By David Baskett, Chief Technology Officer, SolutionsPT
As part of employability week, and through my work as a Gambica Council member, I was able to be part of an Industry Week event for Manchester Metropolitan University. In line with current restrictions the event was completed remotely, and I have to say organised perfectly! I was impressed by the differing perspectives and the level of technical knowledge that was evident among the students.
What was the event?
So, just what is the Engineering Slam? The event was set up to provide industrial students with firsthand experience, knowledge and insight from those in the field. Each individual presents a short biography about themselves and their company and how each student’s learning applies to different roles in the field. The experts then present a challenge to the students and this is where things get interesting!
The challenge I set my team was centered around asset management and the students did not disappoint. The question I posed was “How can an industrial customer perform asset maintenance to improve the uptime of their assets?”. Now, there were some caveats that avoided the more simple solutions to my question, such as: the customer has geographically dispersed assets; only one small team of maintenance engineers; no replacing of assets or hiring other staff. Other than that, they were able to approach the challenge however they wanted. The students tackling these challenges are in the field of mechanical engineering, not software or IT focused, but I was very pleased see the IT/OT worlds continuing to converge and to witness the students present full solutions on topics outside their comfort zone. Demonstrating that even at this level of education the hybrid IT/OT role is becoming the norm.
Group one challenge results
The first group of students chose water pumping stations. Their primary focus was the research associated with a new asset management strategy. Starting with a ground-up approach, the team assessed risks and impacts of failure and used those as building blocks to provide better uptime and reduced costs.
Essentially starting again with a new maintenance strategy, the group considered not only the impact of downtime on those in the maintenance team, but the wider reach of water pumping stations. How many people would be left without drinking water or the potential loss of life are all factors they considered. As digital natives, there is no barrier to overcome when introducing digital technology, their solution perfectly encapsulates digital transformation and clearly showed an understanding of its foundation.
Group two challenge results
One of the most interesting results for me was how the second group of students came at the challenge from the totally opposite direction, but still delivered a very viable maintenance strategy.
Rather than building from the ground up, group two looked to optimise what they already had. Taking a wind turbine as their industrial customer, they approached it with a practical focus. By implementing IoT technologies with a view of condition monitoring, group two assessed the data that was already being produced by the turbine. Using that data to assign their maintenance team and include a predictive maintenance strategy to ensure continuous uptime.
The two teams presented two very different but highly credible approaches to asset maintenance; one to start from the ground up and use risks to determine the strategy moving forward, the other to utilise what they had available by deploying new technologies and assessing data. Both very viable strategies from two differing perspectives, both achieve the goal of ensuring uptime and reducing costs.
IT/OT convergence
As I mentioned earlier this is a perfect example of the converging worlds of IT and OT. These are all mechanical engineering students, when placed in an arena where they can affect an entire strategy, they all chose to incorporate the fundamentals of digital transformation. Looking ahead, not just at the right now, the students proposed their individual strategies with longevity in mind. Scalable solutions that can be applied as more hypothetical water pumps or wind turbines are added to the industrial customers. Thinking not only of the savings to the company but the wellbeing of each member of the fictional maintenance team and how the new technology will impact their lives.
Skills Gap
At SolutionsPT we are committed to closing the skills gap within the industry. But talking to these bright students in the Q&A section of the event I am proud to see that there is an active, enthusiasm for engineering. The technical knowledge and thirst to learn displayed by each student, the way they tackled very specific and obscure needs and how they considered company needs beyond just money is nothing short of phenomenal. Each student encapsulates how we at SolutionsPT tackle digital transformation, leading with a people first approach with the pure business benefits coming later.
It was a great opportunity for me to impart some of the wisdom I have acquired through my years at SolutionsPT, it is also very gratifying to see such an interest in industrial technology from the next generation.
“This week has been the highlight of my final year, considering most of my final year has been online with very little campus activity due to obvious reasons. The opportunity to connect with other students and the industrial partners was amazing.”
Bilal Naeem, final year Mechanical Engineering student.
Future plans
I look forward to working more with Manchester Met and other education providers to take this event forward. One organisation in particular is the GUICC (GAMBICA University Industrial Collaboration Council), to see if we can take the experience from this event and present these challenges to students around the country.
If you are a student and interested in working with SolutionsPT, get in touch to find out more about our Apprentice Academy. It works with students to learn the critical skills to approach each facet of digital transformation, whether that be technology deployments or board room culture changes, enquire today.
