Take control of your tools

Working in a busy production environment surrounded by tools and equipment, as in everyday life, we often put something down only to completely forget where we left it. Like losing your glasses or mobile phone, we regularly misplace items such as spanners and torque wrenches. There then follows a period of momentary disbelief as we wander around thinking: ‘I'm sure I left it here a minute ago'. The introduction of shadow boards helped to alleviate the problem and achieve the aim of an organised workplace where tools, supplies and equipment are stored in appropriate locations close to the work area or workstations. They provided the basis for standardisation throughout the working environment and the tangible benefits of avoiding waste, such as time looking for the appropriate tool between tasks - or even having to buy a new one. The introduction of Stahlwille's Tool Control System (TC System) personal kit solution is a natural extension to shadow boards and is based on the old saying: 'A place for everything and everything in its place'. Stahlwille is a specialist in the design and production of hand tools and its programme of bespoke personal tool control kits, storage solutions and tool etching first began with BAE Systems (then BAe) as a foreign object damage (FOD) prevention initiative after a Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado F3 crashed off Blackpool beach during a ‘shakedown' flight in 1996. The advantages of FOD prevention soon became apparent and a ‘tool control' rollout programme duly followed with personal kits evolving to become specialist function kits and then multi-user and multi-discipline kits. Further advantages soon became apparent, particularly in terms of asset management and operations, which include secure and restricted access to tools and equipment and leads to a reduction in tool loss and tool migration. In addition, faster and more accurate tool, equipment and asset auditing means that aircraft can be ‘signed off' quicker and with more confidence if the tools and equipment are back where they should belong at the end of the task. Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma practitioners soon identified that tool control delivered manufacturing, maintenance and operational improvements, with the right type and quality of tool and equipment available at point of use giving the operator quicker access to tool and equipment selection and significant reductions in time spent wandering off to find ‘that tool'. These advantages have migrated to other industry sectors and in addition to the aerospace sector, Stahlwille now provides bespoke tool control and equipment kitting solutions to the automotive, marine, rail, energy and general engineering sectors around the globe. Further solutions have evolved over time to incorporate different requirements and we now offer entry-level tool control, which incorporates tools located in foam inlays with sculpted 3D cut-outs for visual auditing and control, onwards to individually etched tools and Tally control systems through to electronic access systems and all points in between. It is satisfying to see that innovations and best practices developed in the aerospace industry have fed through into other sectors, but we recognise that further improvements still need to be made in solutions for asset management, tool storage, tool tracking, torque wrenches and torque calibration. To this end, we are committed to investing in R&D projects to develop ideas and initiatives and bring them to market. www.stahlwille.co.uk