NEWS

March 2009

Undergear successfully upgrade to ISO 9001:2008

Following a 2 day combined assessment, Undergear Engineering successfully upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 and maintained ISO 14001:2004, following the 3 Year strategic review. No non-conformities were identified in the two-day assessment.

The 2008 PPM figure was published at 67PPM. This figure shows a continual downward trend and is a result of continual improvement practices set by management, implemented by employees and policed by Mark Cooper and his team. Congratulations to all

July 2008

2 new Doosan VT450 vertical turning centres installed.

Undergear have just installed two brand new Doosan VT450 vertical turning centres. The Doosan VT450 has a chuck size of 305mm, a maximum turning diameter of 450mm, and axis travels of 450mm with 20m/min rapid feeds (X-axis and Z-axis).

November 2007

Undergear sign up to The Accelerate Energy Challenge

Undergear have become one of only 25 companies to become involved in the Accelerate Energy Challenge.

The Accelerate Energy Challenge will support the automotive industry in the West Midlands to radically improve energy and resource efficiency and hence competitiveness

The key objectives of the Accelerate Energy Challenge include:

• Utilisation of a diagnostic tool process to measure energy improvements within the automotive sector.
• Create measurable energy, resource and carbon savings within the participating organisations.
• Provide support to companies in the development of competence in effective energy management and waste minimisation.
• Provide underpinning knowledge to the participants through the creation and implementation of online information and training portal.
• Assisting organisations in the implementation of best practice in energy and resource management through direct intervention and support assist projects.
• Increase opportunities for progression to further learning and business development through accessing and working with the partner organisation within the region.
• Creation of case study material for dissemination within the automotive sector to highlight the potential benefits of effective energy management and the methods of delivering those benefits.

Benefits

Participating companies will benefit from improved energy and resource management and the associated cost benefits, while individual employees will benefit from an increased awareness and skill level regarding resource management and waste minimisation. The automotive sector and the economy as a whole will benefit from reduced carbon emissions and an improved environmental performance.

The emphasis of this Challenge is the creation of a high level of environmental awareness and knowledge within the participating companies to support the effective use of resources. The adoption of new technologies and innovative methods will introduce cleaner and more efficient processes creating a positive effect on the environment and sustainability of the automotive sector.

The use of IT and ICT for the partial delivery and management of the project supports the environmental sustainability requirements of the UK by reducing unnecessary travel and wasted time within busy organisations. This is also aided by the fact that the majority of the work is done within the company thereby reducing the need for participants to travel. The effective implementation of the Challenge will ensure that the participating companies will improve their energy efficiency and waste management and reduction systems and become more environmentally sustainable themselves