Prism Electronics is taking part in an industry forum for key stakeholders in the electronics industry in the Eastern region.
Prisms head of operations David Bance will deliver a keynote seminar at the Cambridge Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network (EKTN) meeting taking place at BT Adastral Park, Ipswich, on Thursday 26 May.
The EKTN meeting will seek to identify key trends in electronics devices and examine important issues including supply chain management and the environment. David Bance is to deliver a presentation entitled ‘Supply Chain Trends’ in which he will examine the outsourcing of electronics manufacture and building successful supply chain partnerships.
Commenting on the event David Bance said: “Outsourcing in electronics manufacture is changing and some recent trends are reversing, including off-shoring manufacture among OEMs. Manufacturing is now being brought back closer to home.
“I aim to demonstrate key trends and show other stakeholders how they can benefit from these by forming strategic manufacturing partnerships.
“The Cambridge EKTN is the ideal forum in which to exchange ideas like these and identify new industry trends.”
The Cambridge Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network event, organised by Cambridge Network and supported by The Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Technology Strategy Board, brings together UK capabilities across the electronics value chain, from research through to design and product development, including sales and operations to promote the sector's global potential. It aims to facilitate knowledge transfer to help companies realise best practice and create collaborative partnerships.
The meeting will kick off with a buffet lunch and an opportunity to network following which delegates will hear David Bance as well as other industry speakers from technology consultants Sagentia among others.
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Prism is supplying printed circuit board assemblies for rail signalling equipment which will form part of the infrastructure to support the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Prism has received an initial order for 400 PCBs from ERB South Africa. ERB is manufacturing rail signalling equipment for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project – one of the largest rail engineering projects of its kind in the world. Prism was selected to supply PCBs for the project because it is already a trusted supplier for other projects in the rail signalling sector.
David Dickin, business development director of Prism Electronics, said: “It is pleasing to see our trusted business relationships with customers paying dividends. Word of mouth is perhaps the most effective form of advertising and we are delighted to be working with ERB to help deliver this project.”
The tested PCB assemblies are essential to the ‘brains’ of the Gautrain rail control signalling equipment. The equipment comprises receivers, incorporating Prism assemblies, and transmitters fitted to rail track and to rolling stock.
Prism is able to support discrete projects such as this due to its flexible production processes that can accommodate timely production of modest quantities in line with the project’s requirements.
The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link was given the go ahead in 2005 with the main construction of the project beginning early in 2007. It is set for completion in time for the start of the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
Originally conceived to ease traffic congestion in South Africa’s economic hub, Gautrain will link Pretoria in the north with Johannesburg’s Park Station in the south of the corridor in Gauteng Province. There will also be a link to OR Tambo International Airport, which serves both Pretoria and Johannesburg. Stadia in both cities will be playing host to fixtures in the 2010 World Cup, so Gautrain will play an important part in getting soccer fans to and from the airport as well as between venues.
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Prism has used its engineering skills to assist GSI Group Ltd, a Rugby-based laser manufacturing company, to break into the growing fibre laser products market.
Prism has helped to design and manufacture a number of printed circuit boards that are central to GSI’s new fibre laser, which is now being rolled out to selected GSI Group customers.
Fibre lasers are constructed differently to conventional lasers. Instead of using mirrors, laser rods and optical surfaces they are made from fibre devices. One significant advantage of this type of laser is that there is no need for alignment, adjustment or cleaning of optical surfaces once the laser has been built, making the device easier to use and maintain in operation.
Peter Bennett, GSI’s Global sourcing manager, said: “The development approach has been a collaborative one and we are delighted with the amount of effort that Prism has put into the project.
“I think one of Prism’s greatest attributes has been patience because this product has taken some time to develop. Up to now we have required relatively low quantities of components and Prism has worked hard to deliver exactly what we wanted when we needed it, clearly demonstrating a long term approach to business development.”
Development work first began on these laser systems almost two years ago. GSI selected Prism not only because it had the technical expertise to produce the board but also because it could support GSI through the whole production process, adopting a collaborative, iterative approach throughout the process.
Fibre lasers are used in a number industrial applications including aerospace, automotive and medical devices. Processes include cutting, drilling, welding and marking, where a high degree of precision is required.
Peter Bennett added: “This current project is the first step on a programme of development of a family of products based on the same technology. It has proved to be a lengthy process but it is clearly important that we get the technology right now, to provide a firm foundation for any future development.
“Our experience to date with Prism makes them the natural choice for any such developments and we look forward to working with them to forge a mutually beneficial long-term business relationship.”
Kind hearted staff at Prism raised over £1,500 for children’s charities from a day of activities at its factory and offices.
Prism stores controller Sarah Wright co-ordinated a number of fundraising events culminating in a fun packed dress down day.
Prior to the event members of staff who set up their own weight watchers club collected money after each of their weigh-ins throughout the year and donated the cash to the charity fund. But their good work was in jeopardy on the day from the number of delicious home made cakes and sandwiches that were on offer in exchange for further contributions.
The office tuck shop run by Glen Dear proved a firm favourite with Prism staff. Glen provides crisps and chocolate throughout the year with all donations going towards the final total.
Perhaps the single most popular item available on the day was a charity calendar featuring 12 members of Prism staff. The photographs were taken by one of the Prism directors and printed by a local printer. A donation of £10 per calendar was suggested and all 50 copies were snapped up!
Other activities included a raffle and charity auction with gifts and prizes provided by Prism suppliers, and a competition to guess the weight of staff member Dionne Nesbitt’s new baby for a £1 donation.
In total the sum raised for children’s charities was £1,580.
Sarah Wright said: “The fundraising was a huge success and we were delighted to have raised so much money. I would like to thank all involved who gave time and effort to make a great day. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was great for company morale.”
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Prism is expanding its production capacity to support customers who are predicting significant growth in product volumes.
Recent investments in its own plant, plus an agreement with one of South Africa’s leading contract electronics manufacturers, mean it is now able to offer economical higher volume production. Production takes place either in Cambridge or in South Africa in order to meet customer needs.
“We have an established reputation for assisting customers with design and manufacture of assemblies and equipment where there is complexity in meeting their requirements. Typical applications include such things as specialist medical equipment, scientific instruments and industrial control systems where product volumes may be modest and unpredictable,” said managing director David Aspinall.
“However, we have previously lacked the capacity to support larger volume manufacture ourselves. We are now in a position to do this by managing production in both St Ives and South Africa to meet customer requirements.”
Prism selected a South African partner because this offers a number of advantages – both organisations are in similar time zones, both speak English as a business language, both have similar business cultures and both operate to the same international quality standards.
The two companies operate compatible processes and machinery, making it easy to transfer production from one facility to the other.
Importantly, both the UK and South Africa have similar legal systems and cultural understanding for the protection of intellectual property.
David Aspinall said: “We have seen too many problems created when companies have pursued a strategy of seeking the cheapest international price without proper control of quality, with failures in communication and understanding and with loss of intellectual property protection. We have selected our partner carefully to ensure there is a ‘seamless join’ between our systems and theirs.
“Customers can be assured that, whether manufacture is taking place in Cambridgeshire or South Africa, their needs are being managed by Prism’s team with real-time dialogue linking designers, engineers and production personnel.
“We are not ‘off shoring’ our production facilities – in fact, we are continuing to invest in expanding our manufacturing capabilities here in the UK. However, where it is appropriate to consider overseas manufacturing for suitable products, we are able to benefit from the massive investment made by our South African partner in its 64,000 square foot production facility.”
The South African connection supports considerable investment in Prism’s own facilities at St Ives – investments which recently won the company a national Best Factory Award in the category for most improved plant.
New Head Of Operations Appointed
Prism has appointed David Bance as its new head of operations. This extended role is a pivotal position for the company as it continues to grow and expand.
Prism grew its business by more than 25 per cent last year and its workforce by more than a third. David will take responsibility for the company’s manufacturing operations and its continued development to facilitate projected future growth.
David, a chartered electrical engineer, joins Prism from Cambridge University’s Institute of Manufacturing where he was an industrial research fellow involved with researching performance measurements for supply networks.
Prior to that he worked at Domino Printing Sciences where he was manufacturing engineering manager and also worked in the company’s research and development and commercial printing divisions. David has also been a quality systems consultant.
“Prism is an exciting company with tremendous prospects for the future,” said David. “I am looking forward to working with the team here to ensure that we have the capability to continue to deliver high quality manufacturing services to our customers.”
David Aspinall, managing director at Prism, said: “David Bance’s appointment is strategically very important to us. As we grow we need the people, equipment and systems in place to enable us to do this efficiently and effectively.
“I am looking forward to working with him to achieve this.”
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Prism Shines Light On Unique Garden Lighting System
Prism has assisted in successfully bringing to market a unique wireless lighting system designed to create stunning lighting effects and spectacular shows in people’s gardens.
Suffolk-based Lightscape Musicale has launched an innovative garden lighting system that links into music and entertainment systems. It transmits signals to up to 96 lights installed in the garden to create an infinite variety of lighting effects that bring a garden to life.
Prism helped Lightscape Musicale during the early stages of the product’s development, particularly with optimisation for manufacture and establishing test routines. These are important phases in bringing products to market because they help to ensure efficient and cost effective manufacture. The company also sourced electronic components used in the products.
“We chose Prism as our manufacturing partner because the company best suited our needs in terms of providing quality of service and best price,” said Nick Floyd, technical director at Lightscape Musicale.
“Since we have been working with them they have shown immense eye for detail, which has been a valuable asset in helping us to successfully launch our new product.
“We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with Prism as sales of our new product grow.”
Lightscape Musicale’s lighting system comprises two main modules and a remote control. The modules contain three printed circuit boards which are manufactured by Prism.
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Pioneering laser surgery company Diomed has chosen Prism as lead supplier of electronic circuit boards for the company’s ground-breaking DELTA surgical diode laser.
Cambridge-based Diomed is an industry leader in vein care. Its DELTA laser is used by physicians across the world in the treatment of conditions such as varicose veins.
The instrument is supplied with a three-year warranty. This, combined with its international customer base, meant Diomed needed a manufacturing partner that it could trust to deliver highly reliable electronic boards. If the surgical lasers fail in the field they could adversely affect patient care as well as prove costly for Diomed to service and rectify.
Prism manufactures products to IPC-A-610, an international standard for consistent manufacture and quality of workmanship. Through this Prism is able to deliver assemblies to high standards to help its clients manage quality, reliability and risk more effectively.
There are three classes of product within IPC-A-610. Class 3 is the most stringent and intended for products that are used in demanding or critical conditions, such as hospital equipment. The tolerances on the manufacture of this type of equipment are strict to minimise the risk of the equipment failing in use.
Production staff at Prism are trained, and its production processes are optimised, to deliver Class 3 standard manufacture regardless of the intended end use of the product.
Factors such as this were important in Diomed’s decision to choose Prism. It also wanted a manufacturing partner that could provide a full range of manufacturing services including component procurement and assembly as well as full testing capability.
Prism’s expertise was also drawn on during the early stages of designing the DELTA laser. Engineers at Diomed worked closely with the technical development team at Prism to help optimise the product for manufacture.
“It was essential that we found a manufacturing partner that was able consistently to deliver electronic boards that would be reliable,” said Sue Tolliday, operations manager at Diomed. “It was also important that we found a supplier that had the capability to procure components as well as manufacture and test electronic boards for the DELTA laser.
“As well as meeting these fundamental needs, Prism has subsequently also proved to be flexible, communicative and responsive.”
Each DELTA laser contains six boards. These are manufactured in sets by Prism and delivered in line with Diomed’s order schedule. Prism is also working to help Diomed support an older generation of equipment by identifying and sourcing alternatives to electronic components that are obsolete.
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Prism and Cambridge Microelectronics (CME) have formed a link so they can speed up the design-to-manufacture process for certain types of electronic products.
CME has extensive experience in product design and development. It specialises in embedded microprocessor and microcontroller based products and systems and compliance engineering. Prism has an experienced specialist team that works with product designers to optimise prototypes for production before manufacturing them.
The combined skills mean that product ideas, that will contain embedded microprocessors for example, can be taken from concept stage through to full manufacture quickly and efficiently. The optimisation process ensures that products are manufactured economically both in terms of minimising component cost and the time taken to build.
The two companies are already actively working on enquiries from companies that produce calibration equipment and another involved in supplying medical instrumentation into hospitals.
As well as the design-to-manufacture service, Prism and CME can also help organisations meet new legislative requirements, such as RoHS (the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) directives.
The two companies can assess existing products to understand what work needs to be done in order to meet these regulations and then put recommendations into practice.
“We have worked successfully together on a number of projects and being able to present our two companies and our combined abilities will offer companies many benefits,” said David Dickin, business development director at Prism.
“Our clients will have access to an existing, close relationship and a wealth of skills that can deliver end-to-end design to manufacture services. They can be confident that we are both here to work for their benefit.”
“The collective skills and experience of our companies are far greater than that of many internal product design teams,” said John Thorne, director at CME. “We are therefore able to offer our customers a fast, focused and highly flexible service.”
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Prism Set To Exceed Business Growth Target
Following a series of new contract wins and increased business from existing customers, Prism expects to exceed its end of year target of growing the business by 25 per cent during 2006.
Over the past six months Prism has brought on board several new customers and grown existing client accounts. The company is now into the next phase of its growth and development plan.
With staff numbers already up by more than a third on last year to just under 50, Prism is continuing to recruit new staff to fill a range of positions at all levels across the company to support future business. Further investment is also planned over the coming months to increase production capacity.
“Through a combination of providing good customer service and focusing on the type of work we do best, we are growing and expect to exceed our target for this year,” said David Dickin, business development director at Prism Electronics. “We are now into our next stage of growth, which will involve taking on more production and office staff as well as investing in equipment and facilities to give us the capacity for more work.”
Following an MBO (management buy-out) in 1991 Prism has gone from strength to strength. It has recently won a number of new client accounts including Xennia Technology, Gardasoft and Copley Motion Systems. The company has also forged partnerships with other organisations, including Micro Circuit Engineering in Newmarket, to develop new manufacturing techniques as well as to provide input on taking product designs to full manufacture.
The company won the Most Improved Plant category at the national 2005 Best Factory Awards. It has also recently invested over £100,000 preparing its manufacturing operations to comply with new European legislation on lead-free manufacturing which came into force this year.
Prism’s Expertise Aids Successful Development Of Innovative Data Transmission System
Prism has provided an essential role helping Trackflow Ltd to bring to market an innovative wireless data transmission system. Since its launch, sales of the new synapse product have exceeded expectations significantly.
Launched in March this year, Synapse provides secure, reliable data transmission over a scalable wireless network. The system is designed for use in medical and pharmaceutical applications where it forms a safety critical installation used to exchange information and data between functions at high speed.
Prism has worked with the engineering team at Trackflow since March 2005. It helped to take Synapse from its initial design, through to prototype stage, optimising it for production and then on to full manufacture. The company also sourced suitable, high reliability electronic components for the product.
“It was essential that we worked with a company that really knew what they were doing,” said Jerry Walker, director at Trackflow. “Because Synapse is a ‘safety critical’ installation once in use, each product must be produced to the highest standards to ensure total reliability.
“The fact that we are using wireless technology further compounds this. This technology can be highly sensitive to the smallest changes in manufacture – even slightly different solder pastes can affect its reliable operation in the field.
“It was essential that we had a manufacturing partner that fully understood this. I have complete confidence in Prism’s ability to supply.”
During the first week of its launch Trackflow received more orders for Synapse than existing products had generated over the past six months.
Prism supplies both the transmitter and receiver units for Synapse. These are manufactured on a Kan Ban basis, 1,000 units at a time, which are then supplied to Trackflow in batches of 100.
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Copley Motion Systems selects Prism for precision
Precision manufacturing capability resulted in prism securing an initial £50,000 contract to produce electro-mechanical assemblies for an innovative linear actuator.
The linear actuator has been developed by world-leading motion solutions provider Copley Motion Systems LLC. It has been designed for food and drinks manufacturing where the production trend is increasingly towards producing short runs of custom labelled and packaged products.
The device is used in cutting, coating and positioning processes on production lines. It can reduce downtime significantly compared to traditional systems that require the reconfiguration of production lines between product changeovers. Precision operation and alignment of the device during these processes is a key feature.
The ability of the linear actuator to position itself accurately relies on the precise alignment of two sensors on the electro-mechanical assembly. Prism was awarded the contract because of its ability to produce these components accurately.
Prism produces two variations of electro-mechanical assembly which include high density circuit boards fitted with surface mounted components. To ensure precise alignment the sensors are positioned by hand.
Delivery of the assemblies is integrated into Copley Motions’ kanban production system. Initial batches tested by the company were fault free.
“Accuracy of delivered product was our main consideration when sourcing a supplier to manufacture the electro-mechanical assemblies for our linear actuator,” said Clive Thompson, production manager at Copley Motion Systems.
“Prism Electronics has demonstrated its ability to continually and reliably meet our manufacturing specifications.”
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Collaboration offers substantial benefit to Aerospace and Defence industries
Prism and Newmarket based Micro Circuit Engineering Ltd (MCE) have combined their expertise to integrate ‘chip-on-board’ and surface mount assembly for both printed and flexi-rigid circuit boards.
Collaboration on the project has brought together the specialist skills of both companies. The benefits of using this approach to electronics manufacture could be significant for Hi-Rel (high reliability) applications and in particular the aerospace and defence industries, where the market is expected to be substantial in the future.
The companies can now supply high density, high reliability electronic assemblies. This combination of technologies increases the flexibility of circuit board design, reduces the weight and space of electronics and improves the reliability and response rate of systems.
MCE is part of Smiths Aerospace Electronic Systems, a leading global supplier to builders and operators of military and civil aircraft and engines. MCE designs and produces electronics systems for these industries.
Prism has developed its surface mount and board cleaning expertise to support the initiative. It has also devised ways to supply circuit boards that are suitable for chip-on-board assembly. MCE has invested in specialist machinery for chip-on-board assembly, automatic aluminium wire bonding and for component encapsulation and has run comprehensive environmental tests on the assembled boards.
“This is an exciting development for both Prism and MCE and has the potential to bring significant benefits to the customers of both our companies,” said David Dickin, business development director at Prism.
“Together we have carried out extensive research and development to perfect this manufacturing process and are now at a stage where we can supply these products to our customer bases.”
Steve Riches, business development manager at MCE, said: “The combined expertise of our companies has enabled us to expand our scope for custom electronic module manufacture.
“The constant drive towards reducing costs of high reliability products without compromising their performance initiated this development. Prism was selected as our partner due to its technical ability and focus on customer service.”
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Prism appointed preferred supplier to Xennia
Xennia Technology Ltd, the industrial inkjet specialist based in Hertfordshire, has appointed Prism as its preferred supplier of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and electronic sub-assemblies.
Xennia, a leading provider of customised inkjet solutions, inks and printers for industrial applications, contacted Prism looking for a manufacturing partner that could supply manufacturing services to support development work and provide production volumes of components.
Prism will initially manufacture a range of different PCBs as well as sub-assemblies which will be used in Xennia’s inkjet print head controller systems.
“We are often faced with tight delivery schedules for our products,” said John Corrall, production and engineering director at Xennia. “Prism is very much a deadline sensitive company and is therefore ideally suited to our business needs.”
Prism has already helped Xennia migrate development projects to full manufacture. “Taking projects from development phase into manufacture needs to be done carefully to achieve economic, reliable production,” said David Dickin, business development director at Prism. “We have a great deal of expertise in this area and are pleased that Xennia appreciates the added value we bring to its business.”
At its manufacturing facility, Prism offers exceptional levels of customer support and operates a flexible, demand led production system which is capable of responding to sudden changes in product specification or volume.
January 2006
Prism invests for lead-free manufacturing
Prism has invested over £100,000 preparing its manufacturing operations to comply with new European legislation which comes into force this year. Ahead of its introduction in July 2006 the company is now capable of producing electronic assemblies that are lead-free.
The EU Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive restricts the use of specific materials, in particular lead, in most electronic products sold in Europe. It will affect almost all companies that produce electrical and electronic equipment. They will have to ensure that their products do not contain more than the levels of hazardous materials that are specified by the Directive.
“Almost all producers of electrical and electronic equipment will have to comply with this new Directive,” said David Dickin, business development manager at Prism. “For many companies the transition to producing lead-free products will be a complex task and will need to be started well in advance of the deadline to ensure it is completed in time.”
The Directive has significant impact for the electronics industry because lead is used in many electronic components as well as in solder. To meet the requirements of the legislation, Prism has installed new equipment, introduced new systems and given staff specific training on lead-free manufacture. It has also appointed a senior member of staff who is dedicated to assisting customers with their transitions to producing lead-free products. He will help them to source and specify equivalent lead-free electronic components.
“Our experience of helping our customers with the transition from leaded to lead-free components has shown that there is often significantly more work than expected and that the process is never straight-forward,” continued David.
“With electronic component manufacturers at different stages of changeover to lead-free and some not directly replacing old products with new lead-free ones, converting a parts lists does not always mean a like-for-like swap.
“We have made significant investment to ensure that we give our customers as much time as possible. Because we are helping many of our customers with this process we have also accrued a lot of knowledge and experience about how best to manage the transitions. So that our customers can benefit from this we have also appointed a special project manager dedicated to helping customers with this.”
The company has installed a second wave soldering machine that uses lead-free solder. Surface mount reflow and hand soldering can also be carried out. Prism has also installed a dedicated assembly area for lead-free production to eliminate the possibility of cross-contamination with products that contain lead.
Work procedures are also in place to prevent cross-contamination, for example, ensuring that different solder bits are used in soldering irons for lead containing and lead-free assembly work.
October 2005
Prism celebrates award in style
Prism celebrated in style when the company won the Most Improved Plant category at the national 2005 Best Factory Awards. The Prism factory was closed early on Thursday 22 September while staff toasted the company’s success with a champagne celebration aboard a luxurious narrow boat.
Prism was presented with the prestigious award at a ceremony at London’s Hilton Hotel. Judges recognised that since entering the competition previously, the company had demonstrated marked improvements in training, service and quality. They also recognised the step change in technology being used at its factory.
“We are all absolutely thrilled to have won this award,” said David Aspinall, managing director of Prism. “Everybody at the company has worked very hard for this and we wanted to celebrate our success. We shut down the factory early and all spent a very pleasant evening on a narrow boat trip from Hartford Marina to St Ives - and enjoyed a champagne reception and buffet along the way.
“It gave everyone a chance to relax a little.”
The company was able to show judges the results of measures it had taken recently to improve operational efficiency and on-time delivery performance and to minimise rejects and rework across the factory.
“It feels good to get national recognition for the results of all the efforts we’ve put in over the years,” said Paul Young, team leader at Prism.
The Best Factory Awards, which is run by Cranfield University School of Management in partnership with Works Management publication, aims to promote and reward manufacturing excellence.
Other award winners and runners up at the 2005 awards include Gillette (UK) Ltd, Campbell Grocery Products Ltd, Siemens Standard Drives, MK Electric Ltd, Tetley GB Ltd and Johnson Diversey.
Keynote speaker at the award ceremony was Nick Brayshaw, chairman of the CBI’s manufacturing council. The event host was writer and broadcaster Frances Edmonds.
“We have worked very hard to grow our business, improve what we do and the way we do things,” continued David Aspinall. “The Most Improved Plant award recognises all the effort that staff at Prism have devoted to take our business forward.”
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September 2005
Prism announced winner at UK 2005 Best Factory Award
Prism has won the Most Improved Plant category at the national 2005 Best Factory Awards. The company was presented with the award at a prestigious ceremony at The London Hilton in Park Lane.
“Winning this award is a tremendous achievement,” said David Aspinall, managing director at Prism. “Against significant competition from a number of major, national companies, we have shown that the investments we have made in staff training, computer systems and manufacturing equipment have been recognised as being of great value to our business.”
Prism was one of just 12 companies across the UK to be short-listed for an award. Judges chose Prism recognising that since entering the competition previously, the company had demonstrated marked improvements in training, service and quality. They also recognised the step change in technology being used at its factory.
The company was able to show judges the results of measures it had taken recently to improve operational efficiency and on-time delivery performance and to minimise rejects and rework across the factory. These included investing in a new automated optical inspection (AOI) system and test benches; a new company-wide ERP (enterprise resource planning) computer system and an ERSA scope, which is used to check solder joint balls.
Weekly preventative maintenance procedures have also been introduced to ensure that all equipment and machinery are prepared for the work ahead, functioning correctly and within calibration.
“I feel proud to be working at Prism,” said Nicola Shepherd, assembly operator at Prism. “It’s not every day that somebody judges your company to be one of the best in the country.”
The Best Factory Awards, which is run by Cranfield University School of Management in partnership with Works Management publication, aims to promote and reward manufacturing excellence.
Other award winners and runners up at the 2005 awards include Gillette (UK) Ltd, Campbell Grocery Products Ltd, Siemens Standard Drives, MK Electric Ltd, Tetley GB Ltd and Johnson Diversey.
Keynote speaker at the award ceremony was Nick Brayshaw, chairman of the CBI’s manufacturing council. The event host was writer and broadcaster Frances Edmonds.
“We have worked very hard to grow our business, improve what we do and the way we do things,” continued David Aspinall. “The Most Improved Plant award recognises all the effort that staff at Prism have devoted to take our business forward.”
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August 2005
Prism shortlised for UK Best Factory Award
Prism is one of just twelve companies across the UK to be short-listed for an award in the prestigious 2005 Best Factory Awards.
The Best Factory Awards, which is run by Cranfield University School of Management in partnership with Works Management publication, aims to promote and reward manufacturing excellence. Prism has been nominated for an award in four categories, including the Best Small Company and the Regional Award - East.
“Reaching the shortlist in such a prestigious, national award is a tremendous achievement,” said David Aspinall, managing director at Prism. “We make considerable investment in staff training, computer systems and specialist manufacturing equipment and are always looking for improvements to our processes.
“We do this so that we continue to deliver high quality products and services to our customers – but if all this work is recognised within a national award programme that includes substantial organisations, it really endorses our efforts and is a tribute to all of our staff.”
Previous winners have included Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) and BAE Systems Avionics.
The selection process for the awards consists of two stages. Initially an audit questionnaire is completed by each participating organisation. Companies are then visited by a team of experienced assessors which evaluates different aspects of their manufacturing processes against other organisations in the same industry sectors.
The audit includes operating performance measures such as quality consistency, scrap and rework rates, speed of delivery, delivery reliability and productivity. In addition, the quality and effectiveness of systems for continuous improvement are evaluated together with the quality of management leadership and strategic thinking. Finally, organisations are assessed on the extent to which they meet the criteria for world class manufacturing.
This year’s winners will be announced at an award ceremony which will take place on 20 September 2005 at The London Hilton in Park Lane.
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June 2005
Design-to-manufacture skills of Prism help launch unique product
Prism's design-to-manufacture expertise has taken a unique new product, developed to reduce cross-infection in dentistry and the medical profession, from prototype through to full production.
Safe-Point is a revolutionary new product from CooleyField & Associates Ltd which automatically unscrews complete hypodermic needles from syringes and safely disposes of them. Previously, similar products have only broken the needle off, making it possible to become injured while manually unscrewing the bayonet from the syringe.
Safe-Point, which is patented in UK, Europe and the US, aims to reduce the 100,000 needle-stick injuries that occur every year in the UK.
Prism won the contract to manufacture Safe-Point, which is valued at over £150,000 in the first year. Sales are expected to grow rapidly as the product becomes established in the UK and is rolled out across other countries.
Prism was brought on-board at an early prototype stage so its skills could be used to help optimise Safe-Point for manufacture and bring it successfully to market.
The company’s expertise has been invaluable in sourcing components, refining the product’s design and building prototype models to help prepare it for production and keep manufacturing costs to a minimum. It has also managed CE approval for Safe-Point, so it meets European regulations, and the development of packaging and labelling for the product.
Safe-Point was created from CooleyFields’ initial concept by Cambridge-based product design consultants Wright Design Ltd. Because the manufacture of Safe-Point would involve both electronic and mechanical production processes, Wright Design and CooleyField needed to source a manufacturing partner equally skilled in both these areas of manufacture.
The companies chose Prism after evaluating the services of several other contract electronics manufacturing companies because of its even balance of capability in both electronic and mechanical manufacture and the experience of key personnel in taking products successfully to market. Prism will supply each Safe-Point assembled and packed complete with instruction manuals - ready to be shipped to end users.
“When we initially spoke to Prism we found them to be very realistic about what could be achieved with the manufacture of Safe-Point,” said Chris Field of CooleyField. “We had no experience in taking products to market and we needed to find a partner we could trust completely to help us with this phase of the product’s development.
“This combination of realism and trust made Prism the right choice for us.”
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June 2005
Prism secures £200,000 P/A manufacturing contract
Flexible manufacturing processes and expertise in planning the transition to using lead-free components has resulted in Prism securing a contract worth £200,000 per year to produce and assemble all of Gardasoft Vision Ltd’s product range.
Prism will produce and assemble seven different product lines for Gardasoft at volumes of between 200 and 300 per year. The products involve a mix of both electronic and mechanical assembly.
Gardasoft, which is also based in Cambridgeshire, produces automatic machine vision systems for the automotive, medical and manufacturing industries. It needed a manufacturing partner with flexible production processes that could easily accommodate changes to product specifications as designs are updated and is geared to cope with changes to manufactured quantities as sales patterns fluctuate.
The company also needed help with converting all its product range to use lead-free electronic components, which will be required to meet new European legislation next year. When the Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive comes into force, certain materials (including lead) which are currently used in the manufacture of products will be banned in Europe.
The transition to lead-free manufacture is proving a complex process for many equipment producers because there is often no direct equivalent for electronic devices. Also, component manufacturers are at different stages of migration to supplying lead-free, which makes sourcing alternative products time consuming and technically challenging to ensure that a new component will perform in the same way as the old.
At its manufacturing facility, Prism operates a Kanban production system which is ideally suited to responding to sudden changes in product specification or volume. The company has also appointed a dedicated project manager to help its customers with the complex and time consuming process of converting to lead-free components.
Prism was selected from six other contract electronics manufacturing companies which were approached as potential suppliers to Gardasoft.
Peter Bhagat of Gardasoft said: “Our product range continually evolves to incorporate new technologies and functionality. We needed a manufacturing partner that could accommodate this as well as cope with changes to production schedules as order patterns change.
“Some of our products are also quite intricate to manufacture, for example, needing components to be carefully shaped before they can be fitted. We were particularly impressed with the capabilities and skill level of staff at Prism.”
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March 2005
| Prism awarded manufacturing contract following nationwide search
Following a nationwide evaluation of over 100 electronics manufacturing companies, NEE Controls Ltd has selected Prism to supply printed circuit board assemblies, which are used in the manufacture of its products. NEE is the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of automation control systems. The company had been experiencing a high failure rate of PCB assemblies from its previous supplier and conducted an extensive search to find a company that would improve significantly the quality and reliability of supply. “It became strategically essential for us to find a new supplier,” said Richard Olds, production manager at NEE. “We had reached a situation where we were rejecting unacceptable quantities of PCB assemblies from our previous supplier. “This had the potential to affect the growth and development of our business. We needed to source another supplier that we could trust to meet our production and quality requirements reliably. “Because of the potentially serious implications poor supply could have on our business we took a strategic approach to identifying a new supplier. “I carried out careful, extensive research to evaluate the services and capabilities of over 100 electronics manufacturing companies in the UK. Through a series of questionnaires and presentations to our directors I gradually narrowed this down to one company. “It has taken a lot of effort to find the right manufacturing partner but the effect Prism has had on the company already has been significant.” Prism manufactures and supplies six variations of PCB which are 30 cm x 20 cm in size. The high density boards are fitted with a mix of fine pitch and surface mount components as well as connectors. “Being selected to supply NEE’s PCB assemblies after such exhaustive research was a tremendous achievement for us,” said David Dickin, business development director at Prism. “When companies see us as an extension to their business rather than a provider of commodity services we can offer substantial benefits. For example, we work closely with NEE’s production and design teams and use our knowledge of electronics manufacturing to help design new PCBs that are optimised for production. “Through providing support like this we can offer our clients a much more effective service that takes us beyond being merely a supplier of commodity products.”
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Feb 2005
Prism has extended its customer service team and promoted internal staff to help the company to meet increasing demands for its services and provide a platform for future growth.
The company has recently attracted several new customers that include Cambridge-based Artimi Ltd and Royston-based Xennia Technology Ltd. The new appointments and internal restructuring will enable the company to continue to provide a high level of service to existing clients and quickly integrate new customers into its operations.
“Customer service is at the heart of our organisation,” said David Aspinall, managing director at Prism. “We plan to grow the business further but want to do this carefully to ensure that we maintain our high quality service.
“I believe we now have a scaleable structure and an excellent team of people in place that will allow us to do this.”
David Dickin has been promoted to business development director, a new role which encompasses account management, marketing and new business sales. David has been with the company since September 2003 and has a wealth of experience in electronics design, manufacturing and procurement having previously worked with Amino Communications, Acorn Computers and ITT Consumer Products.
Jo Pritchard has joined Prism’s customer services team as customer service executive. She fulfils a crucial role as the main point of contact between the company and its customers for their production orders. Jo has worked for several years in client-facing roles and brought with her exceptional experience in this area.
Ron Jones has been promoted to head of operations. Previously production manager at the company, Ron’s new role now also encompasses purchasing and engineering. The engineering team integrates new client products into production, provides engineering support to production and oversees the company’s printed circuit board (PCB) design facility.
Ron has worked in high-tech industries for over 25 years. Prior to joining Prism in 2001 he worked for Simoco in Cambridge.
“Our aim is to provide our customers with long-term manufacturing support,” continued David Aspinall. “The mix of people we have in our team gives us the capability to deliver highly effective services to help our customers at every stage of the product lifecycle – providing support during design through to end of life.”
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