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Battery manufacturing technician - Module and pack technician

Battery manufacturing technician - Module and pack technician

Engineering and manufacturing

Level 3 - Technical Occupation

Prepare for and conduct processes in one stage of cell or battery manufacture.

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Reference: OCC1338D

Status: assignment_turned_inApproved occupation

Average (median) salary: £30,531 per year

SOC 2020 code: 3119 Science, engineering and production technicians n.e.c.

Technical Education Products

ST1338:

Battery manufacturing technician - Module and pack technician

(Level 3)

Approved for delivery

Employers involved in creating the standard:

AceOn Group, Alexander Technologies Europe Ltd, AMTE Power, Aston Martin, British Volt, IIika, Jaguar Landrover, Faraday Institution, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, Warwick University, Williams Advanced Engineering

Summary

Battery manufacturing technicians are found in the process manufacturing sector, producing cells and batteries.

Cells and batteries store chemical energy and convert it to electrical energy. A cell is a single unit, whereas two or more cells is a battery. They are used in transport - micro-mobility such as scooters and bikes, cars, vans, lorries, buses, trains, planes, and ships. Domestic applications such as power walls. Power industry grid balancing facilities. Mobile phones and laptops and many more. Batteries play a key role in the environmental agenda, providing storage for renewable energy generation and power to electric vehicles.

This is a core and options apprenticeship. An apprentice must be trained and assessed on the core and one option relevant to their role. The options are:

  • Option 1. Electrode technician
  • Option 2. Cell assembly technician
  • Option 3. Ageing, formation and testing technician
  • Option 4. Module and pack technician

Battery manufacturing technicians prepare for and conduct processes in one stage of cell or battery manufacture. Electrode technicians produce the component that goes in battery cells. They perform processes such as mixing, coating, drying, calendering, and electrode slitting. Cell assembly technicians make individual cells performing processes such as winding, stacking, filling, and sealing. Formation technicians perform formation, ageing and testing processes and final inspection of cells, ensuring cells are charged and working. Module and pack technicians combine individual cells to make battery modules and packs, and conduct end of line testing and cell finishing. In relation to the stage that they work in, technicians conduct quality assurance and maintain process records. Maintaining workplace health, safety and environment is also key. Technicians also support other activities including continuous improvement, inventory control, and maintenance.

In their daily work, they interact with other members of the manufacturing team. They also have contact with other teams for example, process engineers, maintenance engineers, supply chain staff, and warehouse staff.

They are responsible for complying with health, safety, environmental and sustainability regulations, standards, and guidance. This may include wearing specialist personal protective equipment for working in clean and dry facilities, and with high voltage and hazardous materials such as electrolyte. They must ensure that products meet quality specifications and manufacturing guidelines and are produced to schedule and cost. They may work as part of a small or large manufacturing team.

They typically report to a production manager.

Employers involved in creating the standard:

AceOn Group, Alexander Technologies Europe Ltd, AMTE Power, Aston Martin, British Volt, IIika, Jaguar Landrover, Faraday Institution, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, Warwick University, Williams Advanced Engineering

Typical job titles include:

Battery manufacturing technicianeco
Cell assembly technicianeco
Electrode technicianeco
Formation, ageing and testing technicianeco
Module and pack technicianeco

Keywords:

Battery
Battery Making
Battery Manufacturing Technician
Cell Manufacture
Line Testing

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: Battery manufacturing industry awareness: manufacturing environments, types of employers, types of customers. Business: Industrial strategy, ethical sourcing, and battery supply chain practice.
K2: Battery manufacturing technician’s role. Limits of responsibility. Escalation procedures.
K3: Health and safety regulations, standards, and guidance. ATEX - safety requirements for workplaces and equipment used in explosive atmospheres. The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH). Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH). Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR). Electrical safety and compliance. Fire safety. Health and Safety at Work Act – responsibilities. Legionella. Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER). Lone working. Management of health and safety at work. Noise regulation. Permits to work. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). REACH — Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. Safety signage and purpose. spill response handling Slips trips and falls. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). Working at Height. Working in confined spaces.
K4: Health and safety practice - Lock out, tag out (LOTO). Manual handling. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements. Risk assessment and safe systems of work.
K5: Incident and near miss reporting. Emergency procedures.
K6: Battery health and safety. Battery manufacturing safety guidance. Battery failures and faults – causes and consequences. Battery manufacturing safety hazards – risks they pose and management. Responding to battery fires, chemical spillages, gas leakages, and incidents.
K7: Environmental and sustainability regulations, standards, and guidance: Environmental Management Systems standard, Environmental Protection Act, Climate Change Act, Energy Act, Control of Pollution Act. Principles of control and management of emissions and waste. Environmental signage and notices.
K8: Sustainability practice: energy efficiency, reuse of resources, recycling procedures.
K9: The environmental benefits of batteries in the move towards net zero emissions. Sustainability and carbon footprint of different types of batteries and materials used in production: how that can be mitigated for by selection and whole of lifecycle considerations.
K10: Production requirements: product specification, processing specification, rate of production. Material safety data sheet, product labelling and product codes; the importance of identifying non-conforming materials and products. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Stock control principles.
K11: Process control systems and their constituent components.
K12: Need and requirements for clean and dry rooms in battery manufacturing – protocols for entering, working in, exiting. Safe working within a clean and dry room: risks.
K13: Quality assurance vs quality control; key differences. Quality standards. Consequences of not achieving quality standards. Line side and lab quality control. Purpose of audits.
K14: Operational procedures and on-going quality assurance requirements.
K15: Development and review of operational procedures.
K16: Documentation requirements: documentation control, auditable records.
K17: Representative sampling. Common methods of analysis. Principles of quality procedures in the laboratory.
K18: Maintenance practices. Preventative maintenance requirements.
K19: Numerical approximations and unit conversion tables. Areas, volumes, and flow rates calculations. Statistical data. Basic rules of algebra to solve problems.
K20: British standards for engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information.
K21: Application of digital systems to support manufacture: CAD (computer-aided design), CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), CMM (coordinate measuring machine), 3D printing, Human Machine Interface (HMI).
K22: Problem solving and fault-finding techniques: root cause analysis.
K23: Continuous improvement (CI) systems and techniques.
K24: Digital technologies. General data protection regulation (GDPR). Cyber security.
K25: Industry 4.0.
K26: Verbal communication techniques.
K27: Written communication techniques. Technical report writing techniques.
K28: Principles of team working. Equality, diversity, and inclusion.
K29: Planning, prioritising, and time management techniques.
K30: Battery manufacturing terminology: cell, battery, anodes, and cathodes.
K31: Different types of battery and their technologies: pouch, cylindrical, prismatic, solid state, and monobloc, new technologies. Primary and secondary batteries. Developments in battery manufacturing.
K32: Cell materials: solvents, and electrolyte.
K33: Batteries and their applications.
K34: Basic chemistry awareness: the Periodic Table, ionic and covalent bonding, the different current types of battery chemistry and their uses.
K35: Battery standards and market certification.
K36: Battery structure: cells, packs, anodes, cathodes, battery management systems.
K37: Requirements for transportation of lithium cells and batteries.
K55: Option 4. Stock control requirements.
K56: Option 4. Engineering and design documentation application considerations.
K57: Option 4. Module and pack assembly processes procedures.
K58: Option 4. Implications of hazardous voltage.
K59: Option 4. Live pack handling requirements.
K60: Option 4. Module and pack purpose of processes: preparation, bonding, welding manual and automated methods (nickel tabs, bus bars), soldering, crimping, encapsulation and final assembly.
K61: Option 4. Potential issues in module and pack and defect identification.
K62: Option 4. Module and pack finishing - monitoring and recording requirements (traceability).

S1: Obtain and read instructions or information to understand task.
S2: Plan task. Identify and organise resources with consideration for safety, security, environmental impact, cost, and quality.
S3: Identify hazards and risks in the workplace.
S4: Apply health, safety and environmental procedures in compliance with regulations, standards and codes of practice for example lock out tag out (LOTO).
S5: Reinstate work area: housekeeping, replacing tools and equipment.
S6: Segregate resources for reuse, recycling, and handling.
S7: Apply sustainability principles for example, in choice of materials, minimising waste.
S8: Follow operational procedures including on-going quality checks: visual, tolerances, and non-conformances.
S9: Transfer product, intermediate or final, to next stage.
S10: Follow preventative maintenance practices. For example, cleaning electrodes, ensuring tooling is within calibration date, checking guarding, lubrication of tooling, safety checks, and inspection for wear and tear.
S11: Record or enter information - paper based or electronic. For example, process and production records, traceability records, and quality assurance records.
S12: Apply problem solving techniques. Make suggestions to resolve problems.
S13: Interpret data for example, process data, quality control and test procedure data. Use data to validate suggestions.
S14: Apply continuous improvement techniques for example, lean, 6 Sigma, KAIZEN.
S15: Devise suggestions for improvement. For example, improving the energy consumption or waste profile of processes and procedures to improve the sustainability or carbon footprint of a product, process or task.
S16: Apply team working principles.
S17: Communicate with others verbally for example, colleagues and stakeholders.
S18: Communicate in writing in the workplace for example, handover notes or emails, non-conformances, design change requests.
S19: Escalate issues outside limits of responsibility.
S20: Use digital technologies. Comply with GDPR and cyber security regulations and policies.
S21: Plan how to meet personal development needs. Carry out and record planned and unplanned continued professional development (CPD) activities. Evaluate CPD against plans made.
S37: Option 4. Apply anti-static procedures for example, earth straps, rubber matting.
S38: Option 4. Obtain and check module and pack manufacturing materials.
S39: Option 4. Interpret engineering and design documentation.
S40: Option 4. Prepare materials.
S41: Option 4. Check hand tools and equipment.
S42: Option 4. Uses hand tools and equipment. For example, crimping machines, soldering ions, and heat guns.
S43: Option 4. Complete end-of-process check.
S44: Option 4. Monitor fire risks.

B1: Prioritise health, safety and environment.
B2: Consider sustainability when using resources and carrying out processes.
B3: Take responsibility for the quality of own work.
B4: Responsive to constructive feedback.
B5: Team-focus to meet work goals including a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
B6: Respond and adapt to work demands.
B7: Committed to continued professional development.

Duties

Duty D1

Maintain workplace health, safety and environment following safety, environmental and risk management systems.

Duty D2

Conduct handover responsibilities for example, receive information from or pass information to other shifts or departments.

Duty D3

Complete process manufacturing records. For example, production records.

Duty D4

Undertake quality control processes.

Duty D5

Support inventory control. Ensure the required materials and consumables are available for production. Assist with the internal movement of materials.

Duty D6

Support maintenance activities. For example, help engineering in set-up and calibration tasks, report faults, conduct routine preventative maintenance such as inspecting machinery.

Duty D7

Support continuous improvement activities. For example, developing methods and procedures to control or modify the manufacturing process to increase product quality and competitiveness. Identifying ways to contribute to sustainability by reducing energy use and waste. Collecting data to use to analyse and improve the process.

Duty D8

Support internal and external audits. For example, supply information.

Duty D15

Prepare for module and pack manufacturing.

Duty D16

Perform module and pack processes for example: final assembly, end of line testing, and cell finishing.