A manufacturing company is a very complex organism with many different skills
and activities directed at the process of turning raw materials into marketable
products. This blend of efforts also changes over time as new technologies and
up-dated management thinking are brought to bear on the organisation in an attempt
to improve efficiency. This Section attempts to describe something of the complexity
that existed at Westwood Works. We hope that it gives an insight into how individual
departments not only worked together but changed over time as they assimilated
new skills and new technologies.
It is important to note that Westwood Works was not a mass production factory,
the process plants it sold to many industries around the World being made to
order. The factory, therefore, was geared up for small batch production, with
batch sizes of components generally in the tens rather than the thousands.
It is usual to describe a manufacturing company in terms of "the works" and
"the offices" or "white collar" and "blue collar" workers but no company can
be truly successful if such categorisation is allowed to get in the way of a
free flow of ideas and co-operation across all aspects of working life. Although
the terms and conditions of employment were often different for "Staff" and
"Works", such was the management style and the culture of Westwood Works that
little evidence of any hard boundaries was evident either in work or leisure
activities.
It is perhaps true to suggest that all activity on the site started from work
carried out in the offices – design, sales, etc. – but without a skilled workforce
to turn these ideas into items of production machinery with which customers
could make profits, there would be no business.
No attempt has been made to divide the following list of departments into "Works"
and "Offices". Although starting and finishing times might have provided a logical
division, we consider that this arrangement better reflects the true atmosphere
that permeated most of the life of Westwood Works.
(For more information on each Department, please click on the links).
The Departments:
(In alphabetical order. The nomenclature is that generally in use at Westwood).
Apprentice School/Training
Baker Perkins was renowned for its training, both for engineering apprentices
and commercial trainees. After being in the forefront of developing on-the-job
five-year apprenticeships, Baker Perkins were the first to sign an agreement with
The Amalgamated Engineering Union for four-year apprenticeships for craftsmen.
In the late '60s and early '70s Baker Perkins had 1000 apprentices under training
in its UK factories.
(See Training)
Blacksmiths Shop
One of the oldest and most skilled crafts in engineering. Little changed from
the early days of the village blacksmith, here were fashioned, effectively by
eye, such things as large mixer blades too complex in shape to be produced on
a machine tool.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and Life at Westwood Works)
Boiler House
Where steam was raised for space heating and for process work – in the Experimental
Department for example.
(See Site Facilities and Maintenance)
Blackodising
A proprietary method of pre-finishing components before assembly. Particularly
used on Printing presses.
"BOMS" - Board of Management Services
Carried out research and wrote reports in support of the Main Board Directors.
This activity was used as the first experience for new graduate recruits to the
company who were considered to have senior management potential. See more here.
Responsible for all of the petty cash transactions on site.
Commercial Office
This is from where the world-wide sales force was administered. Daily contact
by Company representatives and agents with customers both old and new, at home
and overseas, resulted in a steady stream of orders into the organisation. For
each potential order, relevant pricing was discussed with the Estimating Department,
costs and methods of transport with the Shipping Department and financing options
with the Finance Department. The result was a Quotation that, after agreement
with the Customer, became a Contract. The major change in this activity over time
was from hand-written Customer records to computerised market data bases.
(See In the Offices)
Computer Department
Baker Perkins was an early user of computer-based business systems with the installation
of an English Electric Leo KDF 6 Data Processing system in 1964. Used at first
for payroll work, producing wage and bonus slips, its operation was extended to
include factory production control, costing and general accounting procedures.
A second machine was installed at the end of 1969. The space taken up by these
computers – nearly two floors of the 1933 multi-storey block - would, today, house
many hundred PCs and the computing power of each was perhaps not even equal to
one of today's desk-top machines.
(See In the Offices)
Corporate Planning
In the '50s, the "Future Development Committee" was set up. This was a group of
Directors and senior executives charged with determining the direction and future
goals of the Company. After the major Group re-organisation in 1963, there was
a move to the preparation of a rolling 5-year Corporate Plan on which the budgets
and business development plans of the Group Companies, Divisions and individual
departments throughout the organisation were based.
CPO – Central Production Office
Part of the Production Engineering Department, the CPO was responsible for planning
and controlling the flow of work through the manufacturing facility. It attempted
to balance factory loading in order to optimise efficiency. At first the necessary
scheduling was managed using a series of cards held in long boards ranged along
the walls of the CPO office but this work was gradually taken over by the new
computers being installed from the mid '60s. Up until the early 1950's, "Section
Fathers" (See below) played a key role in expediting work through the factory
(See The CPO, In the Offices and
CPO Social Events)
Customer Demonstration Department
Part of the Experimental Department where process machines were tested and demonstrated
to potential customers. In the early days this was a relatively simple affair
with little more than a couple of mixers, bread moulders and a drawplate oven.
Later, a range of the latest equipment was available on which could be produced
all types of sophisticated food products. Tests were usually conducted under conditions
of high security, the food business being highly competitive and customers were
anxious that information about their new products and processes should be kept
from their competitors. As multi-million Pound orders could depend on the results
of these tests, a high level of trust between the Company and its customers was
fundamental to its success.
(See Westwood Works in 1923 and
In the Works)
Cutter Shop
Where the biscuit cutters and biscuit moulding rolls used in a biscuit process
plant were produced. A template of the biscuit design was made and this was used
to engrave the same design many times into the surface of a cutter or moulding
roll. At first, this was a lengthy process controlled by hand but later, computer-aided-manufacturing
technology was used to cut several impressions at once automatically.
(See In the Works)
Customer Services
The original Spares and Field Engineering functions were combined in later years
to form a focused "Customer Services" operation.
Despatch/Packing
Westwood equipment was sent to factories all over the world. This meant long sea
voyages and often extended periods of storage in a hostile environment when it
reached its destination. Each machine had to be carefully protected and packed
in large weatherproof wooden crates that were made in the Packing Department.
Spare parts were despatched by rail and Parcel Post in the UK and an increasing
volume was sent by airfreight, necessitating special lightweight packaging. From
the late '60s, equipment began to be shipped in the, then, new standardised containers
that are now such a commonplace feature of maritime freight traffic. After packing,
the Despatch Department then carried out the transport arrangements organised
by the Shipping Department (see below).
(See Westwood Works in 1923 and
In the Works)
Directors Garage/Vehicle Workshop
Where the Company limousines were kept and serviced. Its position on the site
changed over the years.
(See The Company Chauffeurs
and Getting to Work).
Drawing Office
Where designers and Draughtsmen produced the working drawings and specifications
used by the Machine and Fitting shops. It will be seen from the photographs that
not a lot appeared to change in the Drawing office from the earliest days of Westwood
Works up the mid 1970s. This was when the first Computer Aided Design (CAD) equipment
was installed and drawing boards, pencils and paper gave way to electronics. By
the early 1980s Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) had become the norm and designers
were able to commit their designs to tapes that were used directly to operate
the new generation of numerically controlled machine tools. It was then that the
Drawing Office moved onto shift work for the first time.
(See Westwood Works in 1923,
The Drawing Office and In the Offices)
Provided a service to the Drawing Offices including storage and retrieval of all
working drawings, printing copies of drawings on demand and committing key drawings
to micro-fiche, 35mm film and other long-term storage media. Original copies of
drawings were held for 12 months and then destroyed. Back-up copies of all drawings
were held in Customer Services.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Offices)
Electro-Plating
Where special finishes (e.g. chromium plating) were applied to Machine parts.
In WW2, this department had to learn new skills – building up worn or otherwise
undersize parts to standard by hard nickel deposit.
Estimating Department
Responsible for producing all quotations sent to customers by the Commercial offices.
Experimental Department
Where development work was carried out on ideas for new machines or processes.
Parts of this building were strictly out of bounds to most employees. It was here
that Customer demonstrations and, on occasions, trials of a customer's new products
were carried out (see above)
(See The Experimental Department)
Field Engineering/Service Department
An incredible collection of Engineers who erected, commissioned and serviced plant
and machinery in customers' factories all over the world, often in difficult environmental
conditions.
Finance
The controllers of the purse strings. As well as the day to day management of
the company's financial resources and ensuring that the Company met all of its
statutory obligations, the Finance Department were intimately involved in the
preparation of Management accounts, Departmental yearly budgets and in the Corporate
and Divisional Business Plans of which the financial dimension – cash flow, investment
and, particularly, calculations of Return On Investment (ROI) were of vital importance.
The Company's high level of export business placed special emphasis on the Finance
Department's management of foreign currencies and exchange risk.
Fitting Shop
It was here that the components manufactured in the Machine shop (see below) were
assembled, together with "bought-out" items such as electric motors, drive belts,
etc., to form unit machines or complete lines of process plant. Although components
were manufactured to exacting standards the skills of the Fitter were needed to
ensure that the assembled machine ran smoothly before it was despatched to the
customer.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Foundry
Another highly skilled and rather dangerous job. Forming the "moulds" from sand
using "patterns" (see "Pattern Shop" below) was a painstaking task. In particular,
the cutting of the "runners" and "risers", which ensured that the molten metal
reached all parts of the mould evenly, took years of experience to master. In
the early years, "green sand" and "loam" were used to form the "moulds" but, by
the '70s, resin-bonded sand came into general use for some applications, notably
"core" making. Huge electric furnaces were used to melt the metal and pouring
this into the relatively small opening in each mould was not a job for the faint-hearted.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Foundry Laboratory
Carried out a metallurgical analysis of all metals being cast to ensure the correct
chemical composition for the designed end use.
Goods Inwards
Where all "bought-out" components and consumable supplies were received, inspected
and stored before being incorporated in to the process machines being built in
the Fitting Shop.
Heat Treatment
A highly specialised department that modified the physical characteristics of
particular components to meet designed standards of surface hardness, etc.
Hollerith Department
In pre-computer days, "Hollerith" cards were punched with information about an
employee's clocking-on/clocking-off times and these cards were passed through
a form of calculating machine - pre-loaded with each person's pay rate, etc -
which worked out their weekly or monthly pay. As this was in the days before direct
payment of wages/salaries into bank accounts, this information was then passed
to the Salaries and Wages Department where the appropriate sums were put, in cash,
into small brown envelopes to be handed out on "Pay Day". (See "Salaries
and Wages Department" below and Clocking-On).
Industrial Design
In a new approach to design in the '60s (?), Baker Perkins employed a small group
of mainly art-school graduates, trained as 3D Product Designers, to help create
a new generation of process machines. Talking with customers – to discover how
equipment was actually used – then with sales and marketing people to define specification
targets for ease of use and maintenance, safety and hygiene, the group then worked
with design engineers and production experts to propose solutions that would work
to the highest standards, be easy to manufacture, be competitive and have a low
lifetime cost of ownership for the customer.
(See In the Offices and The Drawing Office)
Inspection
Usually individual "cells" of skilled craftsmen sited within specific departments
whose job it was to ensure that components were manufactured within the tolerances
for dimensional accuracy and surface finish stipulated by the designer. All finished
machines were of course inspected before being allowed to leave the Fitting Shop.
Orders and Invoicing
Part of the Finance Department responsible for sending out invoices for payment
in line with the agreed terms of each contract, for paying creditors and for pursuing
debtors.
Laboratory and Metallurgical Department
A rather hidden away part of the Works where, among other activities, tests were
carried out on raw materials to determine their suitability for particular applications.
(See Westwood Works in 1923 and
In the Works)
Lithographic Department
Most of the company stationery was printed here and held in the Stationery Store.
Only one person from each of the other Departments was designated to collect stationery
from the Store.
(See The Lithographic Department)
Machine Shop
The Machine Shop was where raw materials were turned into components for later
fitting into the unit machines that would in turn form part of complete process
plants. Typical machining operations included - Turning, Milling, Boring, Gear
Cutting, Drilling, Shaping, Grinding and Engraving, these machines being usually
grouped by type in separate bays. The biggest change in the machine Shop
over the nearly 100 years of Westwood Work's existence was the way in which machine
tools were powered and controlled – from the lineshafts and pulleys which were
in existence right up to the end of WW2, the integral drives of the late '40s,
'50s and '60s, to the numerically controlled machines of the '80s. In later years,
machine tools tended to be put into "Group Technology Cells" – where all of the
machines necessary to make a specific class of components were grouped together.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Maintenance
The department which ensured the smooth running of the whole site, from the performance
of individual machine tools to the fabric of the buildings and the supply of public
utilities. They were also involved in the preparation for, and installation of,
any new equipment brought on to the site.
(See Site Facilities and Maintenance)
Manufacturing/Works Office
Administered the operation of the company's manufacturing assets.
Marketing/Market Research
Carrying out detailed research exercises, both using statistical information and
field research, to determine exactly what the Customer needed and then making
proposals as to how the business might be organised to meet these perceived needs
at a profit. This activity was given a boost in the early '70s with the formation
of "Bismark" (Biscuit Division) and "Bakemark" (Bakery Division).
Marking-Off
A "Marking-off" table was a feature of most machine tool bays. Here components
received "setting-up" marks to aid efficient machining, especially in the case
of castings.
Materials Control
It was realised at the beginning of WW2, that materials would be difficult to
get hold of. A Materials Control Department was set up based on the premise that
if the sales representatives could sell products they ought to be good buyers.
With a main Board Director in charge the venture proved a great success. This
activity later became known as "Purchasing" (see below).
Medical Department/Surgery
On-site dispensation of first-aid in the event of accidents and help and advice
in cases of illness. All employees were subject to a medical examination as part
of the job application process and some employees were given annual medical checks.
(See On-site Services for Employees).
Metal Spraying
Where undersized components, particularly shafts and spindles, that had failed
inspection were salvaged by spraying with metal in a lathe. The component would
then be re-machined to the correct size.
Methods Department
Began in around the mid '50s carrying out work study projects in the factory,
following these through into the original design and having the drawings amended
where necessary, all with the aim of improving ease of manufacture and reducing
costs. This activity developed through the '70s into the Standards Department
(see below).
Model Shop
As previously stated, most of the machines sold from Westwood were made to order.
Certainly, it was not always possible, often for competitive reasons, for a prospective
buyer to see a complete process plant before signing an order. In these cases,
the company's model maker, Jack Randall, made a highly detailed, large scale model,
showing the new equipment in the customer's factory.
Paint Shop
All finished machines were painted prior to despatch. Some components were also
painted before assembly where their position within the final product made post-assembly
painting difficult.
Patents
Ensuring that all new engineering designs and process developments were registered
and protected around the world against competitor copying and that the company's
Trademarks and copyright were not infringed A close watch was also kept on the
competition's own patent applications.
(See How it Started).
Pattern Shop/Carpenters
A highly skilled operation making the wooden patterns that were used in the Foundry
in the manufacture of castings to form the sand moulds which were then filled
with molten metal (see "The Foundry" above). The dimensions of the patterns had
to be carefully calculated to allow for the shrinkage that occurred as the metal
cooled. Boxes were also made in which the 'cores' – shapes inserted into the moulds
to form holes and voids in the finished castings – were created using a special
type of sand.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Pensions
Administration of the Company Works and Staff Pension Schemes.
Personnel/Human Resources
A change of title over time did not change the essential responsibilities of this
function. These included man-power planning, Industrial Relations, Personnel Records,
advertising for and interviewing potential recruits, employee training, maintaining
competitive Terms of Employment and salary/wage scales and the creation/monitoring
of career paths for potential senior managers. Because of the high percentage
of export sales from Westwood Works, learning foreign languages became an important
part of the Training activity with in-house courses as a regular feature.
(See In the Offices and
Training).
Photographic/Publicity
An in-house resource producing photographs of company products, product brochures,
press releases, company films and the company newspapers. – "Group News" and "Contact"
(later "APV News"). Another very important task was the organisation of the company's
stands at the many Trade Exhibitions that took place around the world each year.
This was another service that was contracted out in later years - to a company
formed by the ex-employees of the Department.
(See Group Newspapers and
In the Offices)
Plant Engineering
Responsible for maintaining the company's manufacturing assets, planning the introduction
and installation of new machine tools and technology while ensuring that conditions
on-site at Westwood met the highest standards for health and safety.
Plate Shop
A very noisy place where sheet metal, angle iron and strip metal were cut, rolled
and bent, welded or riveted, into diverse shapes from machine outer covers to
complete baking ovens.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Postal Department
This was the entry point for all mail into the company which was then sorted and
delivered by internal 'postmen' to individual departments. The Postal Department
was often used as the first job experience for new commercial trainees as it provided
a useful overview of the company organisation. All out-going mail was weighed
and franked with the correct value before being collected by Royal Mail at the
end of the day. Inevitably their busiest times were at 9.00 in the morning, when
sorting took place while departmental managers clamoured for their mail on time,
and again at the end of the day with secretaries often having to scamper down
the stairs with a late-dictated letter that just had to catch the last post. Three
delivery and collection rounds took place from each department every working day.
Worked with the Drawing Office and the Ratefixers to determine the most cost-effective
combination of manufacturing and engineering design for each potential design
application. This was carried out before the drawings were finalised so as to
ensure a smooth transition from concept to finished component.
Purchasing
The Department responsible for purchasing all "bought-out" items to the specifications
drawn up by the Drawing Office. Although always seeking to buy at the best possible
price, their decisions had to be based on a balance between price, quality and
delivery security.
Rate Fixing
Determined the length of time it would take to carry out individual machining
and fitting operations. These calculations formed the basis for determining the
rate of bonus to be paid to operators.
Reception
The Company's important first point of contact with the outside world. A
Commissionaire was on duty to welcome visitors and a Receptionist smoothed their
path into the organisation. The Receptionist also maintained the Visitors Book
(a very important part of the on-site Safety procedures), kept the Chauffeurs'
Appointments Diary, advised "Security" which flags should be flown on that day
and performed some typing tasks when time allowed.
(See The Company Chauffeurs).
Rough Grinding
Where the "runners" and "risers" were ground off castings as received from the
Foundry prior to sending them into the factory for machining.
Safety Office
The department responsible for all aspects of safety on site, ensuring that the
Company complied with the Factories Acts and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises
Acts in liaison with the Factory Inspectorate. Always on the look-out for potentially
hazardous situations or dangerous practices, the Safety Officers carried out monthly
inspection on all cranes, hoists, lifting tackle, etc., while arranging for suitable
safety clothing, goggles, footwear, etc., to be available when needed.
Salaries and Wages Department
Responsible for the payment of monthly salaries to the "Staff" and weekly wages
to the "Works" and the deduction of stoppages – Income tax, National Insurance,
Pension Contributions, Sports Club and Manor House subscriptions, etc. Up until
around the mid-'60s, both salaries and wages were paid in cash, in small brown
envelopes but around this time salaries began to be paid directly into employees'
bank accounts. Wages were paid weekly in cash right up to May 1990, after which
they too were paid monthly into bank accounts as part of the "single status"
preparation for the move to Paston.
Sales
(See Commercial Office above)
Secretariat
Looked after the "legal" side of the business, ensuring that contract documents,
Terms of Business and Conditions of Employment met legal requirements. Managed
the distribution of the Company's shares. Ensured that the activities of employees,
the performance of equipment sold and the company's assets were adequately covered
by insurance.
(See The Holdings Building).
Section Fathers
Were senior administrative staff in the Central Production Control Office, each
with specialist knowledge and responsibility for the requisitioning and progressing
of a defined range of products, e.g. Bakery unit machines, ovens and proovers, laundry
machines, C&C machines etc.
A Section Father was, therefore, a specialist liaison officer for converting
order paperwork in to Work sheets, who, whilst responsible for safeguarding
against technical mistakes co-ordinated working between the Order and Invoicing
department and the Works via the Specification department.
They were qualified by long experience and had considerable authority to intervene
in problem situations in collaboration with the shop foremen and they were generally
recognized as important people injecting their specialised knowledge and experience
into the administration side of the manufacturing process.
Security
This function was responsible for policing and controlling entry to the Westwood
site by day and by night. The development of this activity, its other responsibilities
and its organisation are covered in some detail in Security.
Shipping
This department used its expertise in comparative shipping and freight insurance
costs, together with knowledge of tariffs and excise duties around the world,
to ensure that the products manufactured at Westwood reached the Customer by the
shortest, safest and most cost-effective route.
Spares
The provision of spare parts is an essential part of any manufacturing business.
"Spares" reacted to requests (sometimes very urgent) from customers anxious to
keep their equipment running and, where possible, met the demand from stock. On
occasions space had to be found in the busy Works manufacturing programme for
'break-down spares' to be made and air-freighted to customers anywhere in the
world.
Standards
During the '70s, liaised closely with the Factory Inspectorate in London and produced
the "rule books" used by the Drawing Office to ensure that new designs were to
agreed national and international engineering quality and safety standards. Also
responsible for interpreting the potential impact of changes in Government legislation
on the design and operation of equipment produced at Westwood.
Stationery Stores
Where all office supplies – paper, pens, pencils, typing ribbons, etc., were kept
and distributed as required in response to a signed requisition from the relevant
departmental head.
Stores
They were many different Stores scattered around the site, primarily for raw materials
– Steel and other metals (in the form of sheet, bar, plate, tube, angle iron,
etc) together with some castings - but also for some finished items purchased
from other suppliers such as electric motors, switchgear, nuts and bolts, drive
belts, gearboxes, etc. Items were drawn from these stores using Specification
Sheets prepared by the Drawing Office as part of the design process. Patterns
were stored close to the Pattern Shop. Other stores existed for tools, overalls,
consumable items – cleaning essentials, hand cloths, lubrication oils, etc – from
which the workmen drew their requirements on demand.
(See Westwood Works in 1923
and In the Works)
Sub-Contracts
This department acted as something of a safety valve for the company. Not every
component was made at Westwood. On occasions the factory workload dictated that
some work was farmed out to other manufacturers. This worked both ways in that,
if orders fell off for any reason, work could be undertaken for other businesses.
Telephone Exchange
In the early days this was a "plug-in" switchboard, housed in what was a small
storeroom, and worked by five female operators and a supervisor. (A photograph
can be found in "Inside the Offices"). Making the necessary connections
for external and internal calls was a rather complicated process. Telexes had
to be phoned through to them for onward transmission. In later years, telexes
were superseded by faxes that could be sent from machines sited in each office.
The original "plug-in" switchboard was replaced by a computerised version some
time after 1981. The Holding Company building had its own small, computerised
switchboard installed in the mid/late '80s.
A more detailed description, written by Liz Scarr, of the original Telephone
Exchange can be found in Reminiscences.
(See In the Offices)
Test Bed
A section of the Fitting Shop where process machines were hydraulically tested
and inspected after erection, prior to sending to the Despatch Department.
(See In the Works)
Tool Room
Where special cutting tools and jigs used in the Machine and Fitting shops were
manufactured to very high levels of precision.
Travel
Organised all travel arrangements for employees visiting customers and group companies
around the world, including the provision of new or up-dated passports, visas,
etc.
Typing Pool
Before the age of universal computer literacy letters were dictated using either
shorthand or cumbersome Dictaphone machines. Wax cylinders or recording belts
from these machines were sent to the Typing Pool where around 30 ladies spent
their days typing out finished letters. Hand-written reports and other material
were typed-up by copy typists. The required number of copies was made using carbon
paper (No photo-copiers in those days!). Any mistakes, or changes of mind, meant
that the letter had to be sent back for correcting or re-typing. All of these
ladies had to spend time in the Personnel Training Department, only being allowed
into the Typing Pool after reaching a satisfactory standard. Later, these activities
were carried out by a Departmental Secretary using a Personal Computer and a photo-copier.
(See In the Offices )
Welfare
Concerned with the well-being of employees, particularly in times of illness,
personal stress, misfortune or difficulty.
Working Instructions
The preparation of "owners manuals" for every unit machine and complete process
plant that the company sold. These covered how the equipment should be used, fault-finding
and the fitting of spare parts.