A Day in the Life: Meet Jason, a Powder Coat Assembler at Olympus

‘A Day in the Life’ is a series where we are shining the spotlight on our people and their varied roles, responsibilities and experiences at Olympus.

Working at Olympus for almost 20 years, Jason is sharing more about a typical day at work, painting and finishing medical components and accessories.

‘Hi everyone, my name’s Jason and I’ve been a dedicated part of the Olympus family for almost 20 years now. I’m based at our Southend site and because I’ve been here for so long, I’m a bit of the ‘go to’ person.'

4.30am: Jason is an early bird, rising before dawn to kickstart his day at the paint shop. With a 20-minute drive from his home, he arrives at work by 5.20am, armed with a much-needed cup of tea, before his shift starts.

6am – 8am: As the paint shop comes to life, Jason and his team take on the responsibility of perfecting prototypes. Some of Jason’s team members also share the morning shift, which starts at 6am and ends at 2pm.

His work day begins by meticulously ensuring all machinery is primed for action. He also ignites the two ovens, a process that takes around five minutes because they’re so large!?

‘After firing up the ovens, it’s time to balance the wash machine’s chemicals. These must be to a specific temperature, to prevent damage to metal’, Jason adds.

Around 8am: Jason takes a short break at our on-site restaurant to recharge. This short pause in his day highlights the balance between hard work and the importance of rejuvenation in ensuring continued excellence of the paint shop team at Olympus.

Jason continues with work and adds, ‘after securely attaching the sheet metal to the machine line, it’s sent through a wash, making sure the temperature is just right to keep the metal intact. After a good wash, it’s ready for the drying stage.’

12.30pm – 2pm: After lunch, Jason returns to the workshop. The paint shop has a well-coordinated team, with each person being assigned specific tasks as items pass through each of the different stages.

Jason explains a little about the semi-automatic processes that are carried out at the paint booth. This takes place once the items have been washed. ‘We spray and powder coat the corners manually but the machine handles the rest. However, this was once all done manually before we got this machine, which was much more time consuming’. ?

Once powder coated, the components are ready for the cure, which is a necessary stage in order for the powder to transform into a liquid and bond with the metal.

The final stage is a careful inspection, where the team demask everything to ensure the paint is at the right thickness. ‘It’s all about precision, quality, and ensuring a commitment to excellence is upheld every step of the way.’

?‘Once it’s passed the inspection, it’s time for packaging. We carefully place the components into boxes, attach labels for identification, and voila – the journey from loading to packaging is complete!’

?‘Work can be intense sometimes, as when we have more orders than expected, we have to work nights to hit the target’, says Jason. After completing the manufacturing process, part of his responsibilities includes working on job sheets and detailing every stage of the workshop process.

When the clock strikes 2pm, Jason wrap ups his day.

More about the Olympus Paint Shop

The paint shop is home to 14 employees. There are three regular shifts in place, which is an early rota of 6am until 2pm, a later rota of 8am until 4pm and a night rota of 10pm until 6am.

• The Paint Shop paints around 1,000 parts each day
• The metal they work is a mix of materials, including mild steel, aluminium and stainless steel
• The metal is mostly manufactured in our Sheet Metal department. However, they also receive materials for castings, aluminium extrusions and machine turn parts from external suppliers