outside (see picture), and is clearly different on the inside. Within, physical division between shopfloor, manufacturing and design engineering areas is almost entirely absent. There is no wall between the shopfloor and manufacturing engineering, which is just a staircase away from design upstairs and where a glass wall overlooking the shopfloor further promotes a seamless environment. On the shopfloor itself, there is an interesting juxtaposition between highly automated production technology and simple manual systems used to manage, for example, workflow. All employees are single-status staff, there are no overtime or shift premiums, while all share in the target-based facility bonus. This single-status setup has proved important in fostering a team ethic, says engineering manager Peter Lord. "Although this is the way Rolls-Royce is moving, this is one of only a few plants in which I as a manufacturing engineer can walk out onto the shopfloor and get involved in the production process, with everybody comfortable with that. Likewise, guys on the shop can come into the office and do what they need to do. It's worked extremely well."