Coplan Has The Right Formula

Mercedes Benz HPE has established itself at the forefront of British engineering and technology and is world- renowned for the quality of engineering and the ability to deliver optimum performance without compromise. Coplan are pleased to announce that its expanding relationship with Mercedes Benz High Performance Engines has helped to deliver new levels of value to its in-house development of Visual Tool Control and to its F1 track-side teams.

Honda F1 has unveiled the RA108 for the 2008 season which is the product of a strengthened engineering team, combining the wealth of experience of Coplan to assist in tool accountability. “To be able to have the correct tool in the right place and be able to easily identify that tool when it’s not present saves time and time is money in the F1 game” says Rob Cary of Coplan.

Tried & Tested by Pete @ PX Motors

Pete Xerry is an independent product tester on behalf of the PROFESSIONAL MOTOR MECHANIC magazine.

How many tools have you lost over the years which you didn’t realise had gone missing until maybe a few days later? It’s not until you hunt high and low for a tool that you suddenly realise you left it under the bonnet of a car or anywhere else for that matter. The one thing that is for certain, unless you’re lucky, is that you won’t see it again!! This can be both costly and dangerous if your tool into a moving component , jamming it and so causing damage, or worse an accident.

The Coplan ‘Visual Tool Control’ solutions is designed to help prevent tool loss and the consequent problems this produces. How it works is very simple, but effective. The tools fit into a deep foam cavity which are cut to allow them to sit snugly and individually. For example, a set of spanners are laid out in increasing size for ease of selection. Upon removing a spanner for use it is immediately noticeable that a spanner is missing because that tool sits within a bi-colour foam and having the top coloured black, it is very obvious when a tool is missing. This system can be used for any hand tool such as sockets, pliers, screwdrivers and chisels etc. Coplan will design a system for your needs and can of course supply the Stahlwille tools to fit. Coplan also boasts a ‘rapid response kit’ for the mobile technicians whereby any tool designated for a job can be tool controlled into a lightweight, reflective, durable carrying case with strong zips to retain them – very handy for breakdown recovery purposes.

I am a great believer in the old adage ‘a tidy workshop is a safe workshop’ and this system will save you hours of needles searching and financial cost of replacing lost tools.

What’s Install At USAF

Coplan continues to deliver world class solutions to the military as USAF, who are based at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, has successfully been installed with another VTC solution within ‘PGM’ (Precision Guided Minisions)

The solution includes:

· 3x Wide Roll Cabinets
· Complete with Stahlwille Tools
· Visual Tool Controlled Foam
· Laser Marked Tools
· Bespoke work counters

Allan Benson from Coplan says “Being a dedicated support arm to the USAF Visual Tool Control programme has enabled me to be part of, and assist in the transition of TOTAL TOOL CONTROL within the military. These are exciting times for myself and Coplan as I help to deliver more and more solutions to assist against Tool FOD”