NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS GOVERNMENT’S NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE UK CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INDUSTRY APPRENTICESHIPS – THE ALTERNATIVE CAREER PATH CLEANING UP THE FUEL OF THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN REFUELLING STATIONS AUTUMN 2022CONTENTS Page 2Meet our Newsletter Contributors Page 3Editor’s Note Page 4News Page 10Here’s Why the UK is Struggling to Engage Conformity Assessment Bodies Anonymous Page 12Apprenticeships – The Alternative Career Path Sam Turner, UK Marketing & Communications Executive, Trescal Page 16Why Virtual Training Technologies Will Begin to Replace Everyday Training for Manufacturers in 2023 Dijam Panigrahi, co-founder of GridRaster (AR/VR for manufacturers) Page 20Mobile Hydrogen Refuelling Station Flow Meter Standard Carl Wordsworth, Head of Water Sector, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory Page 24Cleaning up the Fuel of the Future Caroline Widdowson, Head of Market Development, Markes International Page 30BMTA COUNCIL MEMBER PROFILE MATTHEW GYPPS UK Technical Manager, Trescal Page 32Member Notices Page 34NEW BMTA HONORARY MEMBER Paul Stennett MBE, Hon FRCPath, BSc (Hons) bmta.co.uk 2 MEET OUR NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTORS Sam Turner UK Marketing & Communications Executive Trescal Sam was born and raised in Manchester. He graduated from Staffordshire University in 2020 with a 1st class degree in media production. Initially specialising in film production, writing, directing and editing a variety of short films, Sam turned his focus towards marketing, and he is currently the UK Marketing and Communications Executive for Trescal UK. Dr Carl Wordsworth Head of Water Sector TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory Carl is currently the Head of Water for TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory and has worked with NEL at East Kilbride ifor the past three years. Carl has 24 years of experience working in fluids research and has spent most of his career looking at R&D within the oil, gas and water industries. Carl has spent over 10 years developing new products for the oil and gas industry and has developed a range of separation technologies for which he holds a number of patents. His most recent work has focused on Business Development in the water industry for NEL and trying to develop NEL’s digital services in the water industry. Carl holds a BEng in Mineral Engineering and a PhD in Solid State Electrochemistry both gained at Leeds University. Dr Caroline Widdowson Head of Market Development Markes International Caroline Widdowson is a specialist in the sampling and analysis of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in solids, liquids and gases. She holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and an MBA. Caroline is currently the Head of Market Development at Markes International, an advanced analytical instrument manufacturer with expertise in industrial and environmental monitoring, defence and forensics, chemical emissions from products and materials, and chemical ecology.sWelcome to the AUTUMN issue of the BMTA Newsletter In this issue, we feature a variety of articles related to the test and measurement industry, collated to inform you and your organisation on the latest developments in the market sector. Heading up our features is an interesting, anonymous, viewpoint on why the UK is struggling to engage conformity assessment bodies. It’s one organisation’s experience detailing the story of how frequent Government changes have negatively impacted the UK conformity assessment industry. Sam Turner at Trescal considers apprenticeships as the alternative career path. He describes why they could be the key to the UK test and measurement industry. Augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology is making significant strides in helping businesses in many industries handle critical tasks, such as employee training. Dijam Panigrahi, the co-founder of GridRaster (AR/VR for manufacturers), tells us why he thinks virtual training technologies will begin to replace everyday training for manufacturers in 2023. Carl Wordsworth, Head of Water Sector, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, discusses the plans for the partial or full replacement of natural gas with hydrogen in grids. Carl also talks about the ambitious targets to enhance the production of fuel cell vehicles and the development of hydrogen refuelling stations. While hydrogen fuel is emerging in the clean energy market, it can contain impurities that can limit fuel cells’ efficiency and contribute to pollution. Dr Caroline Widdowson at Markes International advises on how to clean up the fuel of the future. The BMTA Council member profile for his issue is on Matthew Gypps, UK Technical Manager at Trescal. And finally, we introduce a new BMTA Honorary Member, Paul Stennett MBE, Hon FRCPath, BSc (Hons). Enjoy the read. Laura Vallis Edfitor - BMTA Newsletter editor@bmta.co.uk EDITOR’S NOTE bmta.co.uk 34 NEWS bmta.co.uk Markes International celebrates 25 years of business. Markes’ co-founder Alun Cole commented: “When we founded the company in 1997, we had no doubts it would be a success because we knew that the technology we were developing was going to be ground-breaking in the world of analytical instrumentation. Needless to say, we’re delighted that 25 years later, we’re not only still leading the field in terms of innovation but also, continuing to thrive and grow.” Managing Director Tim Hawkins added: “Our instruments are ubiquitous world-over wherever SVOCs and VOCs are searched for or analysed, so our markets are incredibly diverse, ranging from biomarker analysis to detect diseases such as cancer; food and beverage industries for aroma and flavour profiling; automotive industries for exhaust and tyre emissions analysis, interior air quality monitoring, environmental, through to defence and forensic sectors. “That market diversity enables the company to ride out economic storms. When one market is depressed or in decline, the slack is taken up by other, often newer, ones. “For instance, we’re finding a substantial appetite for our instruments within the environmental monitoring segment, where they’re increasingly being used to identify and quantify Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in air, and microplastics in water. “Also, our ethos of constant product and application innovation continually opens new markets to us. An example of this includes our recently developed and launched hydrogen-certified, Multi-Gas enabled range which can run on hydrogen as well as the usual carrier gas, helium, which is a non-renewable natural resource, estimated to completely run out within 20 or 25 years. So naturally enough, laboratories are keen to future-proof themselves and switch to other gases such as nitrogen or hydrogen; our instruments are the only ones in the world which are able to use all three gases – helium, hydrogen and nitrogen – and also be hydrogen-certified.” Founded in 1997, Markes International now operates globally through an international network of distributors and its own technical centres in the US, China and Germany. The company was founded by Elizabeth Woolfenden and Alun Cole specifically to develop more efficient thermal desorption (TD) instruments than those available at the time. MARKES INTERNATIONAL LTD CELEBRATES ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BREAKING NEWS The UK Government has announced its intention to introduce legislation to continue recognition of the CE marking and reversed epsilon marking until 31 December 2024 for most goods being placed on the market or put into service in Great Britain. We will also continue with the measures on retesting and labelling announced in June. The timescales will be amended to reflect the extension: •Reducing labelling costs by continuing to allow businesses to affix the UKCA marking, and to include importer information for products from EEA countries (and in some cases, Switzerland) on an accompanying document or a label until 31 December 2027. •Reducing re-testing costs for UKCA certification by allowing conformity assessment activities for CE marking undertaken by 31 December 2024 to be used by manufacturers as the basis for UKCA marking, until the expiry of the certificate or until 31 December 2027, whichever is sooner. The Statutory Instrument to give effect to these changes can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament. uk/written-statements/detail/2022-11-14/ hcws366. These changes impact only those products where BEIS is the designated authority. The departments responsible for medical devices, construction products, cableways, transportable pressure equipment, unmanned aircraft systems, rail products, and marine equipment are expected to announce their own sector specific arrangements in due course. under the Product Safety Review. 5 NEWS UKAS COSTS SURVEY Tony Smith, Chairman BMTA and Jeff Llewellyn, President BMTA both attended the UKAS AGM and Lunch on October 18 at the RAC Club in Pall Mall. It was preceded by a discussion on UKAS Strategy chaired by Lord Lindsay UKAS Chairman in which the UKAS Members present set out their ideas for UKAS over the next five years. A broad range of topics and issues were raised including a focus on improving the quality of service for the end users of accreditation; digitisation of services, accreditation and standards; standards for AI; reduction of carbon footprint especially for international work and accreditation for small businesses. Lorraine Turner UKAS Director of accreditation gave a presentation on project PACE – UKAS response to the Grenfell Inquiry. Following the AGM, the UKAS Annual Lunch was attended by over 100 guests comprising UKAS members and stakeholders from across business and government. Following lunch, guests were addressed by Lord Lindsay, Matt Gantley (UKAS CEO) and Lord Hutton. Tony and Jeff also participated in the rescheduled UKAS Policy Advisory Forum. More than sixty UKAS Members, Directors and Stakeholders joined the meeting. Presentations were made by Lord Lindsay, Matt Gantley, Ron Gainsford (PAF Chairman), Lorraine Turner on Project PACE and Jeff Ruddle, UKAS Strategy Director. After seven years of sterling service, Ron Gainsford, the former CEO of CTSI, stood down. He was thanked by Lord Lindsay and Matt Gantley for his excellent work on behalf of UKAS chairing the PAF and the Policy Advisory Committee. Caroline Hamilton CEO of SAFED was unanimously elected as PAF/PAC chair to succeed Ron. Caroline has previously chaired a UKAS Technical Advisory Group. BMTA represent all Members on the UKAS Policy Advisory Forum making it possible for Members to highlighted those issues of importance to them. bmta.co.uk UKAS AGM AND PAF The BMTA survey finding on UKAS Costs are now available for your review. Presented in slide format, the findings make for interesting reading. Asking questions such as ‘How have your UKAS assessment costs changed over the past three years?’, ‘Are you satisfied that UKAS invoices provide sufficient justification for the charges applied?’ and ‘Would you have expected to see a reduction in UKAS assessment time as a consequence of remote assessments over the past two years?’, the findings also provide comments related to the answers. BMTA has presented the survey results to the UKAS Chief Executive and will report back to Members on those discussions in due course. BMTA would encourage all Accredited organisations to engage with us on areas of common interest. Should you have a view, wish to provide feedback or flag an issue, please get in touch – enquiries@bmta.co.uk You can find the full presentation of the UKAS Costs Survey findings at: https://www.bmta.co.uk/ articles/576-ukas-costs-survey.html6 NEWS bmta.co.uk ‘Building a Future for Science and Technology’ (https://ridge.co.uk/insights/building-a-future-for- science-technology/), by Ridge and Partners, the multi-discipline property and construction consultancy, suggests a key driver of this discontent is the government’s lack of understanding of the sectors’ needs. The government’s limit on employing overseas talent is a key example of this, with the policy adversely affecting 27% of the companies interviewed. The fact there was no science minister in Liz Truss’s cabinet further illustrates a lack of government interest in the sector. The report also cites problems at a local level, raising issues for local authorities, planners and science parks. •A fifth complain their current premises are not accessible by public transport •A further 16% say wider transport links aren’t good enough to attract the talent they need •A lack of affordable local housing is a problem for over one in five (22%) •49% are not sure their current premises will meet their future needs; this rises to 78% among smaller companies •A fifth feel their premises are not attractive or environmentally sustainable enough, a key consideration as 42% are struggling to meet the eco/environmental demands of employees These issues are impacting on recruitment and therefore growth. Over a third are struggling to fill crucial support roles such as lab technicians and admin staff, who are massively affected by local housing costs. Meanwhile, almost half (48%) have difficulty filling more senior roles. These issues have become so pronounced that almost a third (31%) report they need to be nearer a larger pool of talent. For many, that may involve moving overseas. Liz Sparrow, Partner, Science and Tech Lead at Ridge and Partners, comments: “There’s no lack of ambition or opportunity for growth within the science and tech communities. Indeed, the companies we studied expect to grow by 52% over the next three years. But they need to be in the right environments to grow in this way – that means places with the right infrastructure, transport links, housing, and premises to attract the partners, suppliers, and talent they need.” UK FACES SCIENCE AND TECH DRAIN The UK risks an exodus of some of its most promising science and technology businesses, according to a new research report. Almost one in six (16%) have plans to relocate overseas over the next three years and 88% have considered it.7 NEWS Ridge’s research also highlights how highly dependent small and large science and technology-based businesses are on each other. That’s why 31% want to be located nearer to other science/tech businesses and almost one in four (24%) want to be closer to major academic institutions. 30% feel their growth plans are being limited by their lack of available suppliers. Operating in almost a science or tech ecosystem makes collaboration and innovation easier and creates a greater magnet for the specialist talent and suppliers the sectors collectively need. Liz Sparrow, continued, “Policymakers cannot afford to simply focus on the needs of big players. Diversity in science or tech community clusters - be this in terms of company size or typology – is key if all are to thrive. Every company which exits these diverse ecosystems and relocates overseas, or simply fails to thrive, weakens things for everyone else. To protect one we must plan for all. “No single body can do this. Joined-up thinking is needed between the public and private sectors, between the UK’s government, its cities, regions, and science parks. Collaboration is key if we’re to create – and keep – the UK’s tech/science powerhouses.” The Building a Future for Science and Technology Report is free to download - https://ridge.co.uk/insights/ building-a-future-for-science-technology/ The research was conducted on behalf of Ridge and Partners by Censuswide, among 103 UK science and technology companies. Interviewees were all C-suite decision-makers drawn from a mix of companies in terms of their size and location. TRESCAL OPENS OPERATIONS IN NORWAY WITH IKM GROUP PARTNERSHIP AND ACQUIRES BUSINESSES IN BRAZIL AND ROMANIA Trescal has announced the acquisition of IKM Laboratorium, part of IKM Group, a leading supplier of the Norwegian energy sector. This acquisition represents €10M in sales and 70 employees. As part of the agreement, IKM Group and Trescal have entered into a long-term strategic partnership to continue exclusively serving IKM Group and its clients. Trescal also acquired Metrosenzor in Romania and Metracal in Brazil. Acquisitions since OMERS invested now total 45. IKM Laboratorium’s acquisition allows Trescal to enter Norway in six locations and reinforce its existing presence in Scandinavia. IKM Laboratorium provides broad accredited calibration and maintenance services in ten domains, with particular expertise in pressure. Beyond their in-house operations, technicians can intervene directly on client offshore platforms. Guillaume Caroit, Trescal CEO said “With the acquisition of IKM Laboratorium in Norway, we enter our 29th country. Our ongoing partnership with IKM Group will foster further growth in the energy sector in Scandinavia.” Metrosenzor, located in Constanta, allows Trescal to reach a critical size in Romania with 30 additional employees. Its laboratories are Renar accredited in mass and scale and add new capabilities in humidity analysis and liquid volume storage calibration. Dedicated food and beverage services include mobile teams calibrating weighing systems for agricultural containers directly on ships in port. Located in Sao Paulo, Metracal is the authorised service provider for Fluke electrical products throughout Brazil. Its ten technicians provide accredited electrical calibration and repair services. Something to say? If you have any newsworthy stories, contributory articles or case studies, centred around the measurement, testing or calibration industry that you would like to see featured in the next issue of BMTA Newsletter, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Send your article to: editor@bmta.co.uk bmta.co.uk8 NEWS There is no membership requirement, just the opportunity to sign up for a regular newsletter and to receive emails about forthcoming events. To sign up to receive this information please follow https://www.npl. co.uk/manufacturer-measurement-network. Attendance at events is free of charge with an option to join online or where possible in-person (events are held at suitable locations around the UK). NPL created this network to share its own research and capabilities with the manufacturing community and to introduce manufacturers, supporting industries and academia to share their knowledge and best practices. Topics at events are chosen in advance by people who attend events and by a steering committee which consists of NPL, manufacturers and academia. By attending an event, you will have the opportunity to complete a questionnaire including a question on future topics that you would like to hear more about. Typically an event runs for between one and two hours (in-person events will run a bit longer to allow time for networking and refreshments). They include two to four speakers and a Q&A session where attendees have the opportunity to question the speakers. Where applicable, they also offer information on funding schemes, links to useful THE NPL MANUFACTURER MEASUREMENT NETWORK The NPL MMN is an event-based knowledge exchange network primarily for small manufacturing businesses, larger manufacturers and supporting industries including test and measurement laboratories. It also supports academia and any organisation or individual who wants to learn more about emerging technologies, and current best practices and to get introductions to topics that may be of interest to them in their business. bmta.co.uk9 NEWS resources and a chance to visit a lab or workshop relevant to the theme of the event. Typical events topics include Additive Manufacturing (AM), Digitisation / Industry 4, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Skills and Training, Robotics, Decarbonisation / Electrification / Hydrogen technology and introductions to market sectors. Occasionally we also offer events which are very specific (where demand exists), for example – Medical Phantoms, and Thin Film Characterisation. The MMN also includes Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which bring together meetings (usually online) where interested parties discuss a particular topic with a view to sharing best practices and highlighting the need for further research. Events are recorded with these recordings available a few days after each event for anyone to watch and share. Copies of presentations are also usually available. To access previous recordings and presentations please follow this link. Our two most recent events: Industrial Digitisation – featured the following talks: •Reece Saint, National Physical Laboratory - Ontologies for digitalisation of manufacturing and supply chains •Victor Portela, Glasgow School of Art - Virtual reality immersive training environment for an EasyMax workstation •Liam Fitzgerald, National Physical Laboratory - Building a digitalisation test bed Many organisations have either started or are poised ready to undertake a change in the way they operate. This change takes the form of how they use data within their business to create additional value for their customers. We often refer to this form of business transformation as Industrial Digitisation. The expression itself can seem a little meaningless and many engineers and business leaders struggle with where to start. This event provided several opportunities to hear from experts to help guide this journey and to pick the right approach for your business and your customers. We considered how to put some boundaries around initial ambition and enthusiasm, how to upskill, how to manage data, how to create a data management plan and what expressions like “data curation” actually mean. The team discussed the importance of calibration and metrology and how to build on existing expertise, modelling data, how and why we use modelling and the value it can add to the understanding of how products and services work in the real world. For those that wanted to see the future up close and personal, we heard from experts in data visualisation and learned how to improve interaction with data to add greater insight into businesses. The event was online and attracted 75 attendees from a wide range of industries from the UK and beyond. You can view a recording of this event here. Developments and innovation in Advanced Manufacturing – featured the following talks: •Mark Slattery, National Physical Laboratory - AMPI SIPF programme overview •Simon Fletcher, University of Huddersfield - University of Huddersfield projects •Andy Morris, National Physical Laboratory - Innovation for Machinery introduction •Aaron Whittam, National Physical Laboratory - Dynamic Monitoring of Intelligent Machining Systems Meeting Description: This event described the progress of the SIPF funded Advanced Manufacturing and Productivity Initiative in its first year of operation. It shared updates on industrially and academically led projects and demonstrated how to get involved in the future. The programme is working on research topics to strengthen the UK Machine building and robotics capability, supporting the adoption of the digital revolution and raising the skills profile of the workforce in these areas. The initiative will help not only its core region of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester but will also benefit UK industry as a whole. Ultimately, the objective is to position the UK as a leader in the global machinery and robotics market.” The event attracted 73 attendees including 20 in-person, from a wide range of industries from the UK and beyond. You can view a recording of this event here. bmta.co.ukNext >