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Alstom Ubunye

Alstom Ubunye, Officially Inaugurated During Transport Month

Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) was established in the 1950s to serve the South African rolling stock market in both the passenger and freight sectors. The company delivered electrical locomotives to the South African market, namely the 5E1[1], and then built the fleet of 5M2A[2] electrical multiple units for passenger rail services in the country between 1962 and 1985.

Commuter rail services in South Africa continues to rely heavily on the trainsets built by then UWC, with the 5M2A’s being rebuilt to the 10M3, 10M4 and 10M5 classes, we see today[3].

In the early 1990s, Murray and Roberts (M&R) acquired ownership of the company through its acquisition of Standard Engineering. While operating within the M&R stable, UCW assembled units for the Gautrain, as well as refurbishing 5M2s for PRASA.

In 2013, M&R sold its interests in the business to the CTLE consortium.

In April 2016, Alstom Ubunye was established through the acquisition of a 51% stake, by Alstom in South African train manufacturing company Commuter Transport and Locomotive Engineering (CTLE), formally known as Union Carriage and Wagon. At the time of acquisition, CTLE was a 100% black-owned company made up of a consortium between Commuter Transport Engineering (CTE) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Both CTE and IDC have retained shares in the company. In addition to the shareholding between Alstom and IDC and CTE, there is also an employee benefits scheme as a shareholding entity (5%).

The primary objective for developing Alstom Ubunye at the time, was to support the rejuvenation of the South African railway industry, by establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering platform in South Africa, that would be able to deliver Alstom technology to the sub-continent.

During Railways Africa’s, original tour of the 80,000sqm facility in 2016, one could see the potential that the site had, to be transformed into world-class facility.

That Was Then, This Is Now

Aside from the opportunities the continent has to offer, the more pressing need is meeting the stringent localisation requirements for the single biggest rolling stock renewal programme in the world. This being the 600 X’Trapolis trainsets, which equates to 3,600 coaches, that are being built for PRASA by the Alstom-lead Gibela JV in South Africa. With a minimum threshold of 65% local content, Alstom had to establish a robust but sustainable supply chain for locally manufactured parts and components.

The modernisation of Alstom Ubunye also prepares the factory for future rail projects that the sub-continent will offer.

Over the last three years Alstom Ubunye has undergone a massive modernisation programme, specifically in the last year and half, which has totally transformed the facility, placing it on par with any of the global European sites. This includes new equipment, overhead cranes, robotic welding suites as well as advanced processes to ensure a productive and safe working environment.

From a certification perspective, the factory is certified ISO 9000, EN 15085 CL1 and  ISO 3834-2 – Giving the facility the highest welding certification in the industry globally. Safety has seen a remarkable turnaround in the last three years from IFR (Injury Frequency Rate per million of hours worked) going from 12 to 1,4.

When Alstom acquired the site in 2016, the intention with its partners, was to turn this site into a world class facility. This required a site refurbishment. With the Gibela contract and the items that they are manufacturing for the project, a full modernization and redesign of the facility was undertaken. This has taken approximately a year and half to complete.

Alstom Ubunye is supplying 87 components, plus PACIS (Passenger Communication and Information System) for the new PRASA trains.

There is a combination of imported material and local material sourced for this project – the KPI for Gibela is to achieve 65% local content and Alstom Ubunye are aligned to meet these requirements.

Some of the products include; EUF (End Under Frames) and Bogies, (which includes the  wheelsets) this involves the manufacture of the frame, bogie assembly and testing. Two robotic welding stations were added to the facility, specifically to weld parts of the bogie frame, these state-of-the-art machines meet the latest world-class standards in welding. The addition of milling machines is noteworthy in the manufacturing process of the frames and 3D dimensioning and measurement to ensure that the frames meet the specifications of the customer. Two types of Bogies are manufactured at this site (motor and trailer bogies).

In addition, the site is producing a variety of electrical boxes, these being, Propulsion Box, Static Convertor, Low Voltage cubicles and the High Voltage boxes. The PACIS – Passenger Communication Information System, is software based – PACIS comes in 54 kits per trainset, a train set is made up of two motor coaches (a powered rail vehicle able to pull multiple trailers) and four trailer coaches – six cars in a set. The Alstom Ubunye facility, is also preparing cabling for the train sets, what they term looming.

“The investment has been significant both in equipment and our people.”
Logan Naicker
COO for Alstom Ubunye

Whilst the site may be in South Africa, Alstom’s approach, which is very much in line with its philosophy of One Alstom Team, is that it should be on the same level as any of their sites found elsewhere in the world. So, it’s not just the physical asset and investment in manufacturing equipment. Donor sites, which are essentially, already established facilities of Alstom elsewhere in the world, have helped to build the multiple equipment required to support the Gibela contract. Enabling the facility to reach the levels of certification required not only by the customer but also the standards expected by the Alstom group. In addition, the donor sites assisted in the transfer of knowledge and experience physically to employees.

The manufacturing, test and calibration of equipment, has been made possible through extensive partnership with Global Alstom donor sites, who have come to the South African facility and where local teams have gone across to train and learn internationally at donor sites around the world.

In 2015 Railways Africa was privledged to visit the Alstom plant in Milan where the HV boxes were being manufactured for the Prasa project.

The welding certification certainly sets Alstom Ubunye apart, one of the few facilities in South Africa with this level of certification, which, in itself is a remarkable achievement. This opens the door to other opportunities, where they would be well positioned in terms of welding related projects.

From a safety perspective, it is a given that all original equipment manufacturers (OEM) take this particular topic very seriously. For Alstom, and their Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), they have a very structured approach, as well as philosophy that is underpinned by what they term Alstom Zero Deviation Policy (AZDP), which, has its own governance structure. Each site has a list of requirements that they have to meet and they are audited accordingly on a regular basis, initially annually until a level of maturity and stability has been reached and thereafter every three years.

Out of interest, this site, initially after the first AZDP, was not seen as compliant to the Alstom requirement on any level, not for manufacturing and certainly not for the project they were about to embark on. A number of interventions were put in place, with assistance from Head Office. “We have aligned and set up a team locally which, has led to a massive improvement of the overall results – in terms of the Lost Time Frequency (LTI) rate, in Alstom it is referred to as Injury Frequency Rate (IFR), what was an unacceptable level LTI 12, Alstom Ubunye is now at LTI 1.4, an acceptable level in line with the set target,” notes Logan.

The site is 80,000m2 under roof, just under 40,000m2 is being utilised for the Gibela project, leaving additional capacity to take on other projects. “With the total site being 450,000m2, we have the flexibility to adapt the site to our production needs,” notes Logan.

From a production perspective for the Gibela project, Alstom Ubunye is currently well on their way in terms of ramping up, reaching nominal mode of 60 trainsets per year, five trains a month, equating to 30 cars per month, and there are 12 bogies per set. There is a fine balance between the investment needed versus maximising shift operations. In July this year, Alstom Ubunye moved onto a two and three-shift programme in some areas of the plant, and as they continue to ramp up, this programme will be extended to the relevant production areas in line with the official demand requirements.

Logan, elaborates on the flexibility that the Alstom Ubunye site offers, in that it can provide multiple transport and mobility solutions for South Africa, Africa and beyond “positioning Alstom through the Alstom Ubunye facility”. The site has the capability to manufacture not only components, but could also manufacture or assemble types of rolling stock, as an example, tramway.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on Alstom’s people, “Our success is not possible, if our people are not aligned, motivated, trained and skilled,” says Logan. When they initially took over the facility including staff, one of the first aspects to be rolled out was reskilling and additional training.

Today their 565 employees boast a range of strong and diversified skills. 83% of their employees come from the local community the greater Nigel, Ekurhuleni Municipality, of which 53% come from the immediate surrounding area (Greater Nigel) such as Duduza.

Their key focus has been on developing the youth and empowering women. Alstom Ubunye is supplying components for the single largest rolling stock order, with 600 trains now and a possible opportunity for an additional 600 train sets thereafter. What they are producing today, may not be what they produce in the next project – so developing skills – electrical, mechanical, artisanal – has a dual focus to deal with the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

For this reason and right from the start, Alstom Ubunye has developed a strong connection with the local community, with a variety of social investment projects in the community, such as the Esibonelwesihle Welding School funded by Alstom Foundation. A key strategic decision, as this is where, potentially, their future employees could come from.

Businesses in this area are under pressure to provide job opportunities, as there are not a lot of immediate opportunities. Regular meetings are held, with community leaders so that future job and business opportunities are shared. More important though, is the ability to offer a training facility where the community can be trained and certified so that they are equipped to work in multiple industries and or at Alstom Ubunye, when openings become available. The Alstom Ubunye welding school is currently in the process of being accredited.

“We want to be a world class manufacturer of sustainable mobility solutions for Africa, beyond Africa and by Africa.” This facility will be a hub of excellence, not only for South Africa but for the rest of the continent.”
Xavier Boisgontier
Managing Director of Alstom Southern Africa, and CEO of Alstom Ubunye

Xavier Boisgontier, the Managing Director of Alstom Southern Africa, and CEO of Alstom Ubunye, further emphasis the long term vision for Alstom Ubunye, “We want to be a world class manufacturer of sustainable mobility solutions for Africa, beyond Africa and by Africa.” This facility will be a hub of excellence, not only for South Africa but for the rest of the continent.”

This is without a doubt a world class manufacturing site and Xavier notes that their strategy will be executed in partnership with their employees, labour, communities and shareholders, “Alstom Ubunye is ready to support the future transport needs of South Africa and Africa, I have full trust in the Alstom family to deliver on this commitment and I am very happy to officially inaugurate this facility.”

Bringing The Alstom Ubunye Facility To Life

During our recent tour of the Alstom Ubunye facility, we could truly see the transformation from 2016 and the significant investment that has been made in action. Lean manufacturing process have been established optimizing the manufacturing process and increasing productivity – ensuring that each process cannot cause a bottleneck on the line. Continuous improvement and learning are being applied to address challenges as they arise.

Workshop 5 produces the Anti-Intrusion Boxes (AIB) and the End Under Frame (EUF) for the new PRASA trains. He has three managers under him, and this workshop runs on a three shift programme. with 66 people working on the floor.  Output on this line -one and half End Under Frames  per day and two Anti Intrusion Boxes every day.  Each train will have two Anti Intrusion Boxes per trailer car.

3 different types of underframes are manufactured in workshop 5, and there are 12 underframes per trainset.

It is in this workshop, the requirement for welding certification becomes clear and Quality Control (QC) is part of every step and defects are monitored very closely. Welding on certain components is certified by an independent external company.

Two types of bogies are manufactured from scratch, including the side and cross beam box assembly. Investment in workshop 7 has been significant with the installation of two robotic welding booths, Ultrasonic testing, 3D measuring, Non Destructing Testing and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment, as well as milling machines and a heat treatment facility, to release the stress in the bogie frame.

Quality once again plays a vital role in every step. This workshop runs on three shifts.

Cable preparation both high and low voltage cables, for rolling stock, cabin and internal as well as cubicles. Some cables run under the train and some above the train. Cabling is measured, cut, and prepared from sleeving through to harnessing, ready to be placed in each component by the nest team.

The design of the workshop means that each table is dedicated to a specific product with a template. Cables for the instrumentation and data onboard the train, cables for the cabin, driver desk. Each person in the workshop is trained specifically to do the cabling and this training is renewed and evaluated on a regular basis as it critical aspect to the delivery of the project. Testing is moving away from manual testing to automatic testing throughout the facility. This workshop is ramping up to one train per day.

This is where the bogies are assembled and where sub components for the bogies such as dampers are built. Dampers are a bit like a shock absorbers, essentially these provide comfort and stability, for the passengers. Part of the process is adding sub sets such as, the motors and assembling the wheelset, crimping the wheel, addition of brake disk, axles and adding the ever important anti roll bars, among other items to complete the bogie frame. Each step is once again quality controlled with the final inspection and testing being carried out by the load test bench, which simulates the body of the train, to ensure balance and perfect alignment. Whilst most of the shop is dedicated to the assembly of new bodies, there is also a bogies service and maintenance section as well.

In this workshop, four products are manufactured and assembled, not all for Gibela. The four products include: Driver desks for Locomotives, Traction converters, High and Low Voltages Boxes, Propulsion Box and Static Convertors. Again quality and inspection is at the forefront of every process. Automated testing for each component is carried out before delivery to the client. Within this facility there are dedicated testing stations for both High and Low voltage.

In our recent Coffee with the Editor, Xavier who has been with Alstom for over twenty years and in South Africa for two years, shares some of the challenges as well as his excitement about the future.  He believes that rail transport and infrastructure needs in sub-Saharan Africa will increase, due to rapid urbanisation and the need for reliable transport and mobility solutions will be critical. The demand that this creates, Alstom Ubunye is able to meet these needs. Alstom already has a number of sites / projects in Africa such as Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and two sites in South Africa.

Xavier touches on the strategic vision of the company –  Alstom has achieved their position as a global leader due to their rapid geographical expansion. In June 2019 the group announced its new strategic plan and objectives for 2023, branded, “Alstom in Motion” (AIM) which is underpinned by AIR – One Alstom Team – an agile, inclusive and responsible culture, in order to deliver;

  • Growth by offering greater value to customers
  • Innovation in smarter and greener mobility solutions
  • Efficiency, powered by digital

The ambition is clear: Be the leading global innovative player for a sustainable and smart mobility.

The workforce in South Africa which in total is just over 1500 employees, constitutes more than 30% of Alstom’s middle East and Africa Cluster and is roughly 5% of the global Alstom employee base. After two years, in South Africa, Xavier says he is still discovering new things and he just loves the people he works with who are so enthusiastic to learn new things.

Our Coffee with the Editor session, explores innovative technologies that have been developed by Alstom,  their investment in R&D and their full product rage, from electric buses, signalling, track, autonomous trains and very high speed trains.

There is no doubt that Xavier thinks deeply about what happens next, beyond the delivery of just the trains, from people, the community,  job creation, skills and the legacy that will continue to live, long after.

It’s a great interview, enjoy.

Taking CSI and CSR Further

Zaibonisha Turkey – in charge of CSI, CSR.

Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), you would be forgiven for thinking that these equate to the same thing. They do not. One is an internal activity, the other is an external activity, and when you belong to a global group, it does get a little complex.

 

In the Alstom context, CSR is used to advance the global goals of Alstom, through their employees on strategic matters such as, their environmental footprint, sustainable sourcing, diversity and inclusion, to mention a few. This is executed globally through initiatives such as – Mobility Day, Health and Wellness days, among other initiatives. All sites work on the same initiatives. In terms of CSI, these are site specific, and for Alstom Ubunye, it is not just about making profit, but also putting back into the community. Locally they have been involved in: C.H.A.N.C.E – is a three year project, whereby Alstom Ubunye has taken on an orphanage which houses at any given time approximately 80 children, ranging from new-born to 18. The role that Alstom Ubunye fills is in providing a nurturing environment. They have upgraded the outdoor play area, developed and kitted out an entertainment area and installed a computer room and library.

The Alstom Foundation, a global initiative established in 2007 – supports and funds projects which serve to improve, living conditions and the economic prospects of communities located near Alstom facilities. South Africa has been fortunate enough to have been chosen twice for projects.

In Duduza township, East of Johannesburg, near the Alstom Ubunye site, the Esibonelwesihle Secondary School had two classrooms which were ready to be used for technical subjects but lacked the funds and knowledge to install the technical equipment. Alstom Ubunye has supplied the equipment and assisted in developing the curriculum. This will provide the opportunity for high school students to obtain some technical qualification. Alstom Ubunye has then committed to take on the students who meet the qualification, into their onsite welding school for further development. This means that Alstom Ubunye will either be able to employ directly from this pool as a global group or once qualified these students would be able to work elsewhere.

The other Alstom foundation project, “After School and Life Skills Project,” includes two primary schools in the area, Alrapark and Happiness, the majority of these children are living without parents or they are being taken care of by older siblings, a very real issue in South Africa.

These children often come to school hungry and go home with no one to assist them with homework or pass on valuable life lessons, it is a vicious cycle! This project, provides for volunteers that assist with homework, provide a meal, involve the children in outdoor activities such as netball and engage on topics that have now sadly become a necessity – that we have to pass on to our children, such as human trafficking.

In Summary

We have modernized more than 50,000m2 and more than 10 workshops – this includes a new power substation, new power grid, new fire fighting system, new waste area.

115 new machines were purchase, including:

  • 2 robotic welding machines.
  • 2 Computer numeric control (CNC) milling machines.
  • 1 3D measuring machine
  • 1 wheel press machine
  • 1 ultrasonic washing machine
  • 1 heat treatment machine
  • 1 load test bench, plus multiple test benches
  • 1 burn in chamber
  • More than 120 operators trained

[1] Designer: Metropolitan-Vickers, Built by Union Carriage & Wagon Model  MV 5E1

[2] Metro-Cammell (5M2); Union Carriage & Wagon (5M2A)

[3] The 10M4 was produced by UCW