Creative problem-solving and interdisciplinary collaboration addressed the Covid issues affecting calibration of the brake testing unit.
The Covid pandemic has raised various challenges in society over the past year. When the manufacturer of the brake testing unit was unable to send the necessary technical assistance from outside of Norway because of the risk of infection, different departments within Mantena had to take a new approach.
It all started when the ToruPro brake testing unit device went beyond its calibration interval and there was no way of carrying out the necessary calibration in the goods vehicle department at Grorud. The challenge was to get the unit approved without sending it away and without stopping production.
Plans for permanent system
The special project was headed by technician and team leader Erling Flage from the goods vehicle department. To solve the problem, he had to design and weld together a brand-new tool to enable the unit to be tested in the workshop. For now, only the unit at Grorud has been calibrated in this way, but the plan going forward is to have a permanent system in place to calibrate all ToruPro devices at Mantena, without the calibration manager from the manufacturer having to come to the workshop.
Different departments involved
Flage talks proudly of the interdisciplinary cooperation within Mantena.
“This project is a good example of how we at Mantena are thinking in new ways and solving problems in exciting ways through interdisciplinary cooperation. We can never compromise on safety whatever challenges we might face. For this project, we worked in the goods vehicle department with Petter Lefoka from the technical department and Einar Johnsrud from the valve department,” he says.