Issue 49 | Winter 2021

Collaboration
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Partner News Winter 2021 3

Welcome to Partner News

This edition
IET updates 4-8
150@150: Celebrating our 150 Corporate Partners 4
The IET and Protolabs worked together on ‘the great
engineering challenge of tomorrow’ 6
Santa’s STEM workshop – fun activities for families this Christmas 8

MOD 9-10
POET(WE) Greg Jones awarded the Rear Admiral
Bateson Award 2021 9
Army Cyber Information Systems Operations Centre
(Army CyISOC) Tools 10
Sally Davidson Jones
Partnership and Development Manager
Healthcare 11
Celebrating 150 with Abel + Imray 11

Welcome to this Issue of Partner and software solutions for

Academic 12-15
News, the magazine for our many industrial, laboratory
Beatrice Shilling ‘lives on’ at Royal Holloway 12 Partners, by our Partners. In and medical applications. They
Ubi-Tech’s Student of the Year 12 this Issue, we hear from several work with customers worldwide
Bangor University addresses digital grand challenges 13 new Partners, including our first from their headquarters in
Collaboration is key to addressing the challenges of future aviation 14 ever article from one of our North Yorkshire, UK, to produce
Healthcare Partners. world-class automated solutions
Enterprise 16-30 for labs, R&D and production
Rising to the challenge of electric vehicles 16 On Page 9, we hear about this facilities. See Page 27 for more
Distance Learning, Remote Learning and Online Learning – year’s winner of the Rear Admiral information.
Understanding the Difference 18 Bateson Award, POET(WE) Greg
Welcome Zack & Jack, our new apprentices at iconsys 19 Jones. We learn how POET(WE) Our Corporate Partner, IBM,
Scolmore engineers a positive response to latest new Greg Jones joined HMS ARGYLL talk about the challenges
product launch 20 as the RADAR/EW Maintainer in that are impacting the world
Battling Bots – Aish employee’s robot journey 21 the first week of a short notice of computing today: from
Protecting the Grid 22 KIPION deployment and the the headline grabbing CO2
Growth through product diversity and innovation with GES Group 24 challenges he faced. consumption of companies,
Investigating Condition Monitoring of SF6 Alternatives through the sustainability of
On Page 11, we hear from our natural resources consumed by
in the Power Industry 25
Healthcare Partner, Abel + Imray, the hardware, infrastructure and
LCA Group supports Coleg Cambria’s electrical
on how they’re also celebrating data centres that support them
engineering apprentices 26
their 150th Anniversary – just and finally end user data privacy
Providing custom solutions for the world with Labman Automation 27
like the IET! To celebrate this concerns, ethics, diversity,
National Maritime Museum – Electrical Infrastructure Upgrade 28
milestone, they have showcased inclusion and the impact of
Osprey CSL to provide certification and regulatory support to 50 inventions and brands that technology or service on people,
Electric/Hydrogen hybrid aircraft 29 they feel have made a positive places and the planet. Read more
Why engineering and smart technology is the answer to supply impact on our world and about this on Pages 32-33.
chain resilience and a greener future 30 demonstrate the diversity of
intellectual property, and what We hope that you enjoy this
Corporate 31-37 can and has been protected. Issue of Partner News. We always
Burns & McDonnell – Powering up HS2 31 endeavour to provide our Partners
Why is “responsible.computing()” so important? 32 Our Academic Partner, Cranfield with stories that provide an
Disruptive technologies changing the future of engineering 34 University, tell us about how insight into the interesting work
UK Power Networks’ apprenticeship programme 35 their new facility is set to make of our Partnership community,
Room to Adapt and Thrive 36 the UK a global leader in digital and we hope we have done so
aviation research. Sitting at its again in this Issue.
core is a collaboration between
academia and industry. Read If you have any comments
about their ground-breaking or would like to submit an
work on pages 14-15. article, please contact
partnernews@theiet.org or
We hear from our new Enterprise tweet us @TheIET using the
Partner, Labman, on the work hashtag #IETPartnerNews.
For any enquiries, please refer to pages 38-39 for contact details.
they’re doing to manufacture
custom robotic, instrument Sally Davidson Jones
4 Partner News Winter 2021

IET updates

Nigel Fine, IET Chief Executive and Secretary and IET Senior Corporate Account Manager, Paul Stephens with representatives from Corporate Partner AECOM

150@150:
Celebrating our
150 Corporate
Partners
Partner News Winter 2021 5

IET updates

As the IET 150 celebrations come to an Our Corporate Partners are a pillar of our Our Corporate Partner,
end we are delighted to announce that we community and it has been a pleasure
have signed our 150th Corporate Partner to of met many of them throughout the
Arcadis
during our 150th year as an Institution. last nine years. Corporate Partnership is
a gateway to the world class products
Our Corporate Partners are a core piece and services the IET offer as well as
of our Partnership Community and since professional development and business
its launch in 2012 some of the biggest exposure opportunities for their staff.” Since Arcadis became a corporate
companies across the globe have partner, there has been active
decided to partner with the IET for the Our Corporate Partners feel the same engagement from IET by way of
benefit of their staff and organisation. way and believe that their partnership has
It is an exciting time for our Corporate benefitted their staff. Manoj Vadher, Head carrying out several presentations
Partners with this great milestone as of Central Engineering at Royal Mail Group, on the professional registration
well the launch of our new Corporate said: “IET Corporate partnership has given process. This has helped many
Partner User Guide and the expansion Royal Mail the platform to continuously
of our Corporate Partner team to and professionally develop our engineering of our graduates to start their
enable us to deliver even better community. Since the partnership own professional registration
support and service to our Partners. our engineers have led on innovative journeys due to increasing level of
solutions providing better capabilities
Michelle Richmond, IET Director of in automating letters and parcels.” awareness on the support offered
Membership and Professional Development by IET, clear understanding of
said: “It is great to see such an important For more information about the benefits the process and availability of
moment for our Corporate Partner of Corporate Partnership please visit
community take place during our 150th our website theiet.org/involved/ free resources from IET. I am
year. partnerships/corporate-partners/ very pleased to be leading this
relationship with IET and would
like to thank them for providing
the necessary support to our
engineers.

Niranjan Sahoo BEng MSc CEng MIET,

Associate Technical Director, Arcadis
6 Partner News Winter 2021

IET updates

The IET and Protolabs worked

together on ‘the great engineering
challenge of tomorrow’
The IET recently partnered with Protolabs in the creation of the
InspirON Sustainability Series: a tour de force in knowledge
sharing and a resource that helps fast-forward design engineers
through the growing urgency of climate change mitigation.
Partner News Winter 2021 7

IET updates

If you’d like to partner with the IET on a special project or activity, please
contact Louise Hall on +44 (0)1438 767351 or advert@theiet.org

Design engineers have been designing warrior’ Simon Lockrey PhD. Simon Lockrey
with sustainability in mind for generations. bridges the gap between technical,
However, with sustainability increasingly commercial, creative, and sustainability
We engaged with the Protolabs
becoming a matter for industry to contend fields. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at
with, fast evolving global environmental RMIT, Australia, in sustainability and design team on the topics of digital
crises must be met with a more coordinated and sits on the board of International data for sustainability and
response. So, it’s vital now more than ever Sustainable Development Research Society.
carbon footprint reduction,
that we consider what the practical steps He commented:
must be for design engineers. underlining the need for
“We face grand challenges this century, data sobriety. Design for
Ambitious carbon targets have been set such as climate change, resource limits,
disassembly was another topic
by governments for the years ahead, and food security issues and water shortage.
more and more businesses are signing up to Increasingly, designers and engineers need that we explored in the genre
climate change agreements, but how can the to be cognizant of the impact the products of sustainable product re-
targets and agreements be translated into and services they create have on the world in
manufacturing. Our involvement
action? What framework is there for design light of such problems. Life cycle assessment
engineers and their employers to plot their is one way to understand these issues, and in the InspirON series added
journeys to a more sustainable future? the InspirON series helps illuminate this a different perspective on the
world’s best practice method so that it can
topics discussed, grounded on
There are in fact answers to these questions be applied on projects of the future.”
and the required expertise is out there! research outcomes and multi-
When Protolabs approached the IET with The video presentations delivered by the sector practical knowledge. The
the idea of a curated and comprehensive experts are grouped into four themes to
initiative generated interest and
resource of global knowledge for design help viewers navigate through the variety
engineers to become more sustainable in of content: Inspire to Change; Technical we hope the shared knowledge
their work, we thought this was an important Tools; Go Faster; and Thinking Big. There enhanced understanding and
step along the road to sustainability. are also round table and Q&A sessions
facilitated fresh insights.
With Protolabs’ initiative, along with their that form discussion-based presentations
background in supporting innovation in key around the key topics of sustainability in
industries that could turn the tide on global design engineering and manufacturing. John Patsavellas Senior Lecturer
carbon emissions, combined with our own Manufacturing Management,
expertise in engineering, technology and The IET’s own James Robottom (Sustainability Cranfield University
manufacturing, we knew this partnership and Climate Change Lead), Jeremy Hadall
could potentially make a real difference. (robotics and automation consultant and Chair
of the IET’s Design and Production Sector
The InspirON Sustainability Series consists Executive Committee) and John Patsavellas
of video presentations and round table (Senior Lecturer at Cranfield University and
Representing the IET, it was
discussions with the involvement of experts member of the IET’s Design and Production clear to me that the professional
and thought leaders in the various fields of Sector Executive Committee) were directly engineering institutions have
sustainability, including circular economy, involved in several of the presentations
life-cycle analysis, materials technology, and discussions that make up the series.
a significant part to play in
renewable energy, government legislation Allan Rennie, Professor in Manufacturing supporting these types of
and consumer culture. Delivered ‘live’ in April Engineering at Lancaster University and initiatives, engaging with industry,
and May 2021, and with recorded content member of the IET’s Design and Production
continuously available on-demand on Wistia, Sector Executive Committee was involved in
educators and learners alike with
the series is in response to the growing the first discussion on this partnership, and his an agenda to ensure that the very
urgency around climate change mitigation contribution was invaluable. best sources of knowledge can be
and how design engineers are key to this
endeavour. The InspirON Sustainability Series has so far
pulled together for the benefit of
supported around 1,000 design engineers all those participating.
The experts and thought leaders who from across Europe and will continue to
currently live and breathe sustainability are support the community for years to come.
in a unique position to share their knowledge With this suitable framework in place, design Allan Rennie, Professor in Manufacturing
and insight to prepare others for this engineers are now better placed to meet the Engineering at Lancaster University and member
challenge. Their presentations are vital to regulatory and consumer demands of the of the IET’s Design and Production Sector
the quality of the content and they include future – for themselves, for their employers, Executive Committee
plastics expert Vannessa Goodship from for society and for the natural environment
University of Warwick, author and public we all inhabit.
speaker Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino,
Chris Grantham from IDEO, Sophie Thomas Find out more:
from Thomas Matthews and ‘innovation inspiron.hubilo.com
8 Partner News Winter 2021

IET updates

Santa’s STEM workshop – fun

activities for families this Christmas
IET Head of Education, David Lakin, said:
This year’s IET Santa Loves STEM campaign
will focus on inspiring the next generation Santa Loves STEM is an important
to pursue careers in engineering and campaign that aims to spark children’s
interest in STEM in a festive and
technology with our festive workshop of fun, heart-warming way. There continues
Christmas-themed STEM (science, technology, to be a huge shortfall of young people
taking up careers in engineering
engineering and maths) activities. and technology and we believe one
of the main barriers to this is not
Santa’s STEM workshop is packed full For those passionate about climate capturing the creative and curious
of inspiring ideas for teachers and change, we have a fun experiment for kids minds of children from a young age.
families to do with the kids in the lead to help Santa examine how heat passes
up to and over the festive holiday through animals who need to insulate,
season. Children can join Santa and as well as information on affordable and “We hope you’ll visit Santa’s STEM
his helpers at theiet.org/santa to recycled STEM toys which help develop workshop this year and help us spread
make, create, imagine and discover their curiosity and nurture valuable skills. the word to schools, teachers, friends and
this Christmas. They will be able to get family. If you also take the opportunity
in the festive spirit with our fun craft For the Christmas bakers out there, why to try any of the activities, then we’d
ideas, recipes, hands-on experiments not try your hand at our gingerbread love to see your final creations or ideas,
and resources, which provide STEM house making activity and use our guided so please share your pictures to our
inspired learning through play. resource to get kids’ brains whizzing social media channels @IETeducation
about the science and maths behind using #SantasSTEMworkshop
Children can try their hand at some the final creation. Edible stained glass is or #SantaLovesSTEM. We
festive baking with marshmallow also on the menu along with a delicious can’t wait to see them.”
snowballs or flex their creative writing yule log recipe looking at how materials
skills with a poem to Santa. From change state. Outdoor scavenger Join in the fun this Christmas at:
electric dough experiments to snow hunts to practise problem solving, theiet.org/santa
globe making, we have an exciting array and eye spy activities linking to STEM
of ideas to suit four to 13 year olds. careers, will all get their inner engineer
buzzing during the festive season.
Partner News Winter 2021 9

MOD

POET(WE) Greg Jones

awarded the Rear Admiral
Bateson Award 2021
Joining HMS ARGYLL as the RADAR/EW layered defects to this essential situational
Maintainer in the first week of a short notice awareness and targeting system. Jones
KIPION deployment, Jones faced immediate, and his team conducted component
novel, and complex challenges as COVID-19 level repairs to Signal Processors and
saw the rapid shut down of global Air replaced the Fibre Optic Rotating Joint;
Bridges, testing ARGYLL’s sustainability tasks never before attempted by an
at reach to the extreme. Amid heightened RN maintainer due to the catastrophic
tensions he delivered faultless availability, impact if something went wrong.
through strong liaison with operators
and innovative maintenance, whilst also An outstanding mentor characterised by
providing research data on the impact diligent and rigorous attention to all he
of anomalous propagation in the JOA. does, Jones is a highly skilled, determined
maintainer, standing an exemplar of
The loss of Chilled Water in August saw excellence to all Weapon Engineers. For
temperatures in the Ship exceed 60°C providing war fighting capability, in the POET(WE) Greg Jones

for over a week. Heat damage to RADAR most challenging of conditions, Jones is
Type 997 was significant, and by analysis the deserving winner of this year’s prize.
of fault data, Jones diagnosed complex,

Want up to £1500 to put towards your travel?

If you’re travelling as part of your professional development, you can now receive up to £600 towards
your travel costs nationally and up to £1500 internationally wherever you are in the world.

There are six opportunities throughout the year to apply:

19 January 2022 20 July 2022
16 March 2022 21 September 2022
11 May 2022 16 November 2022

Visit theiet.org/travel-awards
for more details and apply today.

IET Travel Award Half Page Advert V2.indd 1 23/11/2021 15:48

10 Partner News Winter 2021

MOD

Army Cyber Information Systems

Operations Centre (Army CyISOC) Tools

The Army Cyber Information Security

Operations Centre (CyISOC), located in
Corsham in the South-West of England,
provides the ability to oversee and assure
deployed Army communications equipment
and services. The work is divided into
the Network Operations Centre (NOC)
who monitor, maintain and assure the
daily performance of the networks and
the Security Operations Centre (SOC)
which assures the security of Army owned
networks and services. The Army CyISOC
has numerous capabilities and unique
technologies to facilitate their tasks. All of
these being the concern of the Corsham
team, there are also individual teams who
implement service management all from a
system of systems approach.

A Network Monitoring Team (NMT) has

been created, consisting of 2 x SP and
1 x CS, with a range of tasks. The NMT
has the responsibility of monitoring the
patching, updates and modifications of
services. Whilst also managing several Sgt Tajinder Singh and Cpl Joseph McAllister
dashboards allowing live monitoring of
traffic on Operations and exercises. This The network uses two hubs and PRTG has has allowed us to watch suspected faults
data collection, in the hands of the Army helped the team become more proactive, unfold and pinpoint the moment at which
CyISOC allows proactive fault rectification as it has now been configured with known the network fails and what was happening
and triage, enhancing innovative work that thresholds to immediately alert when on the network if or when it fails.
continues to push the capabilities outputs. assets or entire Operations experience
issues or potential faults. In the future, it This knowledge gained on the SCP has
The work so far has involved incorporating will prompt the team to begin fault finding, been shared with other formations in
Paessler Router Traffic Grapher (PRTG) often before the distant deployment is even preparation for their deployments so that
Network Monitoring application within our aware of a problem. they too can exploit the level of detail
wide area network. This was previously and they will be able to monitor their own
unavailable due to some intricate In addition to PRTG we have started to networks when deployed. We are also
complications of the nature of the network, implement the use of the Steel Central beginning to deliver training to personnel
but the innovative work now grants us a Portal (SCP). This allows us to view data for from other units and will provide additional
great overview of the system of systems any asset connected to our base network. support during their deployments.
network. This can be used for simple
viewing of a deployed asset’s performance, The SCP capability is a tool that additional We’re now working on documentation to
through to understanding the critical training has enabled the team to create a assure the progress we’ve made thus far,
network features required for refinement. virtual environment in which they can view capturing lessons learned and developing
specific information, right down to point to publications to aid in training the engineers
This ‘Syslog’ function also provides an point packet conversations and the metrics who will work with this equipment in
element of fault information, allowing the that are used within those individual the future, be it at the CyISOC or in the
NMT to proactively analyse hardware conversations such as applications and deployed space.
performance. connected networks. The ability to do this
Partner News Winter 2021 11

Healthcare

Celebrating 150
Take the hairdryer: while early models
had some issues with being bulky and
overheating, they were an advancement
on using the reverse flow of the vacuum

with Abel + Imray

cleaner. And the microwave, which now
adorns many a household and workplace
kitchen. Its inventor Percy Spencer went
on to have 300 patents granted during his
career.

We also take a look at the PC and World

1871 - what a year. Congratulations to the IET for Wide Web, and how they have shaped our
reaching this milestone, and we too are celebrating working and personal lives by enabling us
to access information and communicating
our 150th Anniversary of helping businesses protect in a way unseen by generations 40 years
ago, and the impact the likes of Sinclair and
their brands and ideas. Amstrad had on driving up PC ownership in
the UK.

We excel in a number of key and niche

sectors with many developing and leading
Intellectual property is increasingly off when we began working with Airbus names trusting Abel + Imray to help
recognised as an asset worth developing at the turn of this century. At around the them protect their intellectual property
and investing in, and throughout our history same time as Whittle’s engine was being by offering practical and tailored advice
Abel + Imray have been fortunate enough tinkered with on the test bench, Britain coupled with technical and commercial
to work with a range of engineers, inventors was developing the first submarine pipeline experience and expertise.
and businesses in the UK, Europe and prototype that ran 70km across the Bristol
beyond. Channel. After D-Day, this innovation A complimentary consultation session
helped resupply allied troops in France, and is offered to IET members and if you’ve
To celebrate this milestone we have today the world has over 2m kilometres of an idea you’d like to discuss or have
showcased 50 inventions and brands that subsea pipeline developed and maintained been inspired by our 150th website
we feel have made a positive impact to by companies such as Saipem, who we have (abelimray150.com) please get in touch with
our world and demonstrate the diversity of worked with for over 20 years, by helping our team.
intellectual property, and what can and has them protect their engineering innovations
been protected. Below are some examples for laying and connecting pipelines on a Get in touch 01225 469914
that we hope will be of interest to other large scale. or bd@abelimray.com
members of the IET community and we abelimray.com
invite you to take a more in-depth look at Our showcase of innovations also includes
abelimray150.com. devices that have made our lives simpler,
more convenient and in some cases safer.
Originally developed with glass in the
1880s, the contact lens has evolved to
make use of thin plastics and more recently
silicon hydrogels to enable the user to
wear them for longer periods. In the same
quarter of that century, Sir James Dewar
invented the vacuum flask often referred
to as the Thermos (which is a whole other
trade mark issue), and interestingly Sir
James Dewar had earlier invented cordite
with Sir Frederick Abel, the eldest brother
of one of our founders.

It will be no surprise that we have included

the jet engine for which Frank Whittle is
credited with inventing, although Germany
put it to use two years before the RAF.

Aerospace is a sector we enjoy working in

and have supported throughout most of our
recent history. However, things really took
12 Partner News Winter 2021

Academic

Beatrice Shilling ‘lives on’ at Royal Holloway

By Professor David M Howard FREng CEng FIET and
Dr. Anush Yardim CEng FIET MIEEE F3EP SFHEA

Creative solutions are fundamental to funky furniture that can be rearranged

modern professional engineering practice. as desired), an electronics laboratory
The Department of Electronic Engineering for device prototyping and a fabrication
at Royal Holloway, opened in 2016, has laboratory (FABlab) where prototypes can
just graduated its first MEng students last be constructed.
summer and received full IET accreditation
for its programs late in 2020. Creativity sits This facility exists within the new Shilling
right at the heart of our work; two group Building at Royal Holloway which was
projects are carried out in both the first and inaugurated by Professor Dame Ann Dowling
second years. OM DBE FRS FREng on 27 March 2019.

These are assessed through group The £22m Shilling Building is dedicated to
presentations and demonstrations to a the memory of Beatrice Shilling, who was a
Dragons’ Den of externally invited engineers. pioneering female engineer who graduated
A key benefit of this approach is the from the University of Manchester in the
necessary development of communication 1920s. Her simple yet elegant solution
skills both in oral presentations (students to Merlin engine cut-out in Spitfires and
have a session on healthy and effective Hurricanes during air combat manoeuvres is
voice usage) and report writing - backbones widely acknowledged to have been crucial
of professional group working. to Britain’s victory in WW2.

These activities are facilitated with a Her creative spirit is an inspiration to us all
purpose-built three-room facility consisting and we are proud to remember her name in
of a Creative Thinking Room (furnished with this way.

Ubi-Tech’s Student of the Year

Ubi-Tech (3R) Ltd, leading providers of it’s challenging, the feeling once you’ve Thomas Spencer

telecommunications training, has announced submitted your essays and passed the
Thomas Spencer as award winner of the course is extremely rewarding. Completing
Institution of Engineering and Technology the PG Cert has also provided me with both
(IET) and Ubi-Tech Student of the Year the motivation and the skill set to pursue
award 2020. Presented by Professor my studies with further qualifications in
Robert Lucas-Gardiner at the University of telecommunications, which I am currently
Wolverhampton’s Graduation Ceremony, undertaking,” - Thomas Spencer, Ubi-Tech
held at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, 2020 Student of the Year.
UK, Thomas collected his award for
Outstanding Achievement along with 37
graduates from the class of 2020, who
Ubi-Tech provides telecommunication
celebrated their academic success with
professionals with a diverse training
friends, family, representatives from their
and development portfolio which meets
Armed Forces Corps and the Ubi-Tech team.
the needs of the telecoms industry.
Their portfolio includes the University
“I am delighted to receive the
of Wolverhampton accredited Post
commendation at the graduation ceremony,
Graduate Certificate in Wireless
very much unexpected though it was.
Communications, which is widely
Thank you to the IET for the award and to
recognised by telecommunication and
Ubi-Tech for delivering an excellent course.
defence industries.
I’d recommend anyone potentially looking
at the qualification to go for it; although
Partner News Winter 2021 13

Academic

The DSP Centre has developed a real-time testbed allowing

advanced DSP-based optical network technologies to be fully
validated. The real-time test bed has demonstrated various
algorithms for advanced adaptive optical transceivers which
can achieve reconfigurability, flexibility and adaptability
to dynamically adapt to the end users’ changing network
connectivity requirements. This type of adaptive transceiver
will allow network operators to build intelligent networks with
greatly increased capacity, flexibility and efficiency which leads
to excellent cost effectiveness.

digital signal processing (DSP), focusing

on communications technologies such as
5G mobile networks. These technologies
enable advanced digital systems and
services that have, and can have even
further, a profound positive impact in our
day-to-day activities, health and welfare,
and our relationship with the environment.”

Innovative DSP algorithms embedded in

network devices are a cost-effective way
of speeding up networks, dynamically
and optimally sharing network resources
and implementing power managed

Bangor University
devices for low-carbon networks.

The DSP Centre activities also include

research that explores the synergies

addresses digital
of future networks with Immersive
Technologies (VR/AR/MR), Artificial
Intelligence and Machine learning, also
researched at Bangor University. Some
of the DSP Centre’s world-class research

grand challenges
outputs include innovations in physical-
layer secure optical communications,
distributed fibre-optic sensing, novel 5G
network architectures, optical wireless
transmission, visible light communications,
and immersive and situated analytics.
The School of Computer Science and Gray was professor of Physics at
Electronic Engineering at Bangor University Bangor and was previously assistant Recent research proposes a new network
is developing new research solutions in to Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin). infrastructure capable of supporting, in
digital communications and networks. Researchers, including Professor Bryan, an adaptive and dynamic manner, direct
The newly established Digital Signal who established one of the UK’s first communications between end-users
Processing (DSP) Centre of Excellence programmes in Electronic Engineering without passing traffic to core networks.
has a far-reaching research agenda. at Bangor, have carried his mantle. The The proposed network infrastructure
growth and development of the Digital is critical to 5G use as it requires high
The University is located in a region of Signal Processing (DSP) Centre of bandwidth, ultra-reliability, and low latency,
outstanding natural beauty between Excellence is a natural succession. Today together with limited modifications to
the mountains, lakes and forests of we are pushing the bounds of research installed access network infrastructures.
the Snowdonia National Park and the in digital systems, energy management, The technique could be a game-changer
dramatic North Wales coastline. The Isle communications, software development, for network design and management
of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) is also on our digital systems, data visualisation, virtual for 5G networks and beyond.
doorstep which makes our location the reality, and human computer interaction.
perfect environment to research and study. Furthermore, as part of the Welsh
The DSP centre, led by Professor Jianming Government’s strategy of delivering
Today’s researchers stand on the shoulders Tang, is a £6m centre undertaking broadband to properties in hard-to-reach
of many innovative researchers who have highly specialised research into digital areas in North Wales, the DSP Centre
been at Bangor University. In fact, as a communication systems such as 5G is currently working with six industrial
School we give credit to Professor Andrew networks and ecosystems. Professor partners, local authorities, and a Social
Gray for establishing the study of electrical Tang said: “At the DSP Centre we carry Enterprise to deliver 5G broadband
engineering at the University. out world-class research on leading edge to 3,000 properties in Anglesey.
14 Partner News Winter 2021

Academic

A new facility at Cranfield University is and airport infrastructure that will help
set to make the UK a global leader in the UK reach its target of net zero carbon
digital aviation research. Sitting at its core emissions and support industry to bounce
is collaboration between academia and back stronger from COVID-19.
industry.
Collaboration was also a key theme at
The £67m Digital Aviation Research and DARTeC’s first Digital Aviation Conference,
Technology Centre (DARTeC) was officially attended by over a thousand people earlier
opened in July 2021 by Business Secretary this year and organised to bring the digital
Kwasi Kwarteng. aviation community together and address
industry challenges.
DARTeC aims to address some of the main
research challenges facing the aviation “Collaborative working is fundamental in
industry, including: tackling the huge challenge of enabling
the future airspace ecosystem, where both
– the integration of drones into civilian crewed and uncrewed aircraft will seamlessly
airspace and safely share all environments,” said Dr
– increasing the efficiency of airports Dimitrios Panagiotakopoulos, Senior Lecturer
through technological advances in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic
– creating safe, secure shared airspace Management at Cranfield. “That goes from
through secure data communication designing scalable ground infrastructure to
infrastructures intelligent air traffic management systems
– increasing the reliability and availability of and new aerial systems leveraging full
aircraft utilising self-sensing/aware and automation and autonomy.”

Collaboration self-healing/repair technologies.

The world-leading facility is located next

A win-win for industry and academia
Cranfield is working with a range of industry

is key to to Cranfield’s airport and consists of a

central building with digital aviation research
laboratories and collaborative open plan
partners and organisations at DARTeC.
Consortium partners encompass Aveillant,
Blue Bear Systems Research, Boeing,

addressing office space where staff, students and

partners work together, and a partially
covered ‘hangar laboratory’ connected to
BOXARR, Connected Places Catapult,
Cranfield University, Etihad Airways,
Heathrow, Inmarsat, the International Air

the challenges Cranfield’s 737-400 aircraft through an

airport-style air bridge.
Transport Association (IATA), the IVHM
Centre, Saab, Satellite Applications Catapult,
Spirent Communications and Thales, with co-

of future Researchers at DARTeC are already working

with industry partners to advance the
application of digital technologies in the air
investment support from Research England.

“Collaborative working at DARTeC is a win-

aviation transport sector. Projects are underway to

drive forward innovations in digital airspace
win situation for both industry and academia
with many mutual benefits,” said Dr Saba
Partner News Winter 2021 15

Academic

Al-Rubaye, Reader in Autonomous and to benefit from the cutting-edge research

Connected Systems at Cranfield. “Through activities of academics and fill gaps in R&D,
working on DARTeC projects I have felt which not all start-ups can afford to have,”
the real-world and existing challenges in adds Dr Al-Rubaye. “It allows them to stay Collaborative working
unmanned aircraft systems communications continuously connected to early-stage at DARTeC is a win-win
which usually are not noticed in academic- research and to accelerate the translation of
only research projects. I have had the chance that research into new products that drive
situation for both industry
to work with different people from industry economic growth.” and academia with many
and to understand their mindsets – this can mutual benefits.
help with planning for future collaboration.” DARTeC projects are also enabling Cranfield
researchers to work with innovative SMEs
Cranfield researchers list knowledge transfer, not from the aerospace/aviation sector. This
awareness of industry trends, inspiration is allowing for the consideration of wider
from application derived discussions, quicker exploitation of research to other industrial
test and validation routes for innovative sectors and providing researchers with a
concepts, faster routes to market and up- better understanding of current R&D in other
take of new technology developments, and sectors and how they can benefit from it.
outreach to extended population brackets as
among the benefits for both academia and Global research airport
industry arising from collaboration. Cranfield’s global research airport offers a
unique environment for transformational
Working with SMEs research with interconnectivity between
As well as collaboration with more facilities and across academic disciplines.
established industry partners, the Game-changing technologies such as the
involvement of small and medium sized first operational digital air traffic control
businesses (SMEs) in DARTeC is also tower in the UK and next-generation radar
providing particular advantages. technologies on the University’s licensed
airport create a unique research and
Dr Panagiotakopoulos said: “Working with development environment.
SMEs has been a breath of fresh air – their
agility has often expedited project work, Combining the University’s unique
decision-making and product development. facilities for aviation-related projects and
Products, solutions and services developed rich experience in handling aerospace
can be a fundamental part of SME product development with the breadth of DARTeC’s
lines, helping them to grow, and providing industry partners is providing a complete
key contributions to the future airspace and package for projects covering research, test,
technologies that will fully unlock the true validation, and prototype manufacture.
potential of drone applications.”

“Collaborative projects with academia

provide an excellent opportunity for SMEs
16 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

Rising to the
The National Grid predicts 11m electric
vehicles (EVs) in the UK by 2030 – up from
550,000 in 2021. The primary problem
is transmitting and distributing power to
where it’s needed for EV charge points,

challenge of
across local grids which were never built to
handle the flows required.

The problem is twofold: coping with both

the volume and timing of charging. Both

electric vehicles
are difficult to predict and plan for, years in
advance.

Will millions of commuters be plugging

their cars in at the same time when they
get home from work – and the evening
peak demand begins for heat, showers and
Dr Jon Hiscock, Managing Director of Fundamentals cooking (all increasingly electric)? Will fleets
of newly electrified commercial vehicles be
Ltd, examines how the electricity industry is rising to hooking into superfast chargers on the road
the challenge of electric vehicles. networks and at work? When? Where? And
what charging speeds will they need?
As Ofgem stated: “Britain’s cables,
substations and other infrastructure need
a massive upgrade to support this new
demand for electricity.”
Partner News Winter 2021 17

Enterprise

£300m down, £40bn to come Powered by satellite navigation technology, Innovation and Support Programme
The regulator describes its £300m it monitors subsystems and power lines. It (NAVISP). The next stage of the project is
investment announcement as ‘a down uses sensors that combine a range of timing to propose a Network Innovation Allowance
payment’, which in the next two years will tools – including satellite navigation signals with a wide group of Distributed Network
include new infrastructure for 1,800 ultra- and the eLoran longwave radio system – to Operators.
rapid charging points on motorways (triple build up a data picture accurate to a few
the current number), plus a further 1,750 billionths of a second. About ESA’s NAVISP Programme
in town and cities. A good step forward – Since 2017, the Navigation Innovation and
but that rate needs to increase by 35,000 “The power distribution system was never Support Programme (NAVISP) encourages
new charge points per year in order to built to handle the power flows required for European industry - Large system
accommodate 11m EVs on the roads by electric vehicles. There is a significant lack integrators as well as SMEs and Start-ups -,
2030. of data in most low-voltage substations, so but also Universities, Research Institutions
distribution companies are often operating and public entities to generate new exciting
There is much more to come, however. in the dark in terms of localised power ideas within the Positioning, Navigation and
Ofgem has already committed to a surges or outages,” said Brian Lasslett,
£40bn investment programme for new Head of IP, Fundamentals. “The ENERSYN Timing (PNT) sector, through the following
infrastructure to support low carbon project provides early warning of potentially axis:
transport and heating, with further dangerous electricity network failures
announcements slated for next year. It equipping network operators with the data Element 1: Fostering innovation in satellite
also promises many more charge points at they need to make decisions, fast.” Navigation through competitive.
commuter railway stations, together with
small towns across England, Wales and Richard Swinden, Technical Officer at the Element 2: Boosting the development of
Scotland. European Space Agency said: “Never before PNT competitive products.
has GNSS technology been used to insert
Stronger grids and smarter tech an intelligent sense of place and time to Element 3: Supporting PNT National
Apart from putting in bigger wires and more power grids in this way. This project has Programmes of Member States.
substations, grid operators are increasingly demonstrated we can provide an early
adopting smart new technologies to ensure warning of potentially dangerous electricity More information on navisp.esa.int
existing networks can deliver widespread network failures and has shown a new If you’re interested in a career in power
EV charging reliably and at affordable cost. approach to turn power grids into smart systems, a willingness to develop, and
systems.” a desire to take on new challenges
The trick is to be able to predict and cope with a ‘yes we can’ attitude, we would
with sudden and massive increases in local The contract was conducted over two years, like to talk with you. Please visit
demand (and fluctuations in power available from April 2018 to March 2020, and was fundamentalsltd.co.uk/careers or contact
from low carbon generation sources, supported through the ESA’s Navigation us on careers@fundamentalsltd.co.uk
including solar and wind). Failure to do that
would cause unexpected power cuts or
grey outs (voltage drops that would see
lights dim and some equipment not working
properly).

One example of how grid operators are

adopting new technologies to tackle the
problem uses a combination of satellite
navigation, data gathering and deep
machine learning.

ENERSYN
Fundamentals has worked with the
European Space Agency, Chronos
Technology and University of Strathclyde
on the ‘ENERSYN’ project to incorporate
the power of satellite navigation technology
into power grids. This location-based early
warning system detects electric vehicle
charging with an accuracy of 99% and
provides localised, early, real-time visibility
of potentially unexpected electricity
network loads on the Low Voltage (LV)
network.
18 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

Distance Learning, Remote

Learning and Online Learning –
Understanding the Difference
Studying independently, without attending to test their knowledge and understanding. If you’re looking for quality teaching, where
a College or University, has become The feedback from the practice questions you can learn at your own pace and under
increasingly popular over recent years, can include hints and prompts, helping no pressure, then Engineers Academy is
particularly amongst mature students and students to overcome common errors and perfect.”
those who are unable to attend College. correct their mistakes. When accompanied
For prospective students who work away by dedicated Online tutors to provide Graham Mills (Engineering Enthusiast)
from home or work complex shift patterns, additional support and guidance, students provided unique insight into his
attending a College will most likely not be report they feel engaged and motivated. experiences, following completion of an
an option. HNC in Mechanical Engineering in around
This approach enables students to study in 20 months. Graham has subsequently
This type of study has been given various their own time and at their own pace, with progressed on to the HND in Mechanical
names, including Distance Learning, tutors to oversee their progress and provide Engineering:
Online Learning and, more recently (since support and encouragement. By leveraging
COVID-19), Remote Learning. But what the benefits of new, interactive technologies “I went into this expecting a hard time as
should students expect when choosing to – and unlike traditional Distance Learning I had previously attempted A-Level Maths
study by one of these methods? – students are now able to track their own and dropped out after two weeks. I was
progress in real time, and tutors are able to trying, so the fact that I failed then but
Traditionally, Distance Learning placed all identify and support those individuals who succeeded now can be credited to the
the onus on the student. Study materials might be struggling. learning structure and methods used. The
and assessments would be sent to the lessons are clearly laid out and excellently
individual and they would be expected Adam Senior (Senior Technician, paced, while the progression through the
to work entirely independently, with very Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy) topics will take you from a few simple
little support or guidance. Students would recently completed an HNC in General concepts to complex calculations. It’s a
then return their completed work and await Engineering, despite working offshore as credit to the design of the course that I’ve
their marks or feedback. Understandably, a wind turbine technician: completed it.”
traditional Distance Learning success
rates were very low and consequently the “During my off-shift, I would always put Engineers Academy LTD are an approved
opinions of Distance Learning study were an hour aside each day to maintain good Pearson EDEXCEL centre and IET
generally quite poor. progress throughout the qualification. Enterprise Partner. They currently
For myself, the structure of the learning offer Online/Interactive HNC and
During the COVID-19 restrictions, many materials and video tutorials are fantastic. HND programmes in E&E, General and
Colleges opted for Remote Learning, where Any questions or queries are answered very Mechanical Engineering.
lessons would still take place at a specific quickly, and tutors are always more than
time of day, but these would be carried out happy to help.” For more information, please visit:
using technologies such as Skype, Zoom or engineers.academy
Microsoft Teams, and would be facilitated Liam Morris (Shift Operations Technician,
by a classroom teacher. The students Veolia) shared similar opinions of the HNC
benefited from the interaction with their in E&E Engineering, having completed the
teachers and peers, but only according to programme in under two years:
the pre-arranged, and possibly somewhat
limited lesson schedule. “I will admit to being a little nervous when
starting the HNC online, but the videos
A new and innovative approach to Online and information packs give you all the
Learning is an Interactive approach. information you need to succeed. Even when
Shorter, pre-recorded video tutorials can be I needed a little extra support, the team
watched by students at any time, with self- were always there to help and that help
marking practice questions to allow them comes quickly (within a matter of hours).
Partner News Winter 2021 19

Enterprise

Welcome Zack & Jack, our new

apprentices at iconsys
Over the years, iconsys has successfully related projects, across numerous industrial professional development. With this in
invested and implemented an electrical sectors. Every apprentice works alongside mind we will encourage our apprentices to
apprenticeship programme that runs experienced staff, offering a “buddy” take the next step and complete a further
in partnership with Telford College of type system. This helps the apprentice year of studying for an HNC in Electrical
Art & Technology (TCAT). The iconsys ease into their new role, the transfer and Electronic Engineering. This cycle will
apprenticeship programme is fully backed sharing of knowledge and experience, continue as long as they are employed at
and supported by the company, we are offering guidance and someone whom the iconsys.
committed to the ongoing training, safety, apprentice can turn to when needed.
and future development of every apprentice. With time invested in our apprentice
The apprentice also gains hands on experience programme, the scheme is carefully
At the beginning of September 2021, we working with our manufacturing platform designed to provide individuals with an
welcomed two new apprentices onto the partners’ products and the installation of opportunity to further develop their career
programme, Zack Guillemin and Jack Evans. their equipment. Additionally, working and with iconsys. Every apprentice is given a
learning from our internal manufacturing team solid foundation and a genuine opportunity
Telford based iconsys is a leading UK and design engineers to resolve technical to further progress, setting them up for a
automation solutions provider and systems issues, provide the apprentice with a solid rewarding career at iconsys.
integrator, working closely with clients all-round understanding of the business and
in all kinds of industries, designing and the industry. It’s a very busy period for iconsys.
delivering cutting-edge bespoke solutions Apart from our apprenticeship
to improve manufacturing safety, efficiency The programme also includes attending programme, we also have a number of
and profitability. In line with our 2020+ TCAT two days a week, with the course other interesting engineering vacancies
growth strategy and planned expansion, running for three years. Once the course available: iconsys.co.uk/careers/current-
we recently relocated to one of the region’s has been completed the apprentice will opportunities
foremost Smart buildings. gain a recognised Level 3 NVQ Diploma in
Advanced Manufacturing Engineering. In For more information about IET
The iconsys apprenticeship programme the spirit of the IET concordat we promote Apprentice membership please visit
offers a traditional in-house workshop, and support all iconsys staff including our website: theiet.org/membership/
with time well-served working on a diverse apprentices to continue improving their become-a-member/apprentice-
range of manufacturing and electrical knowledge and skill sets with ongoing membership/
20 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

– 100A Mains Switch Consumer Unit.

– Dual RCCB Consumer Unit – 100A Mains
Switch + 2 x 80A Type A RCCB.
– Dual RCCB/SPD Consumer Unit – 100A
Mains Switch + 2 x 80A RCCB + 2 Pole
SPD.
– Combination Unit – 100A Mains Switch +
2 x 80A RCCB.
– RCD Incomer – Mini Board – RCD.

The Elucian Circuit Protection Range

comprises Mains Isolator Switches,
RCCBs, SPDs, MCBs, RCBOs and blank
modules:

– 2 Pole 100A Mains Isolator Switch.

– Type A 2 Pole 30mA RCCBs (63A, 80A
and 100A).
– Type 2, 2 Pole 40kA SPD available in
275Uc (V~).
– 1 Pole, True 6kA B Curve & C Curve
MCBs.
– Compact Type A 1 Pole + Neutral True
6kA B Curve & C Curve 30mA RCBOs.
– A single way Din Rail Blank module.
Elucian by Click - the comprehensive consumer unit and circuit protection range.
As part of a comprehensive marketing
support package to maximize awareness of

Scolmore engineers a
the new Elucian range, Scolmore hosted a
webinar and follow up social media sessions,
which saw some impressive engagement

positive response to latest

statistics, with nearly 1,000 individuals
engaging with Elucian across the various
social channels.

new product launch The webinar saw Scolmore’s technical

team talk in great depth about how Elucian
complied with the technical standards,
focusing on the construction of the units,
and the devices that fit inside such as;
RCCBs, SPDs and RCBOs.

Contractors were eager to hear about the

A leading player in the UK wiring in the development of the range. With
safety features of the devices, as this helps
accessories market, Scolmore is continually Amendment 2 to the 18th Edition of the IET
them to comply with the standards (BS 7671
looking at ways to improve and develop its Wiring Regulations due for publication Q1/
the wiring regulations) that are used on a
existing product offer, and to explore new Q2 2022, Darren Staniforth, head of technical
daily basis. The live social media session
areas for expansion. The result of its latest engagement with Scolmore Group, wanted
gave contractors the means to extend any
new product development programme sees to ensure that the new Elucian consumer
questions further with an interactive outlet
the company complete its offer in the wiring unit range was future-proofed to satisfy the
and immediate answer.
accessories category with the launch of a anticipated changes.
comprehensive Consumer Unit and Circuit
scolmore.com
Protection range. Designed with the installer in mind, Elucian is
sales@scolmore.com
an extensive range of metal consumer units
01827 63454
Marketed under the name ‘Elucian by that will cover a broad range of installations
Click’, the official launch follows months and offers a number of features and benefits
of extensive research and consultation that will enhance the products’ convenience,
with contractors and installers to come up flexibility and safety properties.
with a range of products that best suits
their requirements and that are compliant The consumer unit collection comprises
with all the latest regulations. Scolmore’s a total of 58 individual lines which fall
specialist technical team were involved under five main product groups:
Partner News Winter 2021 21

Enterprise

Battling Bots – Aish

employee’s robot journey
Aish employee Tim Rackley has an unusual awarded the ‘giant bolt’ award. This is the
hobby, but one that has seen him travel founder’s award and is given to the team
the world and become something of a cult that best reflects the ethos and purpose of
figure. Tim builds robots in his spare time, robot building as a hobby.
and has now competed in several versions
of the hit TV series Robot Wars, with various Tim is keen to point out there are some
robots he has been involved in. great lessons to be learnt from participating
in Robot Wars:
Tim’s day job is as a QCT team leader at
Aish, where he oversees quality control for “For starters, there is a great team
both mechanical and electrical engineering mentality,” he says. “Whilst we are obviously
projects. In 2016 he was in the audience for in competition, at the same time we all
an episode of Robot Wars and having been support each other. I often help other teams
a fan for many years, suddenly realised he to rebuild their robots in between heats. In
had the knowledge and the opportunity addition, it’s a fantastic way to introduce
to actually get more involved. Having younger people to engineering, and the
persuaded three of his friends to come excitement that comes from creating
on board, he subsequently set up his first something from scratch.”
team – Dorset Roboteering Team – and they The Aish Robot Wars team
began to construct their first robot called Whilst some of the larger robots Tim has
Concussion. been involved in can command a budget of
£15,000 or more, Tim has recently also been
“We set up operations in one of the team building much smaller and lighter robots,
members’ garage,” Tim recalls. “Between that often only cost a few hundred pounds.
us we had mechanical, electrical and
software engineering skills; basically, all the The Future
pre-requisites you need to build a robot. So, what of the future? Tim is keen to
You have to apply to Robot Wars, and continue his involvement although the
satisfy a number of criteria including power, pandemic has made it difficult: “The TV
weight and battery capacity. The process series has been cancelled here in the UK,
begins with a CAD design, then we build a but we hope there will be a return to live
prototype and finally the real thing, refining events soon.”
the design throughout. We have used local Between us we had
companies to date for cutting material but In addition, Tim has also started judging mechanical, electrical and
I’m hoping Aish may be able to help us in competitions, where he hopes to be able
the future.” to pass on some of the knowledge he has software engineering skills;
learnt: “When I think back to how I started, basically, all the pre-requisites
International Success sitting in the audience, if I can inspire other
Clearly the process to date has been a youngsters to take up engineering as a
you need to build a robot. You
success as teams led by Tim have been career then I would consider that a big have to apply to Robot Wars,
finalists in two seasons of Robot Wars, success.” and satisfy a number of criteria
not to mention coming 3rd in the Chinese
version called ClashBots and also finishing including power, weight and
in the top 8 of the US version, called battery capacity.
Battlebots. And in the 2018 season of
Battlebots, Tim’s team Monsoon was
22 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

Factory Acceptance Testing of Wandsworth 132kV Protection at DAGEM Power’s Workshop

Protecting
The protection relay is a device quite like
no other; it is required to simultaneously
exhibit both stability and sensitivity yet
retain the capability to reliably identify and

the Grid
discriminatively clear faults on the power
system, typically within as little as 120
milliseconds at 400kV from fault inception
to circuit breaker arc interruption.

Achieving this level of reliability requires

a rigorous quality assurance process to
The intelligent electronic devices at the heart of the UK’s be followed, from initial configuration
and testing in the factory, through to on
electrical infrastructure and their journey from the factory site commissioning, onload checks during
to the substation and beyond. By David Shammas, initial energisation and finally the periodic
preventive maintenance required to take
Protection & Control Services Manager at DAGEM Power. place across its 20+ years of service.

Factory Acceptance Testing

Upon application of project specific
settings and logic to IEDs in the factory,
The UK is undergoing an energy revolution; What are IEDs? comprehensive secondary injection testing
with increased electrification, energy storage IEDs, commonly referred to as protection is completed, typically using an Omicron
and renewable energy connected to the relays, are integrated microprocessor-based CMC universal relay test set. Omicron’s
Grid, the shift towards de-centralised low systems that monitor complex functions of advanced scripting helps automate testing
carbon generation is well underway. At the power system quantities utilising algorithms procedures and enables more thorough
heart of this transitioning Grid are intelligent to, among other functions, identify electrical and detailed interrogation of the relays
electronic devices (IEDs), situated at faults. This must be achieved in the minimum performance than would otherwise be
electrical substations across the transmission possible time in order to prevent unnecessary possible, whilst also producing reports
and distribution system tasked to detect, damage to the faulted and non-faulted plant detailing the relay behaviour to be
locate, and initiate the isolation of faulted alike, prevent wider power system instability referenced during the commissioning
plant from the power system. and avoid loss of supply to consumers. phase.
Partner News Winter 2021 23

Enterprise

all external interfaces to be proven. Checks Preventative Protection Maintenance

ensure that protection relays have not been Once in service, a protection relay may not be
damaged during transit or installation, that required to operate during its entire life cycle,
the correct settings have been applied and but should a fault appear on the system it
that the interface is connected correctly in is imperative that the protection operates
accordance with the latest design. correctly. Like all electronic devices subjected
to harsh environmental conditions such as
The commissioning process can be temperature and humidity fluctuations, IEDs
notoriously complex, requiring expert may suffer the effect of aging electronic
management and co-ordination to ensure components and thus increased likelihood of
the project is safely delivered to contractual maloperation.
timescales while maintaining the focus on
quality and safety: Through a preventative protection
maintenance programme, regular
“The scale of a project can make the inspection and well documented testing
protection commissioning particularly to accommodate trending analysis allows
challenging, for example, Hornsea Two, which confidence that the protection system will
once fully operational in 2022 will become operate when called upon and clear any
the world’s largest offshore wind farm, has faults as quickly as possible whilst minimising
over 100 IEDs that required testing at the disruption to the Grid.
onshore substation alone. Then you have to
consider the truly global mix of companies What does the future hold for IEDs?
and personnel involved in the project; Significant improvements to efficiency,
the protection was designed, built, and performance and cost have been achieved
configured by Hitachi-ABB in Switzerland, thanks to the ongoing digitalisation of the
to comply with Danish company Ørsted’s Grid. IEC 61850 communications standard
technical requirements, for a project based in defines a data agnostic architecture that
the UK and needing to comply with UK Grid caters for interoperability of devices from
Code and OFGEM regulations. The successful different vendors at the field or process
Upon completion of rigorous internal testing, commissioning required the highest levels of and station control levels. Increased inter-
the end-client is invited to attend a final test communication and co-operation throughout connectivity allows for open communication
of the protection system, called a Factory to maintain synergy between all parties and exchange of data within the digital
Acceptance Test (FAT), to demonstrate and ensure commissioning was completed substation, however, with increased
system compliance. correctly and on schedule.” digitalisation comes increased vulnerabilities.

“Earlier this year, client representatives were David Messruther, Commissioning Cyberattacks are becoming an increasing
unable to attend the Hitachi-ABB Power Manager at DAGEM Power concern for all critical national infrastructure
Grid UK’s System Verification Facility due to including the Grid, as explained by Dominic Bull:
the restriction of movement brought about At the end of the commissioning process,
by the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivery of the once it has been verified that the correct “IEDs have become increasingly
Dogger Bank A Protection FAT (the first settings have been applied and interface interconnected thanks to the advanced
phase of what will be the world’s largest with other equipment proven, the final automation and communication standards
offshore wind farm once all three phases are stability and integrity checks are completed being implemented for the big push
complete) required an innovative solution ‘on load’ during initial energisation. The towards Smart Grids. However, masses of
to avoid delays to the project leaving commissioning is then able to be signed data swarming around the network now
the factory. A ‘Virtual’ FAT was delivered off and the system released for commercial presents a risk of cyberattack on the Grid
utilising the latest video streaming hardware service. from external sources. Cyber security is
and software, the likes of which are more taking centre stage on the Hinkley Point C
commonly used by Youtubers! Stakeholders Protection & Control FAT with huge efforts
from multiple locations around Europe were being made to implement and test strict
able to remotely dial-in and witness the FAT, security measures as we help define the new
saving time, money and the carbon footprint standard for UK cyber security within the
associated with international travel.” industry.”

Danny Cody, Senior Protection Services Dominic Bull, Senior Control Services
Engineer at DAGEM Power Engineer at DAGEM Power

Site Commissioning David Shammas, Protection & Control

Whilst the IEDs undergo thorough testing at Services Manager at DAGEM Power
the factory, site commissioning allows for the T: 07545023992
complete protection system incorporating E: david.shammas@dagem.co.uk
24 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

Growth through
product diversity
and innovation
with GES Group
GIRONA - Building a Sustainable Clean Tech Infrastructure for
Net Zero

This development will continue into 2021

with sales training planned for a newly
restructured sales team. This will support
the sales of the new NIDEC partnership
proposition and the acquisition of new
clients across the island, contributing
directly to the organisation’s growth.

GES Group strive to provide clients

with the most efficient products and
services to meet the demand that the
ageing grid network is shouting out for.
Established in 1972 as Grants Electrical
Services (NI) Ltd., the company has grown GES has managed energy effectively for
and developed into GES Group, a leading many internationally recognised clients
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering through good planning, organising,
business, now serving customers commitment and understanding, and
throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. The through successful implementation of
organisation has 80+ staff and continues agreed programmes ensuring the relevant
to grow through challenging conditions. controls and monitoring are in place.

The company has announced the recent Our work with the professional guidance
acquisition of a supply partnership with and direction of the IET Enterprise
NIDEC (part of the French, Leroy Somer Partnership ensures we keep a continuous
Group). NIDEC are a key supplier of motors and harmonised electrical supply to key
to a wider-range of sectors across the organisations across all sectors. This has
UK and Ireland. GES Group have secured driven GES to continually adapt to the
an exclusive distribution partnership for renewable energy sector demands to drive
the island of Ireland. This partnership for modification, higher efficiency outputs
has been made possible through and testing to enable a green and clean-
the demonstration of both technical The company continues to tech engineering approach and includes
excellence and customer relationship the moving towards IoT applications.
management excellence by GES. implement robust quality
standards and work beyond The company continues to implement
The Group continues to invest in the robust quality standards and work beyond
development of its wider team with
the standards expected across the standards expected across the
its full management team having taken the industry. industry. The company continues to hold
management qualifications through the ISO9001/14001 & 9001 whilst adjusting
Institute of Leadership & Management. for the transition to ISO45001 in 2022.
Partner News Winter 2021 25

Enterprise

across the energy industry including

generation, utilities and heavy industries.

The University of Manchester has

recognised expertise in high voltage
engineering and state-of-the-art facilities
for insulation degradation testing in multi-
stress analyses (temperature, humidity and
pressure). It is home to the National Grid
Power Systems Research Centre, and the
largest high voltage research laboratory in
the UK. It has facilities that can test up to
600 kV DC, 800 kV AC, and 2 MV impulse.

The project aim is to explore the practical

aspects of partial discharge-based
condition monitoring in a controlled
environment. Partial discharge can occur
in gas insulated equipment due to various
defects such as protrusions on high voltage
conductors, floating metallic particles or
poor high voltage contacts.

The test and future plans

Testing has been carried out at The
University of Manchester High Voltage
Laboratory on a full-scale gas insulated

Investigating Condition
demonstrator rated up to 550 kV with and
without defects. The demonstrator has
been energised and monitored continuously
to evaluate partial discharge trends as they

Monitoring of SF6 develop into insulation breakdown. Using a

combination of internal sensors and recently
developed externally mounted sensors,

Alternatives in the
the electromagnetic radiation generated
from partial discharge activity due to the
defects has been monitored in the ultra-
high frequency spectrum using the HVPD

Power Industry
Kronos® monitoring system.

Further plans are to evaluate insulation

performance of representative defects
over a longer timescale using the full-scale
demonstrator and a dissemination webinar
which will be held at the end of the project.
SF6 has been widely used in gas insulated HVPD and the University of Manchester
switchgear across the electricity networks. have embarked on a six-month project
For more information on the
In the UK, it is estimated that the SF6- to investigate condition monitoring
project please contact us at the
filled gas-insulated substations in both techniques for gas-insulated switchgear
following email addresses:
transmission and distribution networks that use alternatives with significantly lower
malcolm.seltzer-grant@hvpd.co.uk
consists of approximately 1,500 t of SF6. environmental impact than SF6. The project
lujia.chen@manchester.ac.uk
has received funding from the Engineering
Or visit hvpd.co.uk/
There is a strong drive for alternatives that and Physical Sciences Research Council
ietpartnernewswinter21
possess significantly lower global warming (EPSRC).
potential, and several candidate gases
are now being evaluated. Development HVPD provide test services and
of a suitable condition monitoring system manufacture condition monitoring
tailored for new SF6 alternatives will help equipment for detection of partial discharge
to promote the adoption of environmentally insulation degradation in high voltage
friendly insulating gases, which will equipment that is in service. Based in
accelerate the phase-out of a potent Manchester with offices in UAE, China,
greenhouse gas in SF6. Australia and USA, HVPD service customers
26 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

LCA Group supports

Coleg Cambria’s electrical
engineering apprentices
is a perpetual challenge for us, there is
the additional shift in how we deliver for
the requirements of Industry 4.0, and the
challenges and opportunities that brings.

“Our teams will be required to manage

systems and data to develop, design, read
and understand engineering concepts and
systems as well as using this information
in ever more automated environments.
Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software
packages such as EPLAN will become
standard in the very near future and it is
critical that those coming into engineering
adopt these now, so they are industry ready.”

The partnership was unveiled to students

Alan Sheppard, Managing Director, LCA Group at an event in October, which included
presentations by Alan Sheppard and Nick
Tyson, Vice Principal of the college’s Institute
Electrical engineering company LCA Group anticipated that over 200 students each year of Technology. The event provided students
have a long history of recruiting apprentices will benefit from this partnership. with a foretaste of the system’s capabilities,
from Coleg Cambria to support their growing including its automated data input, how
team. They have recently identified a solution Teaching students to use CAE software to create 3D electrical system design
from one of their engineering software is a new venture for the college, EPLAN’s models, and developing a digital twin as the
providers, EPLAN, as a potential opportunity software offers a bespoke system, with a foundation for efficient production.
to help students get on the path to a proven capability to increase efficiency and
successful career in engineering. facilitate an easier path between design Alan continues: “LCA Group already supports
and production. Dan Jones, Lecturer in a robust apprenticeship programme to grow
EPLAN, a leading design software provider, Electrical Engineering at Coleg Cambria, the talent and teach the future workforce
is committed to supporting new entrants advises: “Having access to EPLAN will mean how to compete in today’s environment.
into the engineering profession, offering its our learners now have the opportunity to This partnership is a first step in a wider
software free of charge to higher education understand how modern industrial electrical programme to help establish even closer ties
colleges and training centres to support panels are designed and will provide them with the college.”
apprenticeship training. with valuable experience in creating and
interpreting industrial panel electrical Ken Christie, EPLAN UK Country Director
Having developed a strong relationship with schematics.” concludes: “This partnership lends itself
EPLAN over the past four years, the offer perfectly to aligning student skillsets
to higher education establishments was Whilst EPLAN software has helped transform with that of current industry trends and
brought to LCA Group’s attention and from LCA Group’s manufacturing processes, the requirements. By supporting students with
there, and in a UK first, LCA Group and Coleg challenge is finding skilled staff to maintain their use of EPLAN software, students will
Cambria agreed that the college would use and grow its workforce. have experience of using relevant tools,
EPLAN in their courses, and that LCA Group therefore building their confidence as they
would financially support the charge for Alan Sheppard, Managing Director of LCA prepare to join the workforce.”
EPLAN support for the next five years. It is Group, advises: “Finding the right talent
Partner News Winter 2021 27

Enterprise

Providing
Many of the world’s leading companies and court are a feature of every day life. We
universities use Labman systems on a daily are also proud to be able to provide
basis to perform processes and research in excellent opportunities in the workplace. We

custom some of the most advanced areas of science

and technology.
encourage staff, no matter their role, to learn
and work on real projects with responsibility
and a plethora of knowledge and rescources

solutions for We’ve provided custom automation solutions

into a wide range of markets including the
at their disposal.

the world
coatings industry, cosmetics, food and There is always something different going
drink and increasingly to the healthcare, on at Labman, from customer projects to
pharmaceutical and medical sectors. We internal and personal projects. Many of these

with Labman are constantly challenged to seek new and

innovative ways to revolutionise processes
through automation. We are ISO9001
are covered by strict NDA’s (non-disclosure
agreements) to protect customer identities
and their automation gains. We can however

Automation certified and have recently achieved

ISO13485 certification in order to better
show you a couple of examples:

address the needs of the medical device Rapid Sample Reformatter

market. labmanautomation.com/rapid-sample-
Labman Automation manufacture custom reformatter/
robotic, instrument and software solutions We actively seek cooperation and
for many industrial, laboratory and medical partnerships in order to forge working Initially deployed to Italy, Dante Labs
applications. We work with customers relationships with research and academic required a system to rapidly sub-sample
worldwide from our headquarters in North institutions. By contributing to this type COVID-19 samples from vials into well-plates.
Yorkshire, UK, to produce world class of project we are able to build working The system was built in just four weeks and
automated solutions for labs, R&D and relationships outside of our own industry fully processed three vials every 15 seconds
production facilities. and gain the skills that enable Labman to including heat sealing remaining samples, to
maintain a competitive edge and expand into assist essential Track and Trace operations.
Many of our systems are completely unique the new markets that these projects open
and are always tailored to each customer’s the doors to. Labman’s FightFest
specific requirements. This flexibility allows labmanautomation.com/fightfest/
Labman to create a system that works Our clients include companies like Akzo-
exactly as you need it to in your lab, and Nobel, Syngenta, GSK, CPI, Liverpool Not all Labman robots are polite! Our
integrate easily with existing workflows. University, Unilever and many others. We debut FightFest event held in July 2021
believe in customers being clients for life; was an opportunity for universities and
Our award winning North Yorkshire based delighted with every project. hobbyists to compete in a real robot fighting
HQ houses everything we need under one Labman is a creative environment where championship. Our purpose built, bulletproof
roof to design and build the entirety of all friendly, enthusiastic engineers produce arena provided the perfect platform for all
our robotic systems, be it a small, benchtop world leading custom laboratory automation kinds of robot carnage. The event was a
instrument, to a system the size of a shipping and products. Labman employees enjoy resounding success, held with the purpose
container. Labman systems now operate in a very real work/play ethos, where the of raising awareness of Labman for mutual
over 50 countries across the world. in-house gym, climbing wall and squash recruitment opportunities.
28 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

National Maritime Museum -

A direct replacement would have required
a complete electrical shut down for a
significant period of time which would

Electrical Infrastructure Upgrade not have been compatible with Museum

requirements for continued operation.

This called for innovative design to enable

the existing LV switchboard to remain
Jacques Beecher, Electrical Engineer with Eta Projects, functional for as long as possible, whilst
reports on the recent upgrade and replacement of a a new switchboard was installed.
key electrical switchboard at the National Maritime Eta Projects presented scheme designs
to the Museum Estates teams including
Museum at Greenwich, taking advantage of the the Health and Safety manager. The
Museum closures during the COVID-19 lockdown. agreed outcome enabled two adjacent
staff locker rooms to be requisitioned and
separate A&B LV switchboards installed
with an inter-connector between both.

This involved de-canting of key equipment

Seldom have we the opportunity to take on Forms of Separation within the panel. such as fire alarm panels, IT cabinet and
a project in such a historic setting as the Therefore, the switchboard was rendered UPS systems supporting the security
National Maritime Museum. These unique non-IP2X construction which made control room. This enabled Internal walls
buildings are situated with picture postcard maintenance impossible without a to be demolished. The 2-new (A&B)
views of the central London skyline to complete isolation which had serious LV switchboards were assembled and
the North across the river Thames and operational ramifications for the Museum. subjected to intense testing prior to the
rolling lush green parkland to the South. final replacement stage where all the
The original building, known as the Queen’s The only option was to replace the entire existing services were transferred.
House, was constructed almost 400 East Wing LV Switchboard, ensuring that This allowed supplies to be migrated
years ago, and the impressive traditional all current electrical safety requirements between two new switchboards,
architecture is evident across all the were met. It would also provide the hence limiting the disturbance
Museum’s Grade 1 listed buildings on site. Museum with an electrical infrastructure experienced by the museum.
that would facilitate future growth and
However, as is often the case with sites enable development for years to come. Eta Projects utilised the Department of
of this age, sections of existing electrical Health HTM suite of Safety Documentation
infrastructure were out-dated and in need of The primary challenge throughout this which includes ‘Limitation of Access’,
an upgrade to meet current standards. The project was to minimise disturbance to the ‘Permission to Disconnect’, ‘Isolation and
decision was made to give this 17th Century electrical system during the upgrade works. Earthing Certificates’, ‘Permit to Works’
site, a 21st Century electrical make-over. This Switchboard supplied vital parts of the along with ‘Transfer of Control Certification’.
Museum site including the IT server rooms, The replacement/upgrade works proceeded
The specialist power infrastructure project security offices and galleries and exhibits. in a timely manner without a hitch.
was awarded to Eta Projects with a This becomes even more relevant when
brief to design and project manage the you consider that the Museum is home to The isolation works were undertaken by the
upgrade/replacement of the East Wing historic artefacts which must be protected Eta Projects specialist power team under
Building electrical infrastructure. The works at all times and in many cases, must be kept the management of Rick Seymour (Director
included the replacement of the outdated in controlled atmospheric environments to of Authorising Engineer Services) with
Air Circuit Breaker Protection Trip units avoid degradation of the items on display. the Authorised Person duties undertaken
on the two incoming transformers in the by Alex Denes and Jacques Beecher.
main Neptune Court Building as these In addition, the majority of these works
were reported on the Energy Network would take place during our national The outcome has been a high-quality
Association (ENA) national Defect register. lock-down, a time when IT support and switchboard (by AF Switchgear)
internet access for remote working have which now provides additional
The existing LV Switchboard supplying the become more important than ever. The capacity, resilience, redundancy and
East Wing of the site had been expanded operations of the Museum were now almost importantly, maintainability to serve
over the years as electrical supply demands entirely dependant on the IT infrastructure, the Museum for many years to come.
increased. This resulted in numerous and it was of paramount importance
modifications to the electrical distribution that any interruptions to these services In summary, the success of this project was
which created a confusing and congested were carefully controlled as they would a result of a concise and effective design
LV switch room with no spare capacity. undoubtedly have serious implications. and the development of a clearly defined
In addition, the LV switchboard did not The most challenging physical aspects of shut-down strategy. The National Maritime
meet current electrical safety guidelines, the project were the spatial constraints Museum now has an electrical infrastructure
such as the need for appropriate within the existing LV switch-room. worthy of such a historical London landmark.
Partner News Winter 2021 29

Enterprise

in identifying the methodologies and

processes required to achieve certification
of the air system by the regulator.

Peter Symons, Business Development

Director at Osprey said: “We are extremely
proud to be working with our consortium
partners in taking such a vital step towards
the commercial use of hybrid aircraft and
contributing to the UKs green recovery.

This important project really plays to our

strengths as our air systems certification
capability has been proven in many complex
civil and military environments. Being
chosen to support the development and
certification of such a novel capability is
testament to the excellent people in the
team and reinforces our commitment to
support initiatives that will ultimately enable
a greener future for the aviation industry.”

About Osprey CSL

Osprey CSL, a tpgroup company, is a

Osprey CSL to provide

specialist aviation consultancy providing
technical and engineering support to
aviation projects across both civil and

certification and
military environments.

Through consistently exceeding our

customers’ expectations with a professional

regulatory support
and tailored service, we have established
ourselves as one of the UK’s leading aviation
consultancies. Our customers include some
of the world’s largest airports, military

to Electric/Hydrogen
authorities and national regulators and we
employ over 45 staff in Bristol, Farnborough,
Lincoln and Northallerton.

hybrid aircraft
ospreycsl.co.uk

About tpgroup
We deliver complex equipment, software
and services for mission, business and
safety critical applications in energy,
defence, space, and intelligence &
security sectors.
Osprey CSL, a tpgroup company, has Inetic Limited, Wiltan Limited, Control
been awarded a new contract to provide Development (UK) Limited, CTM Europe National infrastructure & security
certification support and regulatory advice Limited and the Aerospace Wales Forum to organisations rely on us to solve their most
as part of the DragonFLY consortium. develop a certification roadmap for hybrid pressing challenges and to transform how
Project DragonFLY is a groundbreaking aircraft that will form a foundation for future they operate in an evolving world – trusting
initiative funded by the Welsh Government electrical aircraft and help the aviation us with their most valued assets.
European Regional Development Fund to sector on its journey to a more sustainable
develop a hybrid electric/hydrogen powered future. With more than 400 people in six European
aircraft in support of an exciting new era of countries, we serve global customers
cleaner, greener aviation initiatives achieved Osprey has extensive experience in ‘first through long-term contracts.
through innovative industry collaboration. of type’ certification of air platforms and
systems and will initially develop the Safety
Osprey will work with the leading partner Management System (SMS) to underpin the
Cardiff University and other consortium certification roadmap. The Osprey team will
partners, Toshiba Europe Limited, also advise and assist consortium partners
30 Partner News Winter 2021

Enterprise

Why engineering cities, and rural areas. Totes, which can be

powered by decarbonised electricity without
the need for batteries or fossil fuels, carry
and smart freight through a network of overground or
underground utility pipes at uninterrupted

technology is the speeds of between 54-72 km/h.

answer to supply
Within the next five years, UK parcel volumes
from online shopping alone are predicted to
double to six billion per annum. The rollout
chain resilience of our technology will take an estimated
90% of online delivery vehicles off the road,

and a greener Whether you point the finger of blame at

Brexit, COVID-19, or even incidents such as
helping to reduce pollution and congestion
while improving road safety. This also
the grounding of the Ever Given container mitigates against supply chain disruption
future ship in the Suez Canal (which held up
$9.6b of trade over six days according to
caused by a shortage of HGV drivers.

data from Lloyds List) – the global supply And for the final mile, there are autonomous
chain has been heading perilously towards solutions like Oxbotica which recently
By Phill Davies, the edge of a cliff for some time now. received investment from Ocado as well as
Starship Technologies that has been trialling
Co-Founder & Commercial There are certain risks, such as political its delivery robots in Milton Keynes and
tension and trade wars, that will always Northampton, partnering with retailers such
Director of Magway be difficult to mitigate against. However, as Co-Op, with great success since 2018.
there is now a growing economic and All these examples come with a
environmental need to build global connected ecosystem of infrastructure
supply chain resilience and this presents partners and employment opportunities
a very exciting opportunity for the across engineering, product design,
engineering and technology industries. programming, data analytics, artificial
Supply chain disruption in 2021 has intelligence and so much more.
shaken the global economy to its core. COP26 in November 2021 brought the
Empty supermarket shelves and signs devastating impact of climate change to Throughout the course of modern history,
saying temporarily out of stock have everyone’s attention and governments we have shown ourselves to be a resourceful
now become the new normal. around the world are now thankfully race. Through imagination, collaboration
committed to reducing carbon emissions and sheer human effort new technologies
This year alone, the headlines have been and implementing net zero policies. have been found, to overcome challenges
dominated with stories of panic buying; that have advanced society and improved
people fighting for toilet rolls, drivers queuing With overwhelming support from the our lives. Such an effort is needed now,
miles for petrol, and shoppers rushing for private and public sectors, we now like never before, as we face perhaps our
toys amid warnings that pandemic shortages have the perfect platform to encourage greatest challenge, to save our planet.
could see supplies run out before Christmas. green-tech agenda setters to innovate, Putting new sustainable technologies at the
inspire and create a better tomorrow. centre of this effort will be key to securing
A lack of HGV drivers, exacerbated by There are already great strides being a brighter tomorrow for future generations.
COVID-19 and Brexit, has left wholesalers made towards decarbonising transport,
struggling to get goods into shops, particularly within the movement of goods.
highlighting the fragility of a supply chain
that has always teetered close to the edge. The European innovation project Flagships is
KFC witnessed the full impact of this building the world’s first hydrogen powered
vulnerability first-hand in 2018. The cargo vessel. Commercial operations are
American fast-food brand was forced to expected to launch on the River Seine
close more than 500 restaurants when during 2021. Ships powered by renewable
operational issues culminating from a hydrogen will make a significant contribution
new delivery contract with DHL led to reducing emissions from shipping and
to what has become famously known improving the air quality in densely populated
as the ‘great chicken shortage’. cities like Paris. Imagine the positive impact
on the Port of Dover or London Gateway.
Last summer, Coca-Cola even came under
pressure from the supply chain crisis Our zero-emission system, Magway, takes
with a shortage of aluminium cans hitting care of domestic haul; it’s a revolutionary
supplies throughout the UK and Europe way of moving goods between shipping
during the hottest time of the year. terminals, airports, distribution centres,
Partner News Winter 2021 31

Corporate

The project included all phases from civil

and electrical studies to preliminary and
detailed engineering design. The team also
provided additional design support during
construction phases. It was designed
with building information modelling (BIM)
engineering software, incorporating
embedded asset data that will enable
operational data management throughout
the project life cycle. In addition, the Burns
& McDonnell team provided custom-
produced 3D videos of the substation as a
supplemental visual aid.

Sustainable design features were key

elements as well, with the spare space on
the project site used to develop a custom
solution to a sustainability problem. This
project included an on-site rainwater
harvesting system, avoiding the need for an
Long Itchington substation
expensive water supply line to the remote

Burns & McDonnell –

and rural location. Despite a challenging
schedule and other demands, the project
proved to be a significant success as one of
the first full-service substations placed in

Powering up HS2
service for HS2.

Burns & McDonnell, which has been

operating in the US for over 120 years,
opened its first European office in
Birmingham in 2017 and has since more
With the UK Government launching the said the project “has been an important than tripled in size. It established a new
largest public transport improvement milestone for Burns & McDonnell as we business practice focusing on mission-
project in a generation, a critical substation continue to grow in the UK.” He added, critical projects in 2020 and will soon be
was needed for a tunnel boring project near “I’m proud Burns & McDonnell is playing a opening an office in London to serve the
Long Itchington. leading role in supporting the UK’s transition European data centre market. In 2021,
to Net Zero, from our work supporting the Burns & McDonnell has been selected to
Building HS2 depends on a reliable power development of electricity transmission and join two major frameworks by National
supply. As one of the largest public distribution networks, to helping to power Grid Electricity Transmission, and a third
infrastructure projects in the history of the green public transport infrastructure such framework run by Scottish and Southern
UK, HS2 will link up London, the Midlands as HS2.” Electricity Networks.
and the North, serving eight of Britain’s 10
largest cities and carrying over 300,000
people a day or 100m passengers a year.

Burns & McDonnell has contributed to this

ground-breaking endeavour with detailed
engineering of the new Long Itchington
33/11kV (kilovolt) substation, which will
supply 10MVA (megavoltamperes) of power
for a tunnel boring machine being brought
on-site. The twin bore tunnel is being
constructed beneath Long Itchington Wood
as part of the main construction works.

The project was the first comprehensive

substation engineering project Burns &
McDonnell has completed fully within the
UK under its National Electricity Registration
Scheme accreditation. Jonathan Chapman,
Burns & McDonnell’s UK Managing Director, The Burns & McDonnell team
32 Partner News Winter 2021

Corporate

Why is
A series of challenges are impacting of face detection algorithms, electricity,
the world of computing today: from the water and rare earth metal consumption
headline grabbing CO2 consumption of of hardware and data centres, and, most

“responsible. companies, through the sustainability

of natural resources consumed by the
hardware, infrastructure and data centres
significantly, societal and the consequential
impacts of the services that are offered.

computing()” that support them and finally end user

data privacy concerns, ethics, diversity,
inclusion and the impact of technology or
The World Economic Forum recently asked
young people what changes they want for
the future. Among 10 major transformations,

so important? service on people, places and the planet.

The industry is undergoing scrutiny as never

they highlighted the need for companies
to integrate technology ethics into the
design of their products and services.
before on the impacts of its technology,
which is influencing not only purchasing It is not just relevant for IT companies
By Andy Barnes, Executive decisions by consumers, but also investor or departments but also in the context
IT Architect in IBM’s choices and a company’s ability to attract
and retain talent. It is not just about
of academia (Universities and beyond)
and in diverse disciplines outside of
Artificial Intelligence organisations but also the individuals computer science tracks. It is relevant in
within it and the actions that they take. law, ethics, business economics and at the
Applications division intersection of all of these disciplines.
All of this is occurring in the shadow of
many recent high profile news stories Unfortunately, there is no magical panacea
concerning access to and misuse of data on to solve these challenges and credibility
social media platforms, data leaks, diversity needs to be re-established beyond
and inclusion biases in AI, such as the use marketing gimmicks and with commitment
Partner News Winter 2021 33

Corporate

at all levels of the business to drive All of this has to happen however with edge without compromising the
effective change. We believe this can only senior organisational sponsors who responsible, ethical use of their data.
be addressed using a holistic approach will influence the route to responsible. While AI can drive insights from real-
to restore trust in IT and to enable the computing(), including the priorities world data, it’s important that the
industry to become what we have called that need to be addressed. data is ethically collected, curated and
responsible.computing() providers. connected eliminating any bias and
Considering each responsible. increasing trustworthiness. responsible.
As a consequence, the IT industry can computing() domain in turn: computing (Data Usage) proposes a
enable our clients and consumers, in their framework that provides an approach
diverse industries, to inherit and build – Data Centre - considers the impact companies can use to assess their data
upon our foundation. As they determine on the environment of an advanced, usage behaviour through a collaborative
the actions, they need to take to fulfill modern data centre. Energy consumption, effort between business and IT.
their objectives they are also slowly CO2 emissions, water consumption
but surely realising that sustainable and the use of toxic materials and rare – Systems - IT companies must develop
and ethical practices are not only good metals are special focus areas when systems that everyone can trust, and in
for the environment but paramount for evaluating the choice of a data centre. this context a “system” is an integrated
business growth and recruitment. set of technologies to provide a service
– Infrastructure - through an ESG to human beings. It can be composed
This is topic that IBM cares passionately (environment, social and governance) of hardware, data, code, models and
about and has been declaring since the prism, this takes into account various services. These systems must protect
early 70s through its annual Corporate aspects such as the durability of a user’s information, privacy and avoid
Social Responsibility report and ibm.org materials, their recyclability, and the discrimination and intensification of bias.
organisation. It’s also why, in 2020, IBM waste they produce, as well as elements
started an initiative called responsible. of standardisation and quantification. – Impact - Technology can be a
computing(), through its Academy of transformational agent for good,
Technology. It brought together its deep – Code - to raise awareness of the addressing topics such as poverty,
technical experts in all fields from across responsibility of developers in the inequality, climate change, environmental
the world to consider how to approach creation of sustainable code that degradation, peace and justice. However,
and solve these issues in the industry. is economically viable and efficient, technology itself has environmental
that is to say of quality, easily and social impacts that need to be
This effort started with the creation maintainable without technical debt, understood as part of the overall
of an open “manifesto” and resulted reliable, efficient even on a large impact of a project or programme.
in a framework with six key domains. scale, and which takes into account Responsible Impact is about using
The framework is supported by an the diversity of people, including technology to change the world for
engagement model, maturity assessments disabilities and access to technology. a better future and aligns outcomes
and a set of KPIs to measure progress. to one or more of the United Nations
Each framework domain provides – Data Usage - as data volumes continue Sustainable Development Goals.
guidance on how an organisation can to grow exponentially, the time window
understand and take action to become to act on insights continues to shorten. At IBM, we believe it’s no longer a question
a responsible.computing() provider. Enterprises must act more and more of why you should do this as an organisation
quickly to maintain their competitive but when the industry is waking up to these
Three of these domains, Data Centre, challenges and the investors, employees,
Infrastructure and Code consider the consumers or clients that use, fund or create
physical technology aspects associated these services are looking more and more
with running a computing infrastructure for responsible.computing() providers.
and the direct environmental impact.
Choice of provider decisions are being
The remaining domains, Data Usage, made today on these aspects and will
Systems and Impact, examine become paramount in the future for
important social topics including survival. And although we have started
societal impact, ethics (including in a journey, it is not only about us; it can
AI), diversity, inclusion, privacy and only be achieved working together with
security, trust and transparency. others. We have therefore engaged from
early beginnings with external, like-
There are common themes across each minded organisations and individuals.
of these such as sustainability, climate
impact and circular economy which If you are interested in more information
may lead an organisation to consider and working alongside us, please
more than one of these domains contact andy_barnes@uk.ibm.com
to achieve its immediate goals.
34 Partner News Winter 2021

Corporate

Disruptive technologies
in costings and wastage, engineers can also
predict budgets for upcoming projects more
accurately, reducing expenses and improving

changing the future

profitability.

Artificial intelligence

of engineering
Similarly, artificial Intelligence (AI) is another
emerging technology which can interpret a
large amount of data; however, it can also
learn from this data to support autonomous
tasks that previously relied solely on human
By Pearson input.

In design, engineers can utilise AI software

As developments in science and technology 5G
to identify structural defects that may
continue to progress globally, emerging 5G is the latest generation of networking
not be picked up by the naked eye, and
business models and consumer demands impacting all things engineering from the
interestingly, in medical engineering, AI is
is transforming the engineering industry at research and development stage through to
even being applied to help patients with
high-speed. design and manufacturing. For engineers, 5G
chronic foot conditions linked to diabetes
will dramatically improve the way buildings
and arthritis.
Disruptive technologies are innovative and structures are designed, vehicles are
changes that impact the direction of growth manufactured, and the operations and
One of the greatest challenges for
for organisations. The impact, optimisations, management of transport facilities. Faster
engineering managers is to maintain a good
and adoptions of technology such as VR and connectivity will also help engineering
understanding of emerging and disruptive
5G are crucial for engineering managers to managers collaborate with their teams more
technologies and be ready to adopt them
understand to keep up to date with shifting effectively and efficiently.
when the time is right. If you want to become
demands and help them implement changes
a multiskilled professional at the forefront of
to futureproof their organisations. Big data
engineering and the emerging technologies
Whilst 5G increases the speed of accessing
impacting it, you should consider studying
Augmented and virtual reality information, big data supports engineers in
a specialised master’s in Engineering
Augmented reality is an interactive identifying and analysing trends in a range of
Management from The University of Leeds.
experience which overlays imagery, video, areas such as health and safety and costings,
or text onto a physical landscape, typically to develop strategies around this information.
Book a call with a Pearson enrolment
on a smartphone device. Although typically
advisor to find out more:
viewed through a VR headset, virtual reality In construction, big data science enables
+44 (0) 113 341 1262
works in a similar fashion, offering a simulated engineers to assess statistics such as health
experience of a real-world environment. and safety near misses and accidents that
occur. Alongside this, by assessing patterns
Engineers can utilise these by demonstrating
what full-scale designs such as architecture
could look like in real life, whilst helping them
make suitable adjustments to outline designs
accordingly.

Engineers strategising the use of

disruptive technologies
Partner News Winter 2021 35

Corporate

UK Power Networks’ apprenticeship programme

A UK Power Networks apprenticeship, Charlie Aston, engineering trainee manager All of this has been made possible through
endorsed by E&U Skills, gives people at UK Power Networks, said: “This is a time of the Apprenticeship Levy scheme.
the opportunity to follow a trailblazer great change in the electricity industry and
apprenticeship framework and become a the apprentices learn to play a key role in Managers on the structured training learn
fully qualified and competent craft person in maintaining reliable electricity supplies. The how to enhance and consistently apply their
one of three trades in the electrical industry: future is bright for these new recruits and management skills, using techniques that are
cable jointer, overhead lines person and if they perform well, they can look forward vital for a successful career in management.
electrical fitter. to a secure future and excellent working
conditions. They will also apply what they learn, to
In September, 21 apprentices started new practical situations within the workplace,
careers in the electricity industry with UK “Once they are fully trained, they will keep helping them to influence workplace
Power Networks. The new recruits will be power flowing to our communities, provide problems more effectively while
trained in traditional skills that maintain, new connections, upgrade electricity studying the course. Alex Sturge, head
repair and build electricity networks which substations and carry out essential electrical of communications, engagement and
deliver power to 8.3m homes and businesses maintenance. We refer to them ‘keeping the development at UK Power Networks, said:
across London, the South East and East of lights on’, but these trainees will do much “The programme will initially develop our
England to ensure safe and reliable power more than that as our essential networks middle managers through level 3 or level 5
supplies. They will also play a key role in the power heating, lighting, the internet and CMI qualifications. Once completed at level
UK’s transition to Net Zero, as the company Electric Vehicles.” 5, managers can work towards becoming a
helps to enable low carbon technologies Certified Chartered Manager.
for local communities, including electric Leadership Academy
transport and heating. UK Power Networks’ Leadership Academy “The energy sector is traditionally excellent
supports the personal and professional at equipping employees with the technical
All the trainees will spend three years development of up to 600 line managers. training skills required to do their job.
completing the foundation apprenticeship. Middle managers undertake a Chartered Our aspiration is to see that same level of
Two of the trainees will join the commercial Management Institute (CMI) diploma in competence and consistency achieved in
arm of the business, UK Power Networks leadership and management, tailored to the leadership training, by changing and raising
Services, working on infrastructure projects business, taught by external experts and expectations. This programme perfectly
at Stansted Airport and the Ministry of ending with a graduation celebration when aligns with our vision of being an employer
Defence. colleagues complete their qualification. of choice.”

UK Power Networks apprentices

36 Partner News Winter 2021

Corporate

of calcium carbonate (limestone), through

the delivery of products and onto the
removal of waste at remote customer
sites. Historically, command operations
were managed via eight separate control
rooms, situated in proximity to production
locations, each with its own operational
and engineering staff. These locations
incorporated around 40 legacy PLCs and
25 SCADA applications, each supported by
separate servers at the remote locations.

The company was experiencing limitations

with this approach. The operations were
siloed, and there was little coordination
between activities in separate parts of the
operations: such as the quarry, kilns and
production plants. This presented issues
from a resource-allocation perspective, and
also created safety risks due to fractured
communications between the sites. The
approach was also costly due to the need
to operate multiple different sites and have
staff present in each. Additionally, there
was an ongoing risk of downtime due to
a lack of redundancy in the company’s IT
infrastructure. This could be a major issue
More than 40 large screens give operators the flexibility to monitor across operations using single log on, with minimal maintenance if one of the control rooms did experience
downtime, as it would be inoperative
One of the most desirable qualities any original owners, the company has a devout for hours – and possibly days – while
business can have is the ability to adapt to focus on reinvesting capital back into the engineering work was arranged.
change. Industries evolve, circumstances organisation to fuel continual improvement
shift, but what remains over time are those and modernisation initiatives. It’s this Acknowledged as an area for improvement,
businesses with the foresight and flexibility approach that has given the Lincolnshire- in 2015 the company began the process
to move with the tides. based company the flexibility to deliver an of consolidating and integrating its control
expansive set of products and services to operations. The initiative aimed to replace
Such adaptability is perfectly exemplified by more than 300 customers, across the energy, the multi-site approach with a single control
limestone calciner Singleton Birch. Formed utilities, water treatment and steel sectors. room with complete visibility across the
in 1815, the company has endured through company’s entire operations. Working
multiple industrial eras and continues to Command and Control with its longstanding systems integrator
thrive to this day. In part, this is due to A central component for managing InControl Systems, the board saw the
the company’s unique structure. Governed this complex supply chain is its control project as an opportunity for cost saving
by a board of trustees comprised of operations. This function is responsible for and competitive advantage. Following a
several charities and descendants of the monitoring everything, from the extraction discovery workshop in 2017, the board
approved the development of an integrated

Room to Adapt
control centre, supported by a new, on-
premises data centre.

The vision for the project also aligned with

a broader organisational push to adapt

and Thrive
the company culture and integrate its
production chain. This meant moving away
from fragmented, generalist staff managing
different part of company operations,
towards fully integrated operations via
specialist operators. The new control centre
would become a state-of-the-art facility
with duties ranging from resource allocation
By Elena Gardiner, Channel & Field Marketing Lead for and optimisation, through to safety and
logistics; with the twin goals of cost
Rockwell Automation UK, Ireland and Nordic Region reduction and value addition.
Partner News Winter 2021 37

Corporate

InControl Systems helped compose a team as the supervisors’ ‘eyes and ears’, analysing – Better management and integration
of expert technology providers, including data and providing recommendations to the The centralised nature of the control
Rockwell Automation, PTC and InVMA, to remote locations. centre has supported the project’s
bring the vision to reality. overarching objective of establishing
Integrated working better levels of visibility and joined-up
Transforming from the centre In the time since the control centre became decision making across site operations.
Beginning the installation phase in May operational, the new capabilities have
2019, it took eight weeks to build the become an important part of Singleton – Sales and revenue generation
control room. The process involved installing Birch’s plant operations. At a technical level, The new system allows Singleton
more than 40 large screens, redundant the centre’s impact has aligned well with Birch to gain better control over the
servers and support applications, connected the board’s strategic intent. Key benefits various aspects of its supply chain,
to PLCs using control logic gateways on have included: supported by enhanced logistics. This
an Ethernet network. These screens give approach has helped to differentiate the
operators the flexibility to monitor across – Improved availability company’s business model and boost its
operations using single log on, with minimal Availability has improved by more than competitiveness.
maintenance. 20% due to system efficiencies, massively
decreasing instances and impacts of – Cultural improvement
To support the new control centre system faults. The control operation staff have been
capabilities, Singleton Birch created an engaged in the process from day one.
adjacent data centre with the objectives of – Reduction in energy consumption They now work in a more comfortable
creating greater redundancy and improved The system includes submetering so environment with better equipment. They
data quality. In this data centre it installed that operators have granular insight and have also benefitted from an improved
two Rockwell Automation® FactoryTalk® greater control over manufacturing and flow of decision- making and efficiency,
View SE unlimited redundant client server energy consumption across the plant. meaning they can act in real-time to
architectures, one for quarry operations emerging issues.
and one for process operations, which – Improved cost and flexibility
helped to significantly minimise downtime. A The cost of operation has been reduced Looking to the next two centuries
redundant ThinManager® configuration was by around 13%, taking into account the The project’s success epitomises the ethos
also implemented to ease the process of price competitiveness of the solution and that has supported Singleton Birch’s strong
managing such a large array of screens and the reduction in personnel required to standing over its 200-year history. The
simplify the associated maintenance. Finally, maintain operations. strategic process of identifying an area
FactoryTalk® AssetCentre was installed to for improvement, piloting solutions and
provide total audit capabilities and improve – Improved safety executing on the plan lays the blueprint for
the traceability of software modifications. Supervisors are now remote from ongoing organisational improvement. The
physical operations, meaning they are integrated control centre project has not
The data centre also included PTC able to identify issues earlier and benefit only helped the company to run its plant
ThingWorx and Kepware solutions, which from having engineers in closer proximity in a much more efficient and cost-effective
allowed operators to stitch together data for proactive maintenance. manner, but is also producing cultural
from multiple sources, including the control benefits that, it anticipates, will translate
systems, energy monitoring, CRM and into greater staff engagement and career
planning systems. This provided operators advancement.
with important insight into stock and
production data in order to enable more This transformation has been made possible
accurate forecasting of manufacturing and by the support of its partners, including
delivery requirements. Rockwell Automation, which has shown
a keen understanding of the company’s
By August 2019 the new system was principles and ambitions. Lending its
completely functional; the quick project Singleton Birch delivers products and services to more than advice on the portfolio of advanced,
turnaround was aided by the flexibility and 300 customers, across the energy, utilities, water treatment complementary systems available, the
and steel sectors
scalability of the ThingWorx platform. With project team has worked together to apply
their new-found capabilities, operators these tools in practice.
gained clear visibility of equipment
effectiveness, maintenance management Staying true to its roots, while displaying
systems and financial information. The the courage to transform, puts Singleton
integrated system brought operators and Birch in control of its future.
engineers closer together, meaning that
maintenance tasks could be operationalised. Elena Gardiner
Channel & Field Marketing
The setup also functionally separated Lead for Rockwell Automation UK,
Operators now have clearer visibility of equipment
control operators from on-the-ground effectiveness, maintenance management systems and
Ireland and Nordic Region
supervisors. The control operators would act financial information epopova@rockwellautomation.com
38 Partner News Winter 2021

Membership Contacts UK

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Head of Membership Partnership & Development Manager
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Partner News Winter 2021 39

Membership Contacts UK

Professional Registration Account Team

Adam Parnell Rhiann Birch

Professional Registration Account Technician Account Manager
Manager T +44 (0) 1438 765516
T +44 (0) 7720 090921 M +44 (0) 7850 731444
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UK International Operations

Ian Mercer
James Howe
Head of International
International Business
Operations
Manager
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E imercer@theiet.org
E jhowe@theiet.org

International Contacts
India

Shekhar Sanyal
Country Head
T +91 (0) 9538 400777
E ssanyal@theiet.in
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