Bill Jack, English Electric Engineer (team leader) Ravenscraig LEO III, recollection.
The Leo III was acquired by the Colvilles Group Engineering Department on behalf of the
Ravenscraig Works. They had already installed the KDN2 on the Slab Mill. I was a young
engineer in the department and was sent to Kidsgrove to learn about the KDN2. When the
Leo III arrived I was put in charge of the implementation team because I knew about
computers! The LEO III was applied to production control/tracking throughout the
steelworks complex and also to the production of the weekly payroll for 4,000 employees.
The LEO III continued in both roles from 1965 till around 1972 when it was replaced by an
IBM 360.
The most interesting feature of the installation was the extensive use made of Lector
documents to record information directly from the operatives at the various processing points
throughout the plant. These documents were collected at the end of each shift and processed
in time for the production meetings at 9.00am the following morning.
You do correctly identify the tussle between the Finance and Engineering Directorates but
this was resolved by the Finance Director purchasing an ICL 1900, installing it in another of
Colvilles steelworks at Clydebridge and proceeding independently. This did not impinge
upon the installation at Ravenscraig.
As a result of our conversations I have been in contact with members of the original LEO III
32 team and will put together a short record of the installation and the applications. This I
can forward to you if of interest.
Bill Jack
