Working in an industry which relies on machinery, our Operations teams know that even the most robust equipment can occasionally test their resilience. That’s exactly what happened recently at our Dove Holes site.

The team experienced a breakdown on the feeder that loads the trucks from the drystone bins – a broken shaft on the motor that drives the feeder. This motor had served us faithfully for many years but was old and no longer something we could simply replace off the shelf.

With the bin above the feeder now full, the process plant could no longer continue producing. At the same time, one of our key customers, Marshalls, was awaiting product that must come specifically from this bin (due to its moisture content). The clock was ticking.

A new motor was sourced, but it required a brand-new cable to be run from the control room to the feeder and a new control panel to be made. That work would take time, time our production schedule and customer commitments didn’t have.

This is where Tim Kearney, one of our Maintenance Engineers, stepped in and refused to let the situation impact our key customer. He proposed a temporary fix that would allow the team to continue supplying the customer while the permanent solution was being installed. Going above and beyond, Tim took the failed motor home and used the lathe in his own garage to machine a new thread onto the output shaft, enabling the stub to be securely reattached. With the repair complete, he returned to site, reinstalled the motor, and got the feeder back up and running.

Thanks to Tim’s quick thinking, initiative and skill, production resumed, customer commitments were met, and operations continued smoothly right through until the weekend, when the new motor and upgraded cabling were successfully installed.

As a well-deserved thank you for his outstanding effort, Tim was presented with an Amazon voucher from Cemex in recognition of his dedication. Well done Tim, and thank you for demonstrating what great teamwork and pride in our work really looks like.