12 Weir Bulletin March 2010 Access the Group Intranet
Customer Focus
Putting customers in ‘Improvement Driving Seat’
Customer focus is key to continued growth and a pilot programme at six selected Weir companies In the pilot, a high percentage of customers gave
underpins our three principal drivers – innovation, and led by champions: Weir top scores and would recommend products to
collaboration and global leverage. The selected companies were: others. At the same time the pilot demonstrated
With this in mind, a pilot programme was • Weir Minerals Europe, Todmorden, UK – opportunities to further enhance business results by
undertaken in late 2009 using Net Promoter Score Kevin Spencer improving the customer experience, including a
(NPS). NPS is an internet based interactive survey • Weir Services Europe, Alloa, UK – number of specific improvements that are being
programme designed to assist companies better Alan Stewart followed up by local champions.
understand and deliver what is important to • Weir Valves & Controls UK, Elland, UK – The process is designed to be administratively
customers. The survey scores a business unit based Neil Williams light and to assist front-line Weir employees to better
on measurements of customers’ views on service, • Weir SPM, Forth Worth, Texas, US – understand their customers and further improve
products and other key indicators. The goal is to Gavin Nicol service. NPS also complements the established Weir
increase business performance improvement by • Weir Minerals South America, Antofagasta, continuous improvement system of the Weir
putting customers into the ‘improvement driving Chile – Ricardo Garib Production System and Weir Commercial System.
seat’. The overall programme was sponsored by Keith In January, following a review of the pilot results,
NPS is used by leading international companies in Cochrane, Group CEO, supported by Group the Weir Group Executive agreed to broaden the
a number of sectors including engineering. Weir personnel including Alan Harrison, Mark Leonard, programme which will be rolled out across all
partnered with UK developers, Satmetrix to conduct Chris Palmer and Jak Deschner. operations during 2010.
Cost saving
solutions for
island facility
Norske Skog, a world
leader in newsprint and
magazine print production and Carter Holt
Harvey (CHH), wood manufacturer, work in
partnership to minimise power usage at
Tasman mill in the north island, near Kawerau
in New Zealand. A combination of geothermal
and steam energy generators are used to
minimise power for the energy intensive pulp
and paper manufacturing facility.
New Zealand is largely hydro powered and
dam levels decrease during summer months
resulting in increased electricity usage. Rapid
action was required by Weir Minerals when a
turbine blade failed on a geothermal steam
turbine. CHH, the maintenance provider,
Testing of the GEHO hydraulically driven DHC pump with innovative VZ system
sought a cost effective and prompt repair
solution from the Weir turbine experts in field
services, based in Australia.
New system secures
The Weir experts provided a solution that
included design and manufacture of new
GEHO order
turbine blades using innovative computer
numerical controlled technology, more suitable
for geothermal steam.
Weir were able to provide complex project
Weir Minerals Netherlands expanded the range of applications, particularly management, on site installation and
successfully tested and in tailings and power plant ash handling, commissioning, thus avoiding further cost for
delivered the first cylinder hydraulically driven helping to secure orders worth over six million the customer as the rotor did not have to be
GEHO piston pump with the new and innovative Euros. transferred to another facility for inspection.
VZ system in December 2009. The piston pump The newly designed VZ system ensures a Significant cost savings were made as the
model will be applied for transportation of fly constant flow of pump without interruption solution prevented the customer having to buy
ash slurry at the coal fired power plant at during switch over. The constant flow pumps three months’ of energy, normally generated
Vedanta Lanjigarh Alumina in Orissa, India. with very little pulsation are suitable for high in the geothermal plant.
The GEHO DHC pump and new VZ system has speed slurry pipeline applications.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24