Land Rover outsources total fluid management

The total fluid management of lubricants and metalworking fluids can mean very different things to different companies, whether they are suppliers of the service or customers.

The total fluid management of lubricants and metalworking fluids can mean very different things to different companies, whether they are suppliers of the service or customers.

Whatever the expectations, the one thing required from both sides is commitment, as this Castrol and Land Rover case study demonstrates.

Six years ago, following many years as one of a number of suppliers to the Land Rover Solihull plant, Castrol was awarded the total fluid management (TFM) contract for the company's powertrain operation.

The two areas of the operation are responsible for the production of engines and transmissions for Defender, Freelander, Discovery and Range-Rover models - building Storm, V8 and Gemini diesel engines, plus the automatic and manual transmissions to go with them.

The powertrain production workshops at the Solihull plant operate around 800 machines with sumps ranging from 25 to 75,000 litres.

Around 1500 people are employed across both areas producing cylinder heads, engine blocks, crankshafts and camshafts, con rods, gearboxes, differentials, gears and pinions in aluminium, cast iron and steel.

Within the TFM contract Castrol is responsible for supplying and maintaining the lubrication needs of both plants - and that means everything from the 20,000-litre bulk storage tanks that feed the transfer lines, to the bunding area, to each individual machine.

As a Castrol spokesman explains: "The Powertrain operation's commitment to TFM enables machine operators to focus on the core business, which is component production".

For its part Castrol has committed a team of 12 to the contract, which includes an operations manager, on-site contract manager, chemist, two team leaders and seven fluid technicians, working across both the transmission and the engine plant.

For major contracts such as this, they are also able to draw on Castrol's experience of lubrication best practice in the automotive and other manufacturing industries worldwide The team's duties include maintaining Castrol soluble and neat metalworking fluids, making regular fluid management checks, topping up, cleaning and responding to emergencies.

They also operate weekly preventative maintenance schedules for machine washes throughout the year and have taken on a commodity management system (CMS) role, providing second tier supplies of a number of hydrocarbon requirements for the Solihull site.

In the six years since Castrol was awarded the TFM contract the two companies have built up a good working relationship, with the team concentrating on providing the responsive and flexible service, including the 24-hour cover that is essential in the automotive industry.

Castrol's chemist monitors all concentration levels and even undertakes air quality checks if Land Rover's own occupational hygiene department is busy.

Commenting on the smooth running of the total fluid management programme, a Castrol spokesman says both parties are committed to its success.

"Land Rover managers hold monthly meetings with our contract manager and operations manager to review the running of the contract.

At these meetings both sides report any problems they have encountered within the plant and usually action there and then", he explains.

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