February, 2013
www.us-tech.com Continued from page 18
cused on a fast, effective recovery plan for BAE Systems.” It became immediately apparent that
BAE Systems needed its key suppliers to act quickly in a coordinated recovery effort. “We hoped that our equipment suppliers
shared our eagerness to work together,” Bob re- calls. “Europlacer, led by Chris Ebborn, was ready to help. He immediately arrived to effec- tively plan recovery efforts, with our best inter- ests in mind. Over a three-month span, Chris and Europlacer North America treated us as their number one priority with frequent on-site support.”
“Initially, we spent many days just trying
to assess the damage. With everything sub- merged, the first recovery phase was somewhat difficult to assess,” said Ebborn. “We were challenged many times over the five-month duration of this recovery ef- fort.”
The Europlacer IINEO and Fi-
nesse machines were moved to a ware- house that served as a recovery staging area. The machines were cleaned thor- oughly, from top to bottom, and then all machine surfaces were lubricated. Each subsystem was analyzed with me- chanical setup fixturing and test equip- ment. The machines were practically rebuilt and prepared for power-up, with emphasis placed on the computers first, and then through the entire pow- er distribution system.
Testing, Testing, Testing “Throughout the entire recovery
process, we were testing, troubleshoot- ing and maintaining a log of each day’s progress. We were encouraged to discov- er that all placement heads had not been submerged, which was a very good sign,” Ebborn continued. After replacing four out of the five
main computers, the crew proceeded to make sure that each contact on each power terminal was clean, secure, and fully functional. Once the power distri- bution system was completely tested, the first IINEO machine came to life. “We continued to check and double-
check each step, ensuring that each suc- cessive power-up was just as successful as the first,” said Ebborn. He continued to explain how difficult it is to compre- hend the amount of water and the expo- sure of the equipment throughout this process. “As we were changing out some
screws on the base of a machine support, I noticed a bit of rust on one screw,” said Ebborn. “As I unscrewed and pulled, wa- ter started just streaming out of the frame. After about 20 minutes, there was at least a half-gallon of water drained into a bucket.” In parallel with machine recovery
efforts, a recovery contractor was em- ployed to clean the mechanical assem- blies. Tony DiRado (BAE Systems) led the effort to analyze and repair trol- leys. All of Europlacer’s 50 trolleys had been completely submerged and it was difficult to assess visually, yet the re- pair effort resulted in 80 percent of the equipment being recovered and usable. After weeks of stable operation
and requalification of machine per- formance, many spare parts were re- turned to stock at Europlacer North America’s Tampa, Florida office with no questions asked. Opeka remembered, “Europlacer
really defined “True Partnership.” Many companies claim to partner with us, but there was no better partner than Chris Ebborn and his recovery team.”
Opeka continued by saying that See us at Electronics West/MDM Booth 3294 and IPC/APEX Booth 419
BAE’s PC assembly production team in new quarters in Endicott, NY.
Page 21 BAE Plant Back on Line with Europlacer’s Help
the company showed superior customer service by acting quickly, and with no questions asked. “Europlacer came in, assessed the situation and created a replacement kit, which shipped ASAP. Chris Ebborn was basically locked down with BAE Systems for five months, until we had completed our recovery exercise.” The original building in Johnson City had
been ruined by the flood, and was no longer suitable to house an electronics manufacturing operation. Before the flood, the building had been the largest wooden structure east of the Mississippi. After the flood, the wood was so badly warped that entire sections of flooring and doorways had to be torn out in order to gain access to the machines. The company moved its plant to the Huron
Continued on page 23
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