Transform a company from good to great
July 01st 2005

2005 sees a major programme of special events to commemorate BCAS’s 75th anniversary including hosting a major European conference and dinner Founded in 1930 the BCAS has always been a forward thinking and dynamic organisation, pushing the boundaries of the compressed air industry by providing an organisation for developing the standards for the industry. BCAS has continued to grow into a well-established international body, with a team of full time staff dedicated to helping promote the safe and reliable use of compressed air systems.

BCAS formed in 1930 after a series of conferences of Pneumatic Drill and Air Compressor manufacturers held at the Department of Overseas Trade on December 4th 1929.

The Board of Trade encouraged these owners to form an Association to address Import Substitution. The first meeting was on Wednesday 8th January 1930 at the Institute of Civil Engineers and met on the second Wednesday of each month thereafter.

Membership The membership of BCAS is unique in the world of compressed air trade associations in that it incorporates Manufacturers, Distributors, End-Users and Individuals.

As part of the campaign to improve the quality of information given to customers that will enable them to make the correct decisions when it comes to upgrading existing plant or purchasing new plant. The BCAS Distributor Charter Holder scheme has proven successful. To become a Distributor Charter Holder, members must demonstrate to the Society that they have proven competencies in the Design, Supply, Installation, Maintenance and Competent Person/Examiner work.

A new category of BCAS membership for 2005 is the International Member that has been designed to respond to the many regular enquiries BCAS receive from outside the UK.

Helping members companies improve their performance It has been claimed that being a good enough company in today’s difficult trading climate is the very attitude that prevents you from being a great company. The majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority work extremely hard over a period of time to become good enough and remain just that – good but not great. But companies can go from good to great and it does happen, even now in these challenging times.

To take an extreme example to demonstrate that this is not just the domain of the hard working manufacturing company, according to a recent comment in the New Scientist journal, 2005 is set to be one of the toughest for the US space agency NASA. It must deliver on its promise to get the space shuttle fleet back into the air by the middle of this year. It must also focus on longer-term goals to send people to the moon and beyond.

The US Senate has been told that these missions are not possible with the NASA that exists today. Even though NASA workers are probably better educated and possibly demonstrably smarter than the Apollo team of the 1960s what they don’t have is good old-fashioned engineering experience, the underpinning knowledge if you will that their predecessors learnt often the hard way.

The big challenge facing NASA is exactly the same one that is facing the vast numbers of manufacturing companies in the UK today. We must find novel solutions to many problems and accept that some of these solutions may come from outside institutions that have the advantage of being able to make suggestions more freely than those steeped in the company’s way of doing things. We must also learn to be creative and train the workforce in a way that develops sound engineering judgment, through teaching if possible and through experience when necessary.

Another example is to look at the gold medal-winning athletes at the Olympics and compare them with the other athletes who were good enough to make the final. All athletes at that elite level possess passion, ability, dedication and coaches and yet it is often those athletes who question and challenge their coaches become great athletes and take the gold medals. Such characteristics apply equally to your manufacturing company and can help you transform from being good enough company to a great company:

• Focus equally on what to do and what notto do
• People are not their most important asset – the right people are
• Technology can accelerate a transformation but cannot causea transformation

Companies have tried many changes to remain competitive such as reducing their staffing levels, outsourcing production to low cost areas and introducing new technology. And yet, like NASA, they have probably lost the good old-fashioned engineering knowledge and experience along the way, such as the correct maintenance of equipment. Take, for my final example, your compressed air system.

With the recent technological advances made in the generation and treatment of compressed air, there is a natural tendency by many to believe that the technology alone can cause a reduction in their company’s energy consumption and associated its costs. However, even the latest available equipment will fail to deliver the expected savings if, once it has been installed and the focus moves to another area of your company’s operation, the maintenance schedule is allowed to slip and non specified parts are used rather than the original manufacturer’s nominated parts.

If you fail to question and challenge the performance of your compressed air system then, like the non-medal winning athletes, you will remain “also-rans” in the low carbon economy and not make that final step to become a champion.

If you fail to ensure that your right people have access to the right underpinning knowledge and skills then they will remain good enough but not become part of a team that works together in the pursuit of making your company great. BCAS membership with its advice, support and training programmes can help you ensure that you have the right people on board with the knowledge and qualifications to drive your company forward.

Partnerships and Alliances BCAS’s commitment to continually provide advice and information that leads to the ongoing improvement in the performance of compressed air systems is achieved by key partnerships and close alliances with organisations such as Future Energy Solutions, Carbon Trust, the Energy Institute and Envirowise.

New and innovative Training and Business Support schemes for both BCAS members and non-members have been produced with support from the Learning & Skills Council, Oxford and Cherwell College, Croners, Legislation and Standards For 75 years, providing information on current and proposed legislation as well as working with the various standards bodies to help develop the supporting standards has been, and will remain, the core activity for the Society and the main benefit members find from their BCAS membership.

With the help and advice they receive, members can be sure that they can produce compliant products that maintain the safe and reliable reputation of compressed air systems.

Training 2004 saw the launch of the innovative Internet based Level 2 course an Introduction to Compressed Air Technology. The course has been taken up by many in the industry and has already attracted delegates from across Europe and the Far East. It has proven to be an ideal method to ensure that your staff has reached an identifiable level of understanding that can improve their performance at work and be a platform from which to progress to further courses, such as the Diploma of Compressed Air for Managers (DipCAM)„ Anticipating the possible response from the Government’s consultation regarding their growing concern over the cost to the NHS in treating injuries to employees because an employer has not taken appropriate action to protect their workforce, 2005 will see the launch of the first of a new style of hybrid BCAS certificate (Competent Person – Tools – Certificate) that adds the underpinning knowledge, legislation and health and safety issues to the product-based training provided by a member company. This Competent Person Certificate will provide evidence to the employer that the person advising them to purchase a specific piece of equipment fully understands their needs and to warn them of the dangers in purchasing some of the low cost noncompliant products that are on the market.

For further details on the services BCAS provides and to discuss how they can help you and your company, contact BCAS by: Tel: 020 7935 2464 Fax: 020 7935 3077 Email: info@britishcompressedairsociety.co.uk Mail: 33-34 Devonshire Street, London W1G 6PY Or see the information on our website: www.britishcompressedairsociety.co.uk

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