Teng Tools users 1
“GOOD TOOLS ARE HALF THE JOB” When you’re respons
ible for maintenance and repair of vehicle and ground equipment supplies at the exposed Andøya air base in the north of Norway, it’s important to keep things tidy and to always know where all your tools and equipment are. A forgotten spanner on the runway could be catastrophic and lead to loss of life. Former mechanic Waldemar Lind Hansen began his military career in 1978, and is today in charge of purchasing for 133 Wing. His unit maintains air base equipment that allows the military’s six Orion P-3 reconnaissance planes to take off and land safely. – The Orion planes are our main task. But we also maintain and repair all the specialist vehicles that keep the runway open, particularly in winter, and equipment connected with: fire engines, snowploughs, sweepers and what are known as brake-testers, which check conditions on the runway, for example, if it’s icy. In other words, we do everything to do with runway maintenance. In an environment like that it is important to always have full control of even the smallest details. Tools are no exception. – Previously we had a different supplier of tool boxes and roller cabinets. These had open compartments and loose sections. This means it was difficult to keep the tools neat and tidy, and we didn’t have things properly organised. Specially-made tools – for safety Lind Hansen says they started to get things in order when they began using Teng Tools. Every tool has its own permanent place. This makes it easier to keep an eye on things, which increases safety levels. – When we needed to replace our tools, Teng Tools offered us a good deal on tool sets. So we have now bought eight 1001 sets and two large workshop roller cabinets. Now no one here uses any other kind of tool. As the name suggests, there are 1001 different pieces in the tool set. One of the great advantages of Teng Tools is that the roller cabinets are specially made for the tools, but according to Lind Hansen, Teng Tools are also very flexible if they want to change something. – Of course, we have different work stations, and we use both standard tools and specialist tools. When we buy something new, it comes in a box with a moulded shape it is meant to lie in, so all we have to do is put it straight into the roller cabinet. That makes it safe and simple for us. You need to have control of your equipment Hansen emphasises that it is important to have a good overview when repairing and maintaining ground vehicles and planes. – When we open all the drawers we can tell at a glance if any tool is missing. If we drop something on the runway it could have serious consequences, so we have to always have it under complete control. And since we always know where all the tools are we are also more efficient in our work. In addition, we each have our own tool set, and no one roots around in someone else’s things. to safety is important for avoiding both accidents and delays. – On their recommendation we have also suggested improvements to Teng Tools. We have always received the equipment we asked for, and we’ve always got them really fast. “Those are expensive machines you look after. Are only the best tools good enough?” – Yes, of course. Good tools are half the job, and so I say: I am so happy with them I use Teng Tools at home as well, concludes Hansen. It means we don’t have to borrow from each other, which is also good for safety, he says. And the very fact that the tools attend 21