Apprentice deploys Shoestring solution at Trox UK

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Shoestring supports the deployment of a power monitoring solution by an apprentice from West Suffolk College, saving £3.5k for their company.

A student project carried out by a TROX engineering apprentice has opened the door to valuable energy, embedded carbon, and cost savings for the Thetford-based factory. TROX’s modest investment of £600 in the student project is thought to have the potential to save the company up to £10,000 per year, by providing greater visibility of energy use for a compressed air system.

TROX apprentice Paydon Blow is studying engineering at West Suffolk College, where Paydon’s tutor shared the information with him on the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project. Paydon needed to carry out a project in an active manufacturing environment for his College course, using real-life commercial and financial criteria to determine impact.

After some consideration Paydon explained his idea where this technology may prove useful to his industry mentor Roger Trueman, Maintenance Manager at TROX, and after reviewing our operations they decided that we had an ideal application for it. TROX purchased the Power Monitoring Mentored Self-Start programme from the Digital Shoestring team and the materials to build the hardware, then Paydon got to work on the assembly and deployment. The Shoestring package included detailed instructions, a community forum, and a series of video conferencing meetings with the Shoestring team for progress and technical support.

Paydon wanted to explore energy-saving opportunities using the Raspberry Pi to measure, record, and display energy consumption for this project. A Raspberry Pi is a very low-cost computer, which runs Linux. It provides a set of general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins, which enables interaction with electrical components. The Raspberry Pi series of computers is made by a UK-based charity that aims to help people develop IT skills, and to facilitate access to computing for everyone.

The aim of Paydon’s project was to improve visibility of energy usage across the compressed air system at TROX UK. The company recently replaced four old air compressors with a single new one incorporating more advanced technology, which had already presented TROX with significant cost reduction. The savings identified during this project were in addition to this. Shoestring provided the Bill of materials, software, and technical support for Paydon and the engineering team to complete the project.

With this technology in place, TROX’s engineering team has been able to gain a better understanding of demand for compressed air around the factory, including times of day for most and least demand. This allows certain pieces of machinery to be switched off strategically when not in use, to reduce overall energy consumption and to contribute to the site’s sustainability initiatives.

The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring initiative was conceived in 2016 by Duncan McFarlane, Professor of Industrial Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing, and has rapidly demonstrated its potential for industrial impact with the help of industry partners. Together with the Shoestring team, an impact review was carried out to gain an understanding of the cost, benefits and estimated payback period for the project, as well as reflect on how it changed TROX’s perceptions of digitisation and digital manufacturing technology.

In addition to providing a valuable training opportunity for Paydon, the project has reduced compressor operating hours by more than 10% and is estimated to save around £3,500 in energy costs per year, and when operating at full scale, the cost-savings could be in the region of £10,000 per year. In addition to meeting, and indeed exceeding, the savings anticipated in the feasibility study, the project has had some unexpected positive outcomes.

“My only experience of Raspberry Pi prior to Paydon’s project was as a gift I gave to my nephew one Christmas. Seeing this extremely low-cost technology in action in a busy manufacturing environment, however, has shown me that there is far more potential than I realised. We’ve already identified more machinery to monitor to make it easy for us to manage energy costs, and we’re looking at other solutions in the Shoestring range that could benefit our manufacturing operations.”

Roger Trueman, Maintenance Manager, TROX UK

“Being able to see the Shoestring solution delivering benefits in the factory and having the opportunity to build and install it has provided me with valuable practical experience. It has furthered my understanding of the importance of data gathering and using data to identify the areas where cost savings can be made. Because of the nature of the project, I was also able to use this to build upon my portfolio of work for my apprenticeship.”

Paydon Blow, Engineering Apprentice, TROX UK

“The combination of targeted on-the-job training and academic qualifications offered by apprenticeship programmes helps our industry sector to develop the skilled personnel necessary to tackle the sustainability challenges for the built environment of the future. We have seen so many of our apprentices move into successful careers within TROX after their apprenticeships, and continue to be committed to this route into our industry. We congratulate Paydon and our other apprentices on their achievements over the last year, and look forward to welcoming additional apprentices to our team when we begin our next phase of recruitment.”

Neil Addison, Managing Director, TROX UK

“It is exciting to see an apprentice introduce their employer to innovative ways of using low-cost technology to save money and contribute to their factory’s sustainability initiatives. We were delighted that Shoestring helped Paydon and his manager not only learn new skills and develop their confidence in digitalisation, but also inspire colleagues to identify more digital solutions that would help improve the company’s productivity.”

Professor Duncan McFarlane, Founder, Shoestring

Read more about the Trox press release on their website.

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