The Future of Transportation
The Future of Transportation : The first event of 2019 for Measurement Manufacturing Network (MMN) led by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) North of England in conjunction with the University of Huddersfield took place on 15th January at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield. The Future of Transportation event was organised by NPL which is the UK’s National Measurement Institute, and a world-leading centre of excellence in developing and applying the most accurate measurement standards, science and technology available, attracted an audience of over 70 people from different business backgrounds including both large organisations and small and medium-sized business (SMEs) as well as representatives of academia, and technology providers. The talks focused on light weighting and composites; electric and hybrid propulsion; and connected and autonomous vehicles. The speakers included Rowan Eagen from Northern Automotive Alliance, Nigel Schofield from University of Huddersfield, Martin Sharp from Liverpool John Moores University, Gareth Hind and Andre Burgess from the National Physical Laboratory. Their presentations helped attendees to develop a better understanding of the complex topics from different perspectives. In addition, the representatives from Leeds City Region based business support programme gave the audience an update about available funding options. The audience was entertained by a usual measurement competition which involved estimating the distance from Huddersfield to Dominican Republic in kilometres. The winner was a representative of Lancereal Limited located in Huddersfield and received a prize of NPL mug and socks! The event received very positive feedback, and many positive comments: “Great event to gain awareness and network with others, gaining different perspectives”. “Good mix of presentations at different levels”. “It was a fascinating insight into future developments”. The opportunity to network with likeminded people is key to the success of events like The Future of Transportation and delegates often find potential customers and answers to issues they face in their day to day business. NPL established a North of England Regional Centre with the aim of supporting regional manufacturing, in particular SMEs, to help them achieve their full potential to become competitive within a challenging worldwide market. NPL has a range of ways to support business such as measurement and product verification related services to help SME Manufacturers identify appropriate validation methods within their business with the aim of increasing efficiency, reducing waste and improving product quality. The NPL MMN has been created to make this process as simple and seamless as possible with free membership to all manufactures. The aim of the Network is to enable the members to benefit from NPL’s expertise with the view of optimising productivity and increasing confidence in their products, keeping their businesses at the forefront of measurement and validation technology. Following the feedback received during previous events from the MMN members, the next event will take place on 16th April at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield and will cover the topic of Succession Planning and the Skills Mix for Manufacturers. To book your place at the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/npl-mmn-event-succession-planning-the-skills-mix-for-manufacturers-tickets-54279467348 or call NPL North of England 01484 505713. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
University of Huddersfield to Launch £30m UK Manufacturing Research Centre
A new £30m research centre to help transform UK manufacturing is set to be based at the University of Huddersfield. The Future Metrology Hub will be situated in the Universityâs Centre for Precision Technologies, which houses a team of researchers in precision engineering and metrology. Researchers at the universities of Sheffield, Loughborough and Bath will provide complementary expertise and support, as will the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) from its bases at Teddington and Huddersfield. The Hub is set to address major, long-term challenges facing UK manufacturing industries. A large team of industrial partners, including companies from a wide variety of industrial sectors, will also provide funding and support to the Hub. More than £30m has so far been pledged across the consortium, and new partners will be sought as the research progresses. As part of the Governmentâs commitment to supporting manufacturing research in the UK, the Huddersfield research centre will receive a major investment of £10m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and be one of six new Future Manufacturing Research Hubs. Professor Jane Jiang, who will head the Huddersfield-led Hub, said: Our vision is to develop new technologies and universal methods that will integrate measurement science with design and production processes to improve control, quality and productivity. These will become part of the critical infrastructure for a new generation of digital, high value manufacturing, the so called 4th industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. The term âIndustry 4.0â has been coined to describe the digitisation and automation of manufacturing, using the power of modern computers and technology such as networks of sensors and the massive amounts of data they can collect. Simon McKenna, who is the Hubâs director of operations, added: Weâve built a really strong consortium of researchers, technology developers, service providers and manufacturing end-users to deliver our Hub vision. Having this extended team in place will ensure outputs from the research programme are fully exploited to deliver real and lasting impact for the UK economy. The Hub will officially launch in early 2017. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
