Teesside Iron and Steel Memories Interview: David Coates

Background & early work:
Born 18/9/1947
Dad worked in steel industry @ Warrenby Electrics - long, odd, anti-social hours
Mid 1960's @ Nott'm Univ, summer job street-sweeping in Redcar. Dad got him better job in the Works '67/'68 then when finished Univ in '69 (met his future wife there), applied to Stanton & Staveley for job. No vacancies, but referred to Teesside.
Secured job as Grad trainee
Liked the '67/'68 summer jobs and 'drifted' into the steel industry
Started in Production in Lackenby Beam Mill for 6 month, then transferred to Open Hearth Steel Plant
BOS/Concast was starting at Lackenby so shift mgrs. From OH moved to train BOS shift mgrs., so DC started as OH shift mgr
'Don't know anything about steelmaking' - 'Doesn't matter, you'll pick it up as you go along!'
After 6 month he was on shifts in Lackenby OH plant
2 mixers, 7 OH furnaces, 20kt/wk production with no experience of steelmaking, man-management & no training
There to ~1972
OH steelplant was going to close, DC offered a day job as production planner in Concast
Same 'Don't know anything ……….' - 'Don't worry, you'll pick it up'
Sent to Canada for 1 month to train on similar Concast (nothing like it in UK)
Became prod'n programmer @ Concast until 1978
Then was asked to go to Beam Mill as prod'n planner
There for 10 yrs with odd secondments elsewhere in between
Call from Commercial Director@ Steel house - 'Do you fancy a job in Commercial?'
Never applied for a job in whole career
~1988 went to S House to joint role combined with prod'n planning for rod mills for a while, then full time in Commercial in prod'n planning as a middle man looking after Section Mills @ Lackenby, Shelton & Scunthorpe
Then added Dalzell & Scunthorpe Plate Mills (still prod'n planning)
Then developed new dept 'Logistics' & became Road Controller for the Division covering every product in Teesside, Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Scotland, Shelton & Skinningrove
Responsible for ensuring they could produce orders as contracted
New IT system developed based in S House
HQ moved to Scunthorpe bu DC stayed in S House for ~2 yrs, then retired
Travelled extensively to all other sites, staying 2/3 days
Refused to move (re-locate) - did not want to move and wife had good job
Believes this restricted career prospects
Last 5 yrs were difficult with extensive commuting to Scunthorpe
Never really planned his career, just moved as opportunity arose

Social aspects:
Concast dances @ Marton Country Club
Socialise with colleagues on travels @ Scunthorpe, Llanwern etc
Kept contact after retirement with ex colleagues every 6 month or so
In Commercial days, customer entertainment was a big thing
Meal arrangements
In very early days, was taken as a trainee into the 'Red Room' (mgt dining room)
Continued to use for 5mnth or so, wrongly
Challenged about it - 'Agreed to forget it!'
Noted very generous free meals, drinks etc in 1969/70 - gradually eroded over time to current levels of common dining arrangements

Changes in working practices:
Common practices in the '60s would be unthinkable now - no HSE issues then. Some examples:
Jumping up & down on plates in the Coil Plate Mill to free them from rollers while being sheared
Burned by gas lines in OH plant
Lots of accidents in machine shop in late '60s
DC was the 1st person in Lackenby to get a personal computer - a very large IBM machine in ~1976 in Concast
Very limited training - trial & error as trainers didn't have much experience themselves.
IBM people only knew about big mainframes, not new stand-alone desktops.
Very big changes in computing over his time - ended with 80% time spent in front of a terminal and a paperless system

A few anecdotes re old working practices:
OH foremen fall out over mix-up re pouring. DC young, should he intervene? Old operator says no - lets it go - both foremen with black eyes, but sorted out satisfactorily!
MD brings Japanese visitors to OH plant in 1972 - old operators all walk out over wartime memories.
Explosion in OH furnace - water in chiller system.
Learned a lot about people - it was the people & relationships he enjoyed most
Often called out in middle of the night when plant stopped - no computers - had to go in whatever time.