‘I’ll miss working with good people’: Neil McDonald bids farewell to Crane Electronics
Earlier this year, senior engineer Neil McDonald retired after 21 years at the company’s UK head office. Here, Neil looks back on a career with Crane Electronics; a place which has inspired him to lead by example and taught him how to find a solution to every problem.
Neil joined Crane back in 2004, armed with a track record of innovation from his involvement on projects which helped bring contactless payment cards and emergency roadside telephones to the public.
He also arrived with a strong educational background under his belt, with a first-class undergraduate degree in Electrical Sciences from the University of Cambridge as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) title from Henley Management College.
Like with the teams he had worked in previously, he recalled feeling like he could make a ‘major difference’ to Crane as he began looking towards the company for the next step in his journey.
“What I liked about Crane is that it was relatively small at the time when I joined, which was what I was used to working in. The fact everyone knows each other and what their capabilities are sets you up to make a meaningful impact from the off,” he said.
“More generally, the torque industry made sense to me because I knew it employed the broader disciplines of mechanics, electronics and software, which suited my knowledge.
“It was the right decision – I can say that 21 years later – and those industry principles have obviously stayed the same, although plenty has changed within that.”
Throughout his time in the UK office, Neil has enjoyed stints firstly as an engineering manager until 2011, and then as a director until 2022.
This saw him make key contributions across Crane’s product line, from design to delivery.
In more recent years, he has worked part-time as a senior engineer, where his experience has often been invaluable in an advisory capacity for some of the company’s latest projects.
“I’d like to think there is a bit of my creativity in all the tools I have helped us produce. When I look back, it’s being able to design the torque products I’m most proud of,” he continued.
“When I first joined, we were concentrating on mechanics and electronics in our products. Then, there was a bigger emphasis on firmware to personalise them.
“And now, we’ve added management software and databases so we can offer total torque solutions to our customers.
“For me, a memorable ‘eureka’ moment was when we realised you could apply torque to a threaded joint clamping a hydraulic cylinder, and then release the hydraulic pressure to make the joint torque fall to zero.
“This became the basis of the threaded Joint Rate Simulator (tJRS), which allows tools to be tested on actual threaded joints.”
But it isn’t just the field or the equipment which has evolved – torque has also powered change in Neil as a person.
The many lessons in leadership he has received include the successful training and mentoring of engineers under his stewardship; being prepared to do anything he’s asked his team to do; and always remaining calm, fair and respectful.
“You have to be who you want your team to be, and show them how valuable they are not just through words, but actions. A big way of doing this is by remembering good ideas can come from any source,” Neil added.
“If the ideas aren’t quite there, nurture them so they begin to think in the right way and feel confident sharing what they’ve come up with.”
Another learning which has served Neil well comes around problem solving.
As part of his legacy at Crane, he hopes he will leave behind the belief that looking at the theoretical side of a problem is always worth the time and toil, because it can make finding a practical solution easier.
Similarly to wider life, the alternative is to put a ‘sticky plaster’ on the issue, which will more than likely ‘come back to bite you’, he says.
He explained:
“The problems have been part of the beauty of the job and one of the things I’ll miss most. You have to understand and get to grips with them, even if that’s more time consuming – you should analyse it, model it, brainstorm it.
“If there’s one little bit of wisdom I hope to pass on to my colleagues, it would be to never doubt. I have always believed there is a solution to every problem. It might not be the one you want or are expecting, but there will be a solution to be found.”
Meanwhile, the elimination of a potential issue before it can become a full-blown hitch is something Neil predicts will help shape the industry in the coming years, namely through trend analysis of torque measurement discrepancies.
Neil also feels innovations such as artificial intelligence and the deskilling of torque tightening operations will grow in influence as time goes on.
As for his personal future, new beginnings are taking place in more ways than one – Neil and his wife, Sally, have recently moved to a village in Shropshire, where they will be focusing on making improvements to their bungalow and exploring the local countryside.
Grandparent duties will also be a part of Neil’s next chapter, as will keeping fit through cycling, running and walking.
“I’m really looking forward to what’s in store in this next stage of my life – there will certainly be enough to keep me busy, and I’ll have time to relax too,” he said.
In 2016, Neil was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. Despite his desire to continue working, living with the condition – with a major symptom being uncontrollable tremors – influenced him in making the difficult decision to retire early.
That said, at the beginning of the year, Neil underwent an operation at Nottingham Queens Medical Centre (QMC) to give him Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). This entailed putting two probes in his brain and connecting them to a device in his chest. The device sends small currents into specific parts of his brain that were causing his arms to tremor uncontrollably.
As a result, six months later, he is almost tremor-free.
To end, Neil said:
“There is some sadness and a lot of pride at the career I will leave behind. The torque industry is an essential and rewarding one – everyone within it knows that. It’s been very good to me in a job I’ve had for over two decades.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Crane, working with good people on some very interesting engineering projects.
“The people, the problems, the juggling of many engineering projects – they are what I’ll miss more than anything else.”