Working it out.

One of the criticisms that is sometimes made of clergy is that they do not know what life is like "in the real world". Without wishing to argue about what is "the real world", I think that there is much to be said for clergy spending time with people at their place of work and I have recently had the opportunity to spend a day with Graham Le Flem from Lilbourne at his workplace, ALSTOM Motors. I found it a fascinating experience and my thanks go to Graham for arranging it, to his boss, Ian Lomax, for allowing it and to his colleagues for putting up with the intrusion into their work. On learning that I was shadowing Graham for the day, one of his colleagues asked "What sort of engineer are you? Mathematical? Mechanical? Electrical?" The reply "Theological" produced a slightly quizzical look.

Arriving shortly after 8.00am (official start time is 8.15) I found that the most of the workforce were already there. ALSTOM Motors design large (as in enormous) electric motors for production in factories in Rugby and their plant in France. The projects that Graham was working on were a 93Megawatt motor for a natural gas plant in Australia (93 Megawatts is over twice the power used by the whole of Rugby), and an enquiry about electric motors for a defence project.

Early in the day the news broke that they had not got the contract for the 93MW motor. As a considerable amount of time, energy and expertise had gone in to the project which would have had a total value of over £50 million to ALSTOM there was significant disappointment and a desire to find out why they had missed out and what lessons could be learned.

Also during the day I saw something of how the enquiry for motors for the defence project was being progressed. Great care and attention was given to ensuring that the motors would do exactly what was required. They had to fit into exactly the right space, down to the last millimetre. ALSTOM had to be able to justify precisely how efficient the motor would be.

The work which ALSTOM Motors do would be impossible without the use of computers and during part of the afternoon I saw Graham trying to find a bug in a program that was stopping it from working properly. Indeed that was what he as still doing as I left at around 4.45pm (I had an appointment in Kettering at 6.00pm). Most of the staff were still at work even thought the official finishing time is 4.15pm.

So what are my reflections following my day at ALSTOM Motors?

First of all I was reminded of what I already knew (but sometime overlook) that for those with jobs to do, midweek evening church meetings that are allowed to run on and ramble are not good news.

Secondly I was impressed by the commitment of the workforce. Church members are supposed, by their allegiance to Jesus to show the world what commitment is all about. Many of us could learn from ALSTOM Motor’s workforce.

Thirdly I was reminded about risk taking. ALSTOM Motors survives or fails by taking risks. They risked a considerable investment of time effort and expertise into both the 93MW motor and the defence enquiry. At the outset of the projects they had no way of knowing whether their firm would be successful in obtaining the order, but never the less they were prepared to take risks in order to secure them. Jesus’ teaching about the parable of the talents is about taking risk. The life of Faith is a life of risk. It would be good to see the Church investing similar amounts of time effort and expertise into uncertain ways forward rather than clinging on in a changing world to what worked in the past. The 93MW motor was ground breaking work. Oh that the Church might be ground breaking!

Fourthly (and following on from the third point), I heard during the investigation into why they had not secured the 93MW contract that they had been "an innocent victim" – customer had decided not to proceed with the project. The Christian faith is centred on an "innocent victim". Our faith is that innocent victims end up winning! With that faith the Church should be even more willing to take risks and break new ground than ALSTOM Motors!

Fifthly (and finally) looking at the attention to detail in the defence inquiry and in Graham de-bugging the computer program, I found myself reflecting on the attention to detail that God has shown in His Creation. If building an electric motor or running a computer program demands that the details are right, then how complex and awesome must be the mind of God which has designed and created the cosmos, something infinitely more intricate than anything even ALSTOM Motors could come up with! I found the words of psalm 8 coming into mind.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars which You have set in order,

what is man that You should be mindful of him:

or the son of man that You should care for him?" (Psalm 8 verses 4&5)

My thanks again to ALSTOM Motors for allowing me the experience. I hope to be spending time with other people in their place of work.

Robert.