James Richardson – Senior Grinding Setter

Meet James! As a “setter” James is responsible for setting up and preparing machines for the manufacturing process. In his case specifically the grinding machine. 

The grinding process involves the use of an abrasive wheel or tool to remove material from a workpiece. It is typically used to achieve high precision and surface quality on hard materials such as metals, ceramics, and composites.

James is responsible for making sure the machine is properly calibrated, tools are correctly positioned, and the materials are correctly loaded into the machine before the machining process begins. 

He is also responsible for ensuring that the grinding machine is operating within its designated tolerances and that the parts being produced meet the required specifications. In some cases, he might perform routine maintenance on the machine, such as changing out cutting tools or lubricating moving parts, but in the main he is there to ensure the machining process is efficient, accurate, and safe.

James is quite keen to ensure continuous improvement wherever he can and recognises the opportunity to make the process better, faster thereby reducing downtime. That could be by making sensible decisions over the running order to reduce changeover time and keep things running smoothly. 

James has worked at Erlson for 13 years in two stints. He recognises Erlson as a good place to work, busy but somehow relaxed at the same time. 

James said; “I like that it’s busy, it gives me a sense of job security. It’s a nice atmosphere to work in and the people are nice.” 

A typical day for James starts by setting or operating the machines, depending on where the last shift left off. As he looks after the grinding section, any issues are reported to him to resolve or escalate. These can be issues related to burning, parallelism, clamping, robot malfunction or coolant for example.

Thankfully issues are few and far between as James explains he can often leave the machines to run themselves. 

Working a busy shift, he credits shift patterns as a good way for him to get a better work-life balance so that when he is at home, he can enjoy going to motorbiking meets, riding his bike and watching Preston North End with his son. His other son is due to go in the army. 

Find out more about James’ colleagues here at Erlson by following our blog.