Technology supports ambition

At the time of the accident, in 1983, Mr Eyre was an apprentice fitter with what was then British Aerospace (Brough). As part of his rehabilitation, he spent time at the Royal National Institute for the Blind's specialist employment and social rehabilitation centre, based at Manor House in Torquay (closed in 2003). Here he was given the opportunity to regain some confidence by operating machinery, including a capstan lathe. On his return to work, and with the help of British Aerospace and his colleagues, he became a semi-skilled machinist. "I was fortunate that I was employed by British Aerospace, as the company had the people and will to help me succeed," says Mr Eyre. "Being such a large business, it had helped other employees with disabilities and was encouraging." In 1990, he gained transfer to the night shift, but he had to be fully skilled. Again, working with his colleagues, Mr Eyre made the move to operating his first CNC machine tool - a standard machine, with a 12-position turret. All tools were preset, with voice synthesis software reading the tool data sheets to him. Image: Derek Eyre alongside the Mazak FJV 250 JAWS OPENS THE WAY With his appetite whetted, in 2000 he researched the use of JAWS software (Sight and Sound, 0845 634 7979), which converts text to audio. He made enquiries through the Department of Works and Pensions Access to Work scheme and, armed with this information, put his proposals forward to what is now BAE Systems. "With the purchase of JAWS and some additional character recognition software, I gained a much greater degree of independence and it allowed me to make modifications to CNC programs, as well as operate the machine. However, at this time, all of the communication was with a PC and not with the machine itself. Having to ask for sighted assistance every time the machine developed a fault was becoming frustrating, so I started to investigate what alternatives were out there. It was at this time that remote diagnostics were being introduced and we did look at one particular machine tool company that offered this service via a laptop. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Sight and Sound, the company that provided the JAWS software, we could not achieve compatibility." However, BAE Systems (Brough) started to invest in Mazak machine tools (01905 755755), and the news that the Mazatrol control was Windows-based made him confident that it would finally be possible to make the link with the machine tool. "I managed to get a few people from the Brough site on board with my idea and they agreed that we could move it forward," he explains. The first stage was to ensure that JAWS would work with the Mazatrol control. Dennis Gowen of Sight and Sound visited Mazak and installed the software on a control to demonstrate how it could 'read' the information presented on screen via an external sound card. Once proved, the software was then optimised to read only relevant information, such as tool offsets, machine error/warnings, etc, otherwise it would have meant too many unnecessary voice messages. Mazak also made some minor changes to the Mazatrol operating software to present messages in a format more suitable for audio transmission. A final stage was to obtain external, third-party assessment of the safety of the set-up. With this reassurance, the JAWS software was installed on a Mazak FJV 250 twin-pallet vertical machining centre at BAE Systems, Brough, and within six weeks Mr Eyre had fine-tuned the system so that he could operate the machine with occasional assistance from a 'buddy'. Additional changes were made to the fabric of the machine and the working environment to ensure that safety was not compromised. For example, a special stage was built with a guard rail, certain buttons on the Mazatrol control were amended to Braille and, similarly, each of the positions on the machine's tool carousel were marked in Braille. For machine setting, the machine's bed and fixture plates were also marked, so vice or fixture position was made clear. With wireless headphones, Mr Eyre receives tool and workpiece setting instructions from a PC, as well as gather data from the machine control. This allows a greater level of independence. "To get to this stage has taken time, but Rome wasn't built in a day," he says. "And, to be fair, as much as I wanted to stride forward, other people wanted to hold me back, not in a bad way you understand, but they had to curb my enthusiasm to ensure that everything was going to be right and not deliver an 'oh well, there you go' solution." Image: Wireless headphones provide the link between man and technology Night shift manager Frank Thompson adds: "All of this started with Derek having an idea and having a word (several actually) in the right ears and setting the ball in motion. A few years down the line, between us we have achieved all of his goals and for now Derek is happy with what has been achieved. However, knowing Derek as I do, something will come along to sow the next seeds of an idea and, as technology advances, he will be keeping his ear to the ground and, two years from now, who knows what he will be doing. "What has been central to this whole project is the fact that throughout there hasn't been one negative comment. All of the agencies and companies that we have dealt with have been extremely helpful and positive, along with the contribution from BAE Systems, and Derek has shown so much positivity it is almost unbelievable." Says Mr Eyre: "When I had my accident, I never thought I would be able to be doing what I am doing now, but in those early days the support of my colleagues gave me the confidence to push my ideas forward." First published in Machinery August 2009