Production Management at Ricardo Midlands Technical Centre: Behind the scenes with Chris Page

Chris Page is a production manager at Ricardo’s Midlands Technical Centre, responsible for the safety and well-being of everyone on the shop floor, as well as working with Team Leaders to understand their machines, planning and scheduling and the logistics of working alongside the production team. He tells us more about his career.

Q: How did you come to work in a manufacturing environment?  

My dad and my grandfather where both involved in manufacturing related activities. I got a lot of insight from them, so when it came to choosing my own career, I opted to do an apprenticeship with PGM Ballscrews. I enjoyed it and learnt a lot about many different things. It was a solid foundation to build upon, before I moved into industry, working in a business that made high precision ball screws for aircraft and submarine equipment amongst other machines.  

I stayed with the business for seven years and it was a brilliant time to be honest. It’s probably what made me stay in engineering. The company were Japanese owned, and decided to offshore, so after a short time at another company, the opportunity at Ricardo popped up. That was 20 years ago now.   

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Q: What did you do when you first joined Ricardo?  

I started my career at Ricardo as a machinist. It was very similar to what I’d done before, so I managed to hit the ground running, I was quite pleased about this, as it was daunting, having never really worked anywhere else. I was on the machines for about five years, learning new skills and in a variety of roles, and then a job came up in offline programming. The new role gave me a lot of flexibility and allowed me to learn new skills. When they set up a new multi-tasking machining area, they asked me if I would help to support new staff and new processes. I became its team leader, alongside another area, which I did for about five years, until I applied for the production manager role. My time at Ricardo has seen me advance every few years, while also learn new skills and take on more responsibility. 

  

Q: What are your key responsibilities, as a production manager?  

My first responsibility is the safety and well-being of everyone on the shop floor, that includes Ricardo employees and visitors. The world works very differently to when I did my apprenticeship, there is quite rightly a focus on health and safety first. It was a big learning curve for me, when I first got involved in doing risk assessment.  

Another part of my role is working with Team Leaders to understand their machines, planning and scheduling and the logistics of working alongside the production team. It’s a very fast paced environment, where you need to understand how jobs are loaded and work to a specific timeframe. I really enjoy this part of the job, as I like to keep things moving.  

Q: How has precision manufacturing changed since you began your career?   

In some ways yes. When I first started it was more focussed on a person doing a job; certain people would only do one job. There’s now much more flexibility and focus on people being able to do multiple jobs, based on following the correct standard operating procedures, for repeatable improvement processes. This adds opportunities for learning but also supports the business to be more agile.  

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Q: What are some of the highlights of your career at Ricardo?  

One of my biggest highlights is implementing a new machining process for a key customer. It required a lot of effort and time, but it was worth it to see the quality that has been achieved and how it’s now repeatable across other areas. It’s a great of example of everyone working together, with improved knowledge and skills. 

One of the obvious highlights has been working on projects for Porsche, the level of detail, tolerance and accuracy that is required on these and other projects for customer such as McLaren is huge. Perfection is a very high standard to achieve, but it’s also more challenging.   

We’ve also done some work for a customer in the marine industry that involved quite a heavy casting in a material that we weren’t used to working with. This presented a challenge, as it was very unique, but we were able use our skills and experience to deliver the project.    

Q: How do you think your role as a production manager brings value to your customers?  

Quality wise, it does. One of my biggest focusses is on how people work with the parts we produce, always with attention to detail and communicating any issues that arise. We’re like a family, solving challenges collaboratively and helping each other. I’d like to think I’m an approachable person, and I’m always happy for people to come to me with any concerns. The people you work with are what makes your job more enjoyable.

Q: How do you engage with the other departments in the manufacturing team, as part of your role?  

It’s a generally fast paced environment at Ricardo, which I like, but it’s also important that everything follows a step-by-step process. As a team, if we identify a problem, we work together to understand it and find a solution. It’s a joint effort, between the production team, the project managers, purchasing and others. There’s lots of talking, which allows us to deal with anything we need to.  

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?  

I like to keep busy; I’ve mentioned the fast-paced environment, I also like to know what’s going on and see if I can help. When you see parts come off the line, or a completed gearbox, or transmission, it makes you feel satisfied that you’ve done your job. I also enjoy the variety of my work and most importantly the people I work with, without them we wouldn’t be here.  

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