Author Archives: Becca

Following a £300k+ investment in the very latest surface mount component placement technology, we placed one million components in less than a month, significantly increasing our previous manufacturing capabilities.

Our existing machine – which had itself provided leading-edge technology when we purchased it ten years ago – had reached the limit for the size of components it could place.

“Technology is driving the increased miniaturisation of components, with much of this emerging from the telecoms and automotive industries, said Static Systems’ Manufacturing Director, Philip Marsh.

“It is our intention to retain our market-leading position within the healthcare and custodial communication sectors and to future-proof our production capabilities. Our new pick-and-place machine will give us more space and flexibility with our printed circuit board designs, as well as allowing us to remain cost competitive and increase manufacturing capacity to meet fast turnaround delivery schedules as and when necessary.”

Our chosen solution – a fully automated Mycronic MYPro MY300SX-15 – is overseen by our highly trained operators. It delivers improved accuracy and speed of module placement, as well as providing the capability to place very small components. Changeover time is dramatically improved when compared with previous generation machines, enabling us to react far quicker to changes in demand.

To optimise the performance of the new surface mount machine, we have also upgraded the workspace to include a ‘positive’ air ventilation system. By providing filtered clean air, the system will help to prevent airborne particles being drawn into the build of the boards, avoiding potential contamination and ultimately improving system reliability.

Chris Turner, Commercial Director at Static Systems, adds: “We are immensely proud of our extensive in-house manufacturing facilities which enable us to quickly respond to the demands of our clients. Alongside our skilled workforce we use some of the very latest manufacturing technology and equipment, and we place great importance on having end-to-end control of our manufacturing processes.

“This latest investment reflects our continued commitment to offering world-class manufacturing capabilities here in the UK. The fact that we can do this from our base in Central England is an added bonus, particularly when a lot of uncertainty surrounds the impact of Brexit on those suppliers who import their alarm and communication solutions.”

The machine chosen was a Mycronic MYPro MY300SX-15 pick-and-place machine equipped with a 4K inspection camera and an integrated RCD electrical verifier. It was manufactured in Sweden and supplied through the company’s UK subsidiary.

Over a nine-month period, a team comprising our Production Director, Technical Director and Surface Mount Team Leader created a specification identifying current requirements, future challenges and weaknesses of the existing system.

After an initial search which involved visiting trade shows and distributors, we created a shortlist of six suppliers and then reduced this to the three machines which best matched our exacting standards. Reference sites were visited, and the top two suppliers were asked to participate in a controlled test involving the manufacture of a board populated with the most difficult to handle components that the engineers could devise. Mycronic performed best in all of the assessments and was the unanimous choice of the team.

By investing in an AquAid water cooler system for our Wombourne headquarters, we have directly supported the installation of a new water well in Africa. For each water cooler sold, the supplier AquAid donates a portion of sales to the Africa Trust, a charity which installs water wells.

The water wells, which are affectionately referred to as ‘Elephant Pumps’, are a modified version of a water pump based on an age-old Chinese rope pulley system. The pump is built by an experienced member of the Africa Trust in conjunction with the community that the pump will serve. The community is then taught how to work the pump and how to repair it using local materials and parts. The sustainability of these pumps ensures their longevity – one pump can supply drinking water to a community for decades.

Jennie Terry, Marketing Manager at Static Systems, comments: “Studies show that good hydration contributes to workers’ health and safety and general well-being, and that even mild levels of dehydration can adversely affect both physical and mental performance. With these considerations in mind and wishing to encourage more fluid intake, we decided to install a number of mains-fed water dispensers around our offices and manufacturing facility.

“We chose AquAid as our supplier as through them we could help to provide safe drinking water to one of the poorest communities in Africa. Our pump is bringing much-needed clean, fresh drinking water and improving the quality of life of those who will have access to the well. We recently received a thank you letter from pupils of the local school where our pump was installed and it’s wonderful to hear that our small contribution is making such a different to their community.”

Through its charity partnership, AquAid has donated more than £6 million to the Africa Trust, resulting in more than 1.3 million people being supplied with safe drinking water.

About AquAid

Over the last two decades AquAid have donated a percentage of their revenue from the sale of their products to bring water to over 2 million people in water scarce regions throughout Africa. Through these initiatives, they have been able to donate over £15,000,000 to charity.

You can find out more about AquAid and the charities they support at www.aquaidwatercoolers.co.uk

On behalf of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust, SSG has successfully completed a ‘live’ site-wide upgrade to the nurse call system at Queen’s Hospital Burton ahead of schedule. The anticipated delivery period for the project was four to five years, however we completed the work in just over three.

Queen’s Hospital Burton is an acute 450-bed hospital serving around 360,000 residents of Burton upon Trent and the surrounding areas. The hospital had over 40 existing nurse call systems, including some of our conventionally wired equipment which had been in place for some 25 years. With much of the equipment becoming obsolete, maintenance costs rising and the risk of equipment failure increasing, the Trust recognised that a complete system upgrade was required.

We were appointed to replace every nurse call system throughout the hospital. All upgrade work had to be undertaken in a live, fully occupied hospital environment, which is our area of expertise.

Our Codemlon™ loop wired addressable nurse call system was identified as the best solution for the upgrade. Using Codemlon meant that the containment and back boxes in most of the hospital’s existing nurse call systems could be re-used, reducing replacement costs and minimising disruption during installation. Additionally, as Codemlon offers radio sound entertainment, the Trust could continue to provide patients with free-to-access radio, controlled through the nurse call patient hand units – one of the Trust’s requirements of the new system.

A wireless nurse call system was deployed during the upgrade of the wired system to provide the staff and patients with continuity and enable our engineers to work in a live ward, a bay at a time. In each ward, our engineers undertook the upgrade, swapped over from the existing to the new equipment and provided demonstrations to the ward staff on how to use the new system. The temporary wireless system was then removed by the hospital’s estates staff ready for use in the next area.

We connected the hospital’s various ward-based systems together using the Trust’s own LAN, enabling the Trust to transfer calls between adjacent wards/departments as and when required.

In order to futureproof the system, the Trust requested that provision be made for our reporting and analytics software to be incorporated at a later date. The Trust will be able to use the software to collate and analyse data to demonstrate efficiency and levels of patient care. Two satellite community hospitals will also be connected to the event logging server. The technology will enable us to gain remote access to undertake technical support and provide advice to the hospital.

Steve Clark, Project Manager at Static Systems Group, comments: “A significant number of our contracts are repeat business with long-standing customers, and the Queen’s Hospital Burton upgrade is a good example of this. We’ve looked after the Burton Campus for the past 25 years and as a result of the high level of service we’ve provided over this time and the proven track record of our Codemlon nurse call solution, the Trust appointed us for this project.”

James Chadwick, Head of Facilities & Capital Developments, Burton Campuses, at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, adds: “Having worked with Static Systems for many years, we were confident that they would deliver a reliable and effective solution for this large-scale upgrade. The installation of the new system was seamless, with only very minimal disruption to ward operations. Feedback from the ward staff on the new systems has been very good, with staff finding them to be easy to operate and keep clean. The solution that Static Systems has put in place allows for future expansion of the building and plans are already in place to integrate further ‘modular’ buildings to the nurse call system over the coming months. This migration has saved the Trust around £24k per annum on call outs and repairs.”

The new system is fully compliant with HTM 08-03.