At ITL, it’s never been their philosophy to simply ‘keep up’ with changing manufacturing technology. And they weren’t voted Kent’s Best Manufacturing Business of the Year 2014 because they have a factory that is just ‘good enough’.

Their customers choose ITL because they need a manufacturing partner that aims to proactively and continuously improve processes to ensure that they get top quality products time and time again.

That’s why ITL have launched a £10,000 investment programme to audit and, where necessary, improve Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection within their manufacturing facilities.

These improvements will further increase the reliability and shelf life of both components and finished products that are manufactured at ITL

What is Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)?

Electrostatic Discharge (also known as Triboelectric Discharge if you want to impress your friends) is the sudden transfer of electricity from one object to another.

The smallest amount that can be felt by a human (when you touch something and feel an electric shock) is around 2000 volts, but sensitive electronic components can be damaged by as little as 20 volts of static electricity.

ESD can cause latent problems that may not become apparent until the device is in the field - and when it comes to medical devices failure is not an option. 

Improvements to ESD protection

Starting with one pilot work-cell, ITL have begun upgrading each work area within the manufacturing facility to become a designated controlled Electrostatic Protective Area (EPA).

This will involve:

• A company-wide retraining programme
• Consultation and independent auditing from Teknis, an experienced ESD training provider
• Replacement antistatic jackets for all employees and installing more earthed wrist strap testers throughout the factory
• Continuous review and consequent updates to assembly, testing and packaging procedures to systematically reduce handling of electronic components
• Purchasing a new electrostatic field meter to test levels of ESD
• Use of ESD protective coatings for floors throughout the factory
• Further signage and barriers in EPA’s          
• Additional antistatic packaging for transportation of sensitive components throughout the manufacturing facility

With these protocols in place, ITL will take its ESD measures to the next level of protection- as befits a proactive company working to provide best industry practice to its customers.

RBS and NatWest have responded to the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that supply the UK automotive industry, becoming the first banks to offer a new £25m funding proposition.

The launch of the tooling finance proposition, the first of its kind, comes in response to an urgent request for funding assistance by the UK Automotive Council, a body which represents the industry. The Council claims the UK risks losing valuable orders and opportunities for job creation if the need for funding is not met.

Tooling is the process of equipping a factory with machinery and tools for a particular manufacturing process. The cost of tooling can range from £30,000 to over £1m for an 18 to 36 month period. Suppliers to the vehicle industry, often SMEs, have difficulty funding this through existing finance solutions, a gap the innovative new proposition aims to fill.

Richard Hill, Head of Automotive, Commercial & Private Banking said:

“When a supplier receives the good news that they have won a contract, invariably they are given a requirement to fund making the tooling. This can be restrictive as sometimes they don’t have the working capital to fund it as well as other requirements.

“Automotives are one of the UK’s biggest export industries and therefore this sector is extremely important to the UK economy. The launch of specific Tooling Finance funding from RBS is a great example of what can result from the unique partnership between industry, RBS and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. In this instance the bank has come up with a solution to help the UK's pressurised supply chain and, in turn, the UK economy.”

Around 82,000 people work in the 2,350 UK companies which regard themselves as automotive suppliers, making it an important industry for the UK economy, especially when it come to exports. It is also a growing industry, with UK vehicle production expected to increase from 1.5m to 2.2m units by 2016.

The proposition is being launched this week to national and trade press and key industry stakeholders.