According to Make UK’s September 2020 Manufacturing Monitor, only 46 per cent of manufacturers achieved 75 to 100 per cent of their pre-Covid-19 operating levels in August 2020. 54 per cent now expect it will take less than twelve months to return to normal trading conditions. Here Mike John, managing director at industrial metrology provider The Sempre Group, emphasises why British manufacturing needs a cultural shift to get back on its feet.

When investing in equipment to drive productivity, we typically think about investing in big machine tools or robots. We rarely think about measurement equipment, usually dismissing it as just a way to police part quality, but there are many ways that metrology can drive real value.

Metrology for a productive process

There are clear benefits of embracing digital Industry 4.0 technologies, such as increasing throughput, reducing bottlenecks and increasing precision. Metrology ties in closely — its Quality 4.0 equivalent offers manufacturers a path to full control over their measurement data, and a way to use it as a vehicle for improvement.

Consider this example. A machinery manufacturer is checking that parts are within specification on a co-ordinate measurement machine (CMM). The CMM, although thorough, can be expensive, slow to take measurements and often create bottlenecks in the process. Every part is manually loaded, and the data copied from the machine to an Excel spreadsheet. Manually entering the data is time consuming for staff, is prone to human error and is difficult to access retrospectively.

The Sempre Group has a range of advanced measurement systems that offer efficient, accurate and appropriate types of measurement for your components, such as optical CMMs, optical shaft measurement systems and 2D scanning systems. The vast range of options available allow The Sempre Group to tailor you the right solution for your metrology challenges.

Combining these fast advanced technology systems with an electronic quality management system (QMS), gives a much more efficient solution, collecting and storing data at every point, from drawing to final product. They eradicate the need for time consuming paperwork and filing, which means manufacturers can easily communicate important quality information across the supply chain and can remove the headache of compliance reporting. Manufacturers can also introduce automation, such as collaborative robots, to load and unload components for part validation, further increasing productivity and accuracy.

The level of traceability afforded by a Quality 4.0 approach also brings reporting and compliance benefits, which is particularly appealing in industries like medical and aerospace where expectations are high. This brings confidence in the product and process, something it is difficult to put a price on.

If we stop seeing technology as a way to keep up and start seeing it as a way to take the lead, we can empower our workforces, manufacture better products and drive productivity and value. We need to encourage collaboration between production engineers and quality managers, identify areas of improvement and use data as our guiding light. Just think, if we could get businesses operating at a productivity level far beyond their pre-Covid levels, wouldn’t that make for a great industry report?

Find out more about The Sempre Group’s range of metrology, automation and software solutions here www.TheSempreGroup.com.