His dream career would have been to charter boats and to be a Close Protection officer at the same time. A holiday on Richard Branson’s Necker Island would be a bonus. With a background in the military and extensive manufacturing experience, Lee Welch is well placed to lead our Coating Production site.

How long have you been working at Advance Tapes?
I’ve been working at Advance for 4 months now and it has, as you can imagine been very full on due to the current pandemic. I’ve had to get to grips with things quite quickly, but I’ve enjoyed the challenge.

Can you tell us more about your career prior to working at Advance?
After leaving school I went into the Royal Marines where I did Commando training, Artic Warfare training, Jungle training and Nuclear deterrent training up in Scotland. I also spent some time with the USA Navy SEALS and US Rangers on an island called Vieques. After leaving the Marines I went straight into manufacturing as a Production Operative at Eurocell and since then I have gradually worked my way up having been a Technician, Team Leader, Shift Manager and Production Manager at various organisations. During this time, I briefly had a stint in Sales. One of my more recent roles was as Production Manager at Warburtons.

What made you want to join Advance?
So, I actually applied for two other roles at the time I was applying for the Coating Production Manager position at Advance. I had received offers for all three but was really attracted to Advance as I enjoyed the interview process, I liked the company culture, and I thought I could make a real impact in the role. During the second phase of the interview I undertook a site tour with Carl Mills (Engineering Manager) and I knew immediately that we would get along. The collaboration between the Production Manager and Engineering Manager is a key relationship, so it was important I felt we could work well together.

Do you have any exciting projects taking place that you think people would be interested to know about?
At the moment I am concentrating on raising performance across the whole Coating site with a real emphasis on employee development. We want to ensure all employees are aware of what they need to develop in order to improve and progress. We want to make sure that more operators are trained across multiple assets so that as a business we are more agile and better placed to respond to changes in demand.

Waste reduction is also a key objective and something we are continually working. We have made vast improvements over the last few months and we need to aim to keep up this good work.

If you could switch to another career what would it be and why?
I really love the idea of chartering boats as a captain and having a close protection qualification so that guests feel comfortably safe at sea and when we hit land too. Although I really like rally car driving so it would be a close call between the two.

Who is the funniest person you work with?
It’s a close one! I find Alan Gilding’s (Customer Technical Manager) sense of humour great, it’s very dry. I also think Carl Mill’s (Engineering Manager) is very funny, it really makes coming into work very enjoyable. It seems as though I’ve been working at the company much longer than I have.

Do you have any hobbies outside of work that people may not know about?
Aside to loving my family life I like to walk my dog who is a cross Staffordshire Bull Terrier with Mastiff called Duke. I have had him since he was 8 months old and fostered him from a farm. He is now eight years old and is a big boy but very well natured.

I am also into my weight training which I do at the gym but unfortunately due to current circumstances I have not been able to do this the last few months. I am also looking to take up sailing as there is a club just down the road from me and I plan to begin a course as soon as the circumstances change.

If you had £10 million what would you do with it?
I would definitely keep working but I would invest the money in business and offer my wife the chance to give up work if she wanted.

What do you think you are best known for at work?
I’ve not been here long so that’s a tricky question to answer. I would like to hope that people think I’m approachable and thankful for good work.

If you could have a superpower what would it be and why?
I would like to fly. Then again, my favourite superhero is the Hulk and he doesn’t do too much other than jump around. Although I think being Hulk would help with the weight training.

What is your idea of success in your job?
Success to me is being able to deliver continuous improvements and to have a happy and engaged workforce who want to develop and do well.

What do you like most about working at Advance?
The ability to be autonomous. I like that Mike Ayres (CEO and Chairman) expects results but allows me to go off and deliver these through my own strategy. However, he’s also there to bounce ideas around and generate input. I have only been here for a short period, but I do feel like Advance is a company that I will be at for a long time and I hope to progress.

If you could switch places with anyone for the day who would it be? And why?
I think it would be Richard Branson as I travelled by his island, Necker, in British Virgin Islands when on route to the Caribbean for Jungle training in Guyana. He has a superyacht called the Necker Belle which has a huge sundeck for parties, my dream.

Alan Delvin is one of our UK Senior Key Account Managers and is responsible for setting up a detailed and customer-specific business strategy, as well as anticipating the evolution of supply and demand, and feeding back innovation and insight to the business.
We invite you to discover through his interview his career and his business vision.

How long have you worked for Advance?
I started at Advance in 2001, and in the last 18 years I’ve witnessed a lot of positive changes within the company, which has been a great experience.

How have your responsibilities or day-to-day work changed from when you first started?
When I started with Advance Tapes, we were all employed as Area Sales Reps. Those roles have now developed over time into Key Account Management, which is much more focused on maintaining long-term relationships with our customers.

It’s not just about sales, but making sure our clients are happy with every aspect of what we do for them. As time and technology have moved on, we also have more direct communication with our customers than we used to.

The area I look after has also increased in the UK, plus I’m also now responsible also for some export countries and some major customer head office accounts.

What’s one of your interests that we might not know about?
I play golf regularly, but very badly most of the time.

Who’s the funniest person you work with?
Richard Stephens, Senior Key Account Manager, has a very wicked and dry sense of humour… but parental guidance would be advised.

If you won £10 million, what would you do with it?
I would go on a very long holiday and drink loads of cold beer to celebrate. Some golf lessons would also come in handy.

What are you best known for at work?
Being persistent is how I would describe it… but my work colleagues would probably say something else.

If you could switch to any career you wanted, what would it be?
A golf professional, but as I mentioned, there’s not much chance of me getting close to that.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
To read people’s minds. It would be great to put this into use at Advance!

What’s your idea of success in your job?
Of course it’s my goal to grow sales year on year, but keeping our customers happy is a crucial part of that and very rewarding in itself. I spend a lot of my time working directly with our customers – some of whom have been with us since before I joined the company. Advance is all about putting customers first, so that’s an important measure of success.

What do you like the most in your job?
There always seems to be something different happening at Advance, along with meeting a variety of different customers which always keeps the job interesting.

What do you like the most about working for Advance?
I love the sense of humour my colleagues have, which creates an energy within the company and in turn makes working for Advance a lot more pleasurable.

The purpose of electrical tape

Typically, tape is particularly useful for a few applications in the electrical market. These include:

• Grouping and securing electrical cables together
• Denoting cables that relate to a particular purpose or piece of equipment
• Indicating cables that carry a particular voltage
• Repairing damaged cables, to strengthen them and to safely insulate the live wire
• Keeping cables out of the way to prevent them becoming a hazard
• Protecting cables from abrasion, weather conditions and other damage

However, as we’ve mentioned, safety is always extremely important, hence we need to understand and adhere to the guidelines set out by the HSE to minimise risks.

What does the law say about electrical tape?

The HSE provides a detailed breakdown of the various BS EN standards, categorised by which specific areas they relate to. These include codes of practice for lighting, fire and security systems, heating, temporary electrical systems (often relating to entertainment), household and workplace appliances, and machinery for various industries and so on.

The HSE further explains that electricity regularly results in accidents, including fatal ones, and not necessarily just affecting those working directly with electricity. Electric shocks can directly cause burns and other injuries, but they can also lead to dangerous falls, and fires caused by poor wiring are an even bigger risk.

With this in mind, Advance’s own AT7 tape conforms to the BS EN 60454 Type 2 standard, which relates to fire safety. The tape is both flame retardant and self-extinguishing, which helps keep the risk of fire to a minimum in accordance with the official standard.

The HSE also points out that electricity is more likely to lead to shocks, burns, fires or explosions in certain circumstances. For example, the presence of water, severe weather conditions or access difficulties can all increase the risk of damage and accidents. This general guidance also applies to any situation involving electrical tape.

In general, the HSE does not have any more specific demands when it comes to the physical properties of electrical insulation tape. Rather, it specifies that risk assessments must be carried out in order to establish the safest solutions, and that maintenance must be done properly on a regular basis. In many cases, the right tape can be vital in order to achieve this quickly, easily and safely.

Different types and colours of electrical tape

An important aspect of using electrical insulation tape is selecting the appropriate colour for your specific task. These are not chosen randomly or with aesthetics in mind; they each have a particular meaning. However, these are not universal, differing slightly between the US, Europe and the UK.

The UK-specific meanings of each colour are generally as follows:   Black – Insulation or low voltage, neutral* Red – Low voltage, phase B Blue – Low voltage, phase C Yellow – Low voltage, phase B Green – Earth

*It is worth noting that black tape is the most common in this area of work. In many cases, black will be used for actual insulation and repairs on all cables, and a single ring or label made from another colour will be used to indicate each of the above meanings.

As another note, the UK has fewer specific meanings assigned to colours when compared to Europe or the US, where white, brown, purple, orange or grey tapes may also signify different types of cables. While these colours are used in the UK, they are less common and there is no national standard for what they mean.

The advantages of AT7 and AT77

Based on all these safety and colour-coding requirements, Advance offers a range of HSE-compliant electrical insulation tapes. These are made from PVC, which offers exactly the right properties for this type of task.

Our most popular option is AT7 PVC Electrical Insulation Tape, which offers many great features that make it perfect for insulating cables.

• Available in 12 standard colours, plus different length and width options
• Flame retardant in accordance with BS EN 60454 Type 2
• Easy unwind and easy tear to make electrical engineers’ work easier and quicker
• Flexible and able to conform to irregular surfaces, including cables of different shapes and sizes
• Resistant to both water and UV light, giving it a long life even outside in harsh weather
• Resistant to abrasion, protecting the tape and the cable itself from damage

In special cases, AT77 All Weather PVC Electrical Insulation Tape might be an even better choice thanks to its specific properties that make it even more hard-wearing under certain conditions. The advantages of AT77 include:

• Even better UV resistance for longer-lasting performance outside in sunlight
• Extreme temperature resistance, from -18°C to +80°C
• Flame retardant conforming to BS EN 60454-3-1 Type 6
• Extra resistant to ageing for continuous high performance

If you have any more questions about the required standards for electrical insulation and how our adhesive tapes can help, get in touch with our team and we’ll gladly advise you. You can also review the HSE standards to check which points apply to your specific area of work.

Alain Faure is one of our French Key Account Managers and is responsible for setting up a detailed and customer-specific business strategy, as well as anticipating the evolution of supply and demand, and feeding back innovation and insight to the business.

We invite you to discover through his interview his career and his business vision.

How long have you worked for Advance?

I have been working for Advance Tapes for more than 20 years, but I have never been bored! During these years I gained a solid knowledge of adhesive tapes and the industries in which we operate.

How have your responsibilities or day-to-day work changed from when you first started?

The responsibilities of a Key Account Manager are much more important today, which is in line with the company’s desire to build closer and more sustainable relationships with key accounts. Our customers are at the heart of our strategy.

We are in charge of a complete customer project, from the creation of the account to the after-sale, through the marketing activities. I work in close collaboration with the Marketing Manager, the Product Manager and the Technical Team; It’s always interesting.

If you could switch to any career you wanted, what would it be?

I would have liked to be an archaeologist! I do not know where we are going but I would like to know where we come from.

I think it’s an exciting job. I do watch a lot of documentaries and am always amazed to see that from a small piece of ceramic, archaeologists are able to understand the way of life of our ancestors.

Who’s the funniest person you work with?

I would say without hesitation Genevieve Sterchi, our Finance Manager at Advance Tapes France. She is always smiling and bubbly. She is great to work with.

If you won £10 million, what would you do with it?

Nothing crazy. I would put that money aside and the next year I would spend the interest. But my wife would probably do the opposite!

What are you best known for at work?

I would love my colleagues to say about me that I am a kind person. Building and maintaining good relationships with my colleagues as well as my customers is very important to me. I hope they can see how much I enjoy being part of a team.

What’s one of your interests that we might not know about?

I am going to disappoint you on this one, but I do not have any secrets!

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

I would love to go back in time and to contemplate the past. Even small things, like to see how my street looked 200 years ago would be fantastic.

What’s your idea of success in your job?

I do feel successful when I manage to satisfy my customers to the benefit of my company. I want the customer to view every interaction with Advance as a positive experience. Our customers see value in strong partnerships and I take pleasure in delivering that.

What do you like the most about working for Advance?

What I like about Advance Tapes is its small structure with a small team. It’s a bit like a family, on a larger scale. We are not a number, but a person in our own right. We all have our faults and qualities, but we work hand in hand.

The 5S system is an exciting trend that has been credited with revolutionising the way many different companies operate. The principle originated in Japan, a country widely regarded as exceptionally efficient and productive. This “lean” framework is very simple at its core, and relatively easy to apply to any working environment.

Although we can trace the origins of the 5S methodology back to just after the Second World War, this tried-and-tested template has only become more popular with time. Businesses around the world have adopted it in search of greater efficiency, including all kinds of manufacturers, engineers and other firms in the industrial sector.

The name “5S” refers to the five key principles. Each one was originally named in Japanese, so the English translations sometimes vary, but typically these are as follows:

• Sort – Keep only what is necessary.
• Set in order – Assign a place for each tool or item.
• Shine – Clean workstations and equipment regularly.
• Standardise – Define the standards to be reached.
• Sustain – Keep it up in the long run.

Why is the 5S system so popular?

Aside from its simplicity, the method offers several key benefits that apply to most types of companies.

• Efficiency – By reducing clutter and streamlining processes, it makes sense that productivity tends to increase when following this methodology. Waste reduction is a particularly beneficial side effect that manufacturers especially tend to enjoy.

• Safety – The 5S method helps to provide employees with a safe work environment and reduces the likelihood of workplace accidents, particularly through the visual delineation of risk areas.

• Use of space – Another common benefit of using the 5S method is that space can be used more effectively, which is a major concern for most industrial firms. Space that isn’t used to store useless items or kept in poor condition can be used for more profitable activities.

• Production quality – For manufacturers in particular, improving standards on the factory floor has a positive impact on the finished product. Defects and accidents become less common when things are well-managed.

• Customer satisfaction – As a result of all this, businesses following 5S often report happier customers, which makes perfect sense. Improving the entire production process, and the working environment for all your employees, tends to show in the final product and therefore keeps customers happy.

What is the best way to implement 5S?

The good news is that 5S is extremely flexible. You should follow all the five steps in order if you want the best results, but that doesn’t require a lot of investment. The main thing it will take is time, until the method becomes second nature to you and the rest of your team.

Before implementing an action plan, it is necessary to define your goals and assemble a team so that you can achieve better results.

1. Sort – The first step is to review every item in your work environment, including equipment, machinery, materials, cables, tools, stationery and so on. Everything that is not essential should be removed. The goal is to keep only what is essential to your productivity.

Prepare your sorting space in advance so that you can assign everything to one of three groups of items: keep, remove and check. The third category is reserved for items you are not sure about. You may want to get advice from colleagues or confirm their usefulness in time; for example, if you have not used this tool after a month it may not be worthwhile to keep it. What you do not need may then be recycled or disposed of.

2. Set in order – After eliminating the unnecessary items, what remains should be carefully organised. Things should be stored in logical places that are easy to access according to their frequency of use. For example, a tool you use daily should be as accessible as possible and close to your workstation.

You can organise your administrative documents in alphabetical order and tag your files to find them faster.
If you work in a maintenance or repair department, your everyday tools can be hung on the wall with their location labelled. Those you use less can be stored in boxes on shelves. It is important to define the location of your tools and materials to ensure that they will be put back in their place at the end of the day.
The same goes for the flow of people and vehicles. It is especially important to clearly mark your pedestrian routes in a warehouse or factory to help reduce the risk of accidents.

3. Shine – Thorough and regular cleaning is the next step, since dirty areas are linked to lower productivity. Clean equipment lasts longer and requires less maintenance, plus it helps create a happier working environment for employees.

4. Standardise – It’s important to introduce structure and guidelines when it comes to maintaining a clean and well-organised workplace. Rules and instructions should be put in place so everyone can follow the same procedures more easily.

These standards must be visible and understandable. Use dashboards, posters or brochures with “before and after” photos to communicate your message easily to all employees. Simple colour coding is usually effective to convey standards, reduce risks and draw attention to the most important information.

5. Sustain – With all of the other steps already in place, this final principle should be easier, but is perhaps the most important of all. The process cannot be a one-off, but instead has to be ongoing to ensure the benefits continue to be felt.

At this point, you generally have to involve everyone who was not involved in the early stages. You need to train your management team and your employees, and ideally create training guides to be distributed at the end of these sessions.

Weekly or monthly meetings are a good way to take stock of the development of the 5S method and track the results. It is important to have well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Organising competitions between different services or departments can help to motivate all your teams to accomplish the objectives. Making surprise visits also helps encourage the application of standards, as long as there is plenty of positive reinforcement. Make sure to identify and praise what is being done well, while addressing any weak points constructively. Finally, update your standards as you go along; the 5S method is flexible and will evolve with time and your needs.

What are the best tools to use?

Although this process primarily only requires time and common sense, getting a few key resources in place (including checklists, maps, training guides etc.) could really help you implement 5S and experience the benefits more quickly. Of course, one of those happens to be something we know a lot about…

Indeed, floor marking is an essential step for the organisation and demarcation of spaces in factories, warehouses or public buildings. Easy and quick to install, the tape can create lanes, indicate the location of pallets or vehicles, and draw attention to high-risk areas.

Available in a wide range of colours, our AT8 Floor Marking Tape adapts perfectly to your colour coding system and increases the visibility of your different areas. For long-lasting performance, our AT8 is resistant to abrasion, water and UV light.

Here are some examples of how to use each of our standard colours for AT8:

We hope you find this guide useful if you’re considering using the 5S method in your workplace! For any questions regarding lane marking or any other kind of tape that might be useful in your organisation process, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.