'...video conferencing, webcams and conference calling all have a bigger part to play...'
This Autumn saw the arrival of a new leader at the top of TWI's Industrial Membership division. He is Colin Walters.
As TWI bids farewell to the previous chief, Fred Delany, to take up a post in Paris, Bulletin took the opportunity to ask the new man about his vision for the future of TWI's lifeblood, namely the Industrial Membership.
'I come from a background in the nuclear industry. It's an area in which TWI has a lot to offer' he declares. 'More and more vociferously, nuclear power is being heralded as part of the answer to the ever-increasing issue of carbon emissions. Now is a great opportunity to expand TWI's Membership base beyond the traditional nuclear power users in Western Europe and the States, into Eastern Europe, and what used to be the Soviet Union.
Among its nuclear power Industrial Members TWI already services the needs of companies like Areva and Westinghouse, whose reactor designs are being adopted in a growing number of countries around the world.
Elsewhere on the micro-technical and medical side of TWI's work Walters sees great opportunities to service the needs of new and emerging industries. 'This is a relatively new area for TWI but one in which we have already had great success and have even more to offer' he says.
As for the interface between TWI and its Membership base Colin Walters sees plenty of room for improvement. 'Some Members need to have a greater number of contact points with the TWI network if the relationship is to flourish' he says. 'And we need to provide greater help to the Official Representatives to spread the message of what we have to offer'.
He identifies greater exploitation of modern communications as playing a key part of the improvement plan. 'More frequent visits, greater use of information technology, video conferencing, webcams and conference calling, all have a bigger part to play' he enthuses.
Asked to consult his crystal ball on the way in which TWI Industrial Membership services will look in 12 months' time Colin Walters replies; 'It's one of my objectives to create a greater breadth of understanding in companies as to what we have to offer. At the moment some Member companies are using TWI within very small parameters.'
He cites the example of TWI having a healthy relationship with a fabricator through its welding department. But does that Member's design and inspection divisions also know what TWI can do for them?
'We'd like to add greater value to Membership by becoming involved in other aspects of a project. To achieve this we must broaden the awareness of our skills and capabilities to the businesses we serve, namely our Members.'
Colin Walters, Group Manager,
Industrial Membership Services
New Membership head with nuclear credentials
Name: Colin Walters
Position: Group Manager - Industrial Membership Services
Education: BSc (Hons) Physics and Materials Science
Experience: In 1987 Colin joined British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) to lead a team developing various nuclear decommissioning tools and techniques. In 1990 he became the Manager responsible for the entire BNFL Decommissioning Development Programme. This programme was established to provide the technology necessary to underpin the first series of major decommissioning projects undertaken in the UK.
In 1993 he took over the BNFL long term reprocessing research programme. In addition to the line management of 30 research chemists this role included co-ordination of input from numerous research organisations from both UK and overseas.
After three years Colin became R&D Facilities Manager with responsibility for BNFL's entire suite of R&D facilities. This role also included acting as Client Project Manager during the specification, design and early construction phases of the British Technology Centre at Sellafield.
Colin left BNFL in 1999 to join TWI where his first role was to manage successfully the procurement and commissioning of a new headquarters facility at Abington.
Using knowledge and experience from his previous employment, Colin now has an ongoing responsibility for the development and expansion of TWI's activities in support of the nuclear power industry.
