MEMORANDUM
To: Katalin
Voros, Operations Manager
From: Ben Lake, Cory Hall Machine Shop
Sr. Superintendent
Subject: 2007 Year-End Report
Date: 17 January 2008
My responsibilities as Sr. Superintendent of the Cory Hall Machine Shop last year were: manage day to day operations for the ERSO machine shop, which supports forty seven Principal Investigators from various departments including EECS/ERSO, Physics, ME, Chemistry; CNR, Biology, UCSF, LBNL, BMLA, support of Material Science Engineering’s (MSE) machine shop. The following report summarizes the activities and accomplishments for 2007.
The Cory Hall Machine Shop is a 100% recharge operation. In 2007
the unit consisted of one Sr. Superintendent, B. Lake Jr., two Principal
Laboratory Mechanicians, J. Gavazza and W. Carlisle, two Development Technician
V’s, R. Amaral and R. Connolly, a half-time Administrative Assistant III, N.
Peshette. All projects are submitted to
the Shop in the form of work orders. Our accounting system consists of two
major parts, the Machine Shop Job Management System (MSJMS) and “Time Logs”.
This system allows for accountability for all expense and income. The MSE unit
consists of two Principal Laboratory Mechanicians, K. Yee and S. Montalvo. They
report to C. Kumai, Principal Development Engineer in MSE.
The MSJMS program maintains a log of all work orders that
are submitted to the shop. It records several important pieces of information
that enable me to prioritize and assign projects to Shop personnel. It keeps an
on going record of current work load information. The “Time Log” is a program
which allows me to determine: who worked on what project, when it was worked
on, and how long it took to complete. Combine the “Time Log” document,
submitted work order, copy of any material ordered, and the loop is closed. All
questions can be answered including time spent and what materials were used at
what cost. This system is the cornerstone of the business end of our operation.
The individual documents are updated daily and are reviewed twice a month by me
to ensure all information is current and accurate. I also use this system to
provide vital information for yearly performance appraisals, which were
submitted on time.
I meet bi-weekly with the Microlab
and Machine Shop Operations Manager, K. Voros, to discuss workload, job
priority, and general shop business and activities. I chair monthly Shop
meetings, which are attended, by my supervisor, K. Voros, and the ERSO/MSE shop
personnel. We have an agenda and discuss financial status, open items from
previous meetings, projects specific to the safety and development of the Shop,
general housekeeping issues and other items as needed.
The Cory Hall Machine Shop completed 296 jobs for 47 PIs in FY 2006/2007; this includes 125 jobs, which were submitted in the form of job requests from the Microlab. In addition there were 205.5 hours of Pro Forma work that included support for instructional laboratories and classrooms, removing and remounting shelving, engraving plaques and nameplates, and installing audio/visual equipment.
There has been a shift in the work load and skill level required by our customers and the projects they submit. Facilities type of equipment support increased, such as moving, sighting-in, utilities connection, and equipment repair in-situ. Development Technicians cover these activities well. The other work requires highly skilled design engineering, and fabrication of precise intricate devises used for semiconductor research. As the number of jobs for Principal Laboratory Mechanicians (PLM) decreased, projects for the Development Technicians increased. Thus, one PLM was laid off indefinitely.
Our website, http://mshop-erso.berkeley.edu, features our capabilities, lists contact information, and has job request forms and general information such as photographs of completed jobs. It has streamlined our operation by answering some frequently asked questions and gives our customers an easy way contact us. It is now even searchable through Google as Cory Hall Machine Shop or ERSO Machine Shop.
Safety is always a concern but I pride myself in keeping a safe, well-organized, clean and alert machine shop. I am a participant on the Cory Hall Safety committee, which helps me stay tuned to the changing environment we work in and allows me to pass on important information and guidance.
III.
FINANCIAL
STATUS
The recharge rate is calculated to include all known and projected costs. R. Spivey, Administrative Manager, supervises this activity. During fiscal year 2006/2007 the Cory Hall Machine Shop accumulated a debt of $29,599.00. To avoid going further into arrears we had to reduce personnel by one PLM. Hopefully this action will move the shops financial affairs into a positive situation.
Finances for the two components of the joint shop, ERSO
and MSE, remain separate except for some shared supplies: 65% ERSO and 35%
MSE. The salary and benefits of the
Administrative Assistant III (0.5 FTE) are entirely paid by the ERSO Machine
Shop.
For several
years our Machine Shop has been advancing its capabilities to include
Computerized Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine tools. These new tools have
moved our design engineering and manufacturability to a level which is in
concert with the needs of our customers. Increasing our Development Technician
personnel has allowed our Shop to assist with the installation of new faculty
and their specialized laboratories within Cory Hall and will be able to assist
with all aspects of moving the Microlab to its new facility in the CITRIS
building.