Between the Lines 1983 October (INAAP newsletter)

              [October 1983 Vol VII No 8 page 1]

BETWEEN THE LINES

INDIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
CHARLESTOWN INDIANA
Vol. VII, No. 8 October, 1983

ICI Americas Inc.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Employee Publication

In-House Project A Big Success

For the first time at INAAP, we've built a major piece of equipment "in-house" that is not only operating better than expected, but is also a million dollars under budget. That's quite an accomplishment.

The equipment is 14 Semi-Automatic Bag Loading Machines situated on Load Line 1, our semi-automated 105 project. Originally built and tested in proto-type form, a fully automatic version of the Bag Loading Machine proved to be much too expensive. It was then decided to convert the project to a semi-automatic operation, complete with Semi-Automatic Bag Loading Machines built in-house.

Six Maintenance Mechanics were put on the project and together with Engineering, they designed and built the new Loaders. Tests were made and improvements were added into the design, economizing wherever possible. Upon completion not only did the Loaders prove out, but the production results exceeded expectations. Instead of a projected loading rate of 10 1/2 bags per minute, the machines were found to load 14 bags a minute. Other improvements included the use of Pfaff sewing machines, costing just one fifth the cost of similar machines on plant and sewing twice as fast.

Says Dibbs Harting, the lead Engineer on the project, "The government was very pleased with the craftsmanship, the quality and obviously the economy of the machine. We came in just about $1 million under budget."

[photograph]
Pictured above is one of LL1's new Semi-Automatic Bag Loading Machines.

Suggestion Policy Change Nets Brendle $800

A change in Suggestion Committee Policy recently made it possible for Jeanne Brendle, Senior Clerk in Purchasing, to receive an $800.00 award for a suggestion she submitted in August, 1979.

Jeanne processed the paperwork for employees' safety glasses back then and she was also responsible for running down the glasses when they didn't arrive. In her own words, "It would take weeks sometimes for employees to get their safety glasses and I know some of these people couldn't afford to go that long without their glasses." Frustrated by the delays and the paperwork, Jeanne assessed the situation and came up with a suggestion for a new safety glasses procedure, which wasn't approved at the time.

Last year a new safety glasses procedure, which was similar to Jeanne's suggestion, was implemented by the Occupational Health Clinic. Jeanne contacted the Suggestion Committee and her contribution was acknowledged. Then after a change in award policy, Jeanne also received an $800 award.

Before the change, suggestions which had been disapproved, but were later implemented, could not be awarded if more than a year had lapsed between the disapproval and the implementation date. Here's the new procedure:

Any disapproved suggestion may later be eligible for an award if the Suggestion Committee feels that there is sufficient evidence to reopen the suggestion. In all cases though, the employee may resubmit the suggestion at the end of each year from the date of disapproval to retain the rights to the suggestion.

In line with this new policy, employees who feel that there is sufficient evidence that an old suggestion of theirs has been implemented should contact Mike Moore at Ext. 5208 or Joe Russell at Ext. 2174.

[photograph]
Bob Craig congratulates Jeanne Brendle on her suggestion award.

United Way Bulletin
At press time our employees' United Way contributions exceed $52,000 with 83 people still to be heard from. This beats even last year's record contributions!

Parent Company On NYSE

ICIA's parent company, Imperial Chemical Industries PLC of London, England has applied for listing on the New York Stock Exchange with trading expected to commence on November 1st under the symbol "ICI". Says a company spokesman, "ICI's application to the New York Stock Exchange for a listing is a logical outgrowth of the Company's growing presence in the United States and reflects the increased interest in the Company by U.S. investors."

One of the largest chemical companies in the world, ICI had $11.9 billion in sales in 1982. And sales for the first six months of 1983 amounted to $6.3 billion as compared to $5.6 billion for the same period in 1982.

Engineering Project Focuses On P&E's Future

Our Engineering Department has received funding, just under $500,000, to define a plan determining the best way to maintain the P&E area in a state of readiness. As Norm Bader put it, "We could paint the buildings, replace some wiring and overhaul the equipment bringing the area back up to 1940 standards. That may not be the best approach. We need to look at the technology other plans have developed to see how, and if, it could be applied here."

Heading up the 12-month project will be Jim Brewer, Senior Process and Development Engineer. A small core group will (Stay, with the project and others will be called in as needed, depending on the kind of expertise required. Actording to Jim, there has never been any modernization work done in the P&E area. Most of it has been centered in Black Powder and the LAP area. He stressed that participants will need to have an open mind, and added, "We may find that we should put in a new process as opposed to repairing an old one, or simply do something another way."

As an example, Don Mansmann cited, "We've always purchased acids for the manufacture of nitrocellulose. We, may want to look into making our own." Says Don, "It's an involved project. You have to look at the whole process, not just at one part. A change in one area can affect other areas as well."