University of Bath : Job Description
Job title: Metrology Technician - LIMA Business Technology Centre
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Responsible to: Professor P G Maropoulos
Location: Department of Mechanical Engineering – Laboratory for Integrated
Metrology Applications (LIMA), University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY
Duration: Up to 30th September 2013 (fixed term)
Salary: Grade 5
Purpose of the job:
The post holder will report to the Director of LIMA BTC, Professor Paul Maropoulos.
The post holder will work closely with 3 LIMA BTC Engineers under the day to day
supervision of the Technical Manager. The technician role is to support the Engineers
to implement the engineering activities of a three year collaborative project funded by
the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the South West Regional
Development Agency and a range of industrial partners. Called the “LIMA BTC”
(Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications - Business Technology Centre), it
is an element of the University of Bath’s Laboratory for Integrated Metrology
Applications (LIMA) that is part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Further information regarding the LIMA BTC is given in Appendix 1.
The post-holder will be a skilled and capable technician with the ability to understand
and maintain sensitive equipment. The overall objective is to help the LIMA BTC to
deliver enhanced manufacturing process capability and superior product and process
verification technologies, resulting in “right first time” production and this role is
critical in ensuring that resources remain serviceable and available for the team to
achieve their targets.
Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Operating and maintaining a range of sensitive metrology equipment, ensuring
that it remains serviceable and calibrated, with accurate records to verify this.
2. Operate and maintain the mobile metrology equipment of the LIMA BTC to
facilitate its deployment throughout the South West Region.
3. Act as an effective team member in R&D projects to support the LIMA BTC
Engineers both at the University of Bath and at industrial sites across the South
West of England
4. Set up and support metrology instrument demonstrations and capability definition
studies both in the LIMA BTC lab and in SMEs, using the mobile capability of the
LIMA BTC.
5. Visit SMEs as required together with the LIMA BTC Engineers to support carry
out experimental work and carry our demonstrations.
Responsibilities:
 Responsible for the operation, basic maintenance and safe keeping of a range
of sensitive, valuable metrology and calibration equipment
 Supporting the engineering effort to achieve ERDF targets
 Interfacing with technical staff from industry, SMEs and large companies, as a
team member of the LIMA BTC


Providing technical support for dissemination events, demonstrations and
experimental development projects
Managing the registration and repair of equipment and maintaining accurate
calibration and specification/modification records
Person Specification template
Criteria
Essential
Desirable
Assessed by
A/F
I/T
Qualifications
Appropriate qualifications and
experience for a Grade 5 instrumentation
technician
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√
√
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Experience/Knowledge
A thorough understanding of modern
operating and maintenance processes
for modern scientific instruments
insrinstrumentsmanufacturing practices
and methods.
Experience and skills that would allow
the rapid learning and understanding of
new metrology equipment
Experience of working with SMEs.
√
Experience and understanding of issues
relating to industrial metrology
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CMM
Experience of CMM operation and
programming
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Skills
Team membership skills and ability to
work effectively as part of a group on
projects
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Skilled at dealing with a range of
technical equipment, interpreting results
and diagnosing faults
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R
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Ability to work to business deadlines and
under pressure
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Ability and willingness to work within the
team
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Excellent inter-personal skills
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Excellent reporting and documenting
(oral and written) in relation to technical
equipment
Attributes
Code: A/F – Application form, I/T – Interview/Test, R – References
Appendix 1
Further Information regarding the LIMA BTC
The LIMA BTC is focused on assisting Small and Medium sized Enterprises in the
Competitiveness area of the South West of England (SMEs) to address a lack of
awareness and ability to implement new techniques and technologies, and to innovate1, in
the field known as ‘industrial metrology’2 so that products are ‘right first time’. Our
evidence based approach will reduce the need for further mostly time consuming
manual work to correct errors in precision (reworking) and reduce environmental waste,
leading to a timely increase in competitiveness and growth for the South West of
England’s SMEs.
The ability to get products right the first time (the correct size, they fit together effectively
and that components do not suffer mechanical failure due to incorrect dimensions and
surface properties) is most critical where those parts and products are involved in safety
critical products such as aircrafts and automobiles.
Market research3 has also shown that SMEs are unlikely to adopt new technologies where
there is a medium term financial commitment required (due to short term cash flow
problems) combined with a further barrier of decreasing levels of highly skilled and
experienced staff.
Specifically the barriers/market gaps (or failures) identified were:
1. Metrology would be more fully adopted and utilized to achieve high quality and
accuracy if suitable metrology techniques were demonstrated to have a positive impact
on the (SME) business;
2. Lack of awareness of best practices leads to a lack of confidence in implementing
innovative metrology techniques and equipment;
3. Workforce skill levels are confined to a few metrology specialists and a broader
understanding is required to fully apply metrology linked to production processes;
4. There is little access to specialist equipment or it is too expensive for most SMEs to
consider without the business case being demonstrated;
5. Calibration of machinery takes days to get right and although this can be reduced to
hours there is a lack of knowledge and resources to investigate new techniques without
assistance;
6. Although rework is wasteful, timely and costly the ability and willingness to change
have not been addressed.
The LIMA BTC will direct dedicated personnel and equipment to intervene both at
the premises of SMEs and by inviting representatives from SMEs to the University of
Bath. Interventions will be, i) awareness raising events and meetings, ii) experimental
development (R&D) projects to address business challenges in adopting the new
methodologies and technologies, and iii) on the job training to sustain the innovation.
1
Addressing the European Regional Development Fund’s Axis 1 objectives
2
The science of accurate and reliable measurement
3
KESW2 Aerospace Sector Brief, summarising finding from 50 companies, published in 2008
The LIMA BTC will reach out to SMEs across the Competitiveness region through
mobile interventions and via a physical laboratory, as an integral part of “LIMA” (the
Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications), which is already based at the
University of Bath. LIMA already works with a number of large or ‘Prime’ businesses
including, Renishaw, Airbus, Rolls Royce and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), all
of which are delivery Partners in the LIMA BTC. Secondary Partners will assist in the
referral and diagnosis of SMEs requiring an intervention from the LIMA BTC and include
the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF), the Manufacturing Advisory Service
(MAS-SW), Business Link and equipment vendors Hexagon, Nikon Metrology and
FARO.
The Sectors that will benefit from the impact of metrology will be Advanced Engineering
(including Aerospace), Environmental Technologies (including nuclear and power
generation), Medical and Marine with the main focus on providing support to SMEs to
improve their performance.
Figure 1 below shows the overall goals of the LIMA BTC and the associated activities
directed at SMEs.
S
M
E
Inform
Embed
Attend regional
Awareness Events
Company visit
by LIMA BTC to
diagnose and
plan projects
Information
Brochures and
LIMA website
Equipment
Demonstrations
and SME visits to
major companies
On-line training
and awareness
briefs
Mobile
metrology
company visits
Access to
Specialist
Equipment
On-site
experimental
development
projects
Sustain
Integrate new
technology and
techniques (inc.
Prime company
developments
On the job
training
Projects
Referral to
business support
products
Best Practice
Guides for SMEs
Figure 1. Goals and activities of the LIMA BTC regarding SMEs.
The LIMA BTC will raise industrial performance through three strategic goals, to Inform
(Awareness), Embed (Knowledge Transfer) and Sustain (Innovate).
Inform
1.
Offering scientific and impartial metrology awareness information through a programme of
events;
Embed
2.
Offering access to specialist metrology equipment to trial through experimental
development projects: obtaining access to specialist equipment and know-how for measurement
and calibration is very difficult for industry, especially for SMEs. Such services are almost
exclusively provided by the vendors of the equipment in question and as such there is vested
commercial interest involved. This is compounded by a lack of scientific understanding of key
issues such as measurement uncertainty. What is required by industry is low cost access to
specialist equipment on the basis of need, supported by independent, professional advice and the
ability to apply this technology. This will be delivered in situ at the SMEs through a mobile service
as well as at the University of Bath (LIMA BTC physical home);
3.
Calibrating current and new equipment through experimental development projects: to
reach UKAS (the United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited status, which will guarantee
reliability and traceability to standards, to reduce the calibration time from days to hours. There are
currently no independent laboratories offering UKAS accredited metrology and calibration services
for large-volume metrology equipment;
4.
Offering knowledge through experimental development projects: to embed metrology into
SMEs to address specific business problems, including right first time manufacture, thus preventing
the need for rework, reducing waste and energy usage. The reduction of reworking in composite
structures, such as aircraft wings, rotor blades, radar domes, and motor sport are pressing needs.
This is the main focus of the LIMA BTC’s activities through its mobile service resourced with
three Engineers, Business Development Manager, a Technician and a Commercial Director.
Sustain
5.
Producing best practice guides: Standard setting and best practice guides for industry are
relatively unknown or unavailable for a range of metrology applications, especially large volume
metrology. LIMA BTC will provide guidance for the calibration of metrology equipment in
partnership with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and develop best practice guides for
industry;
6.
Providing on-the-job training: Industry in the region is highly dependent on an ageing
workforce with craft skills to correct quality failures, masking the real issue of the need to get
production right first time. These skilled people are not being replaced, due to a reduced number of
young engineers, a decline in training schemes and a reduced availability of skilled engineers,
including from the Armed Forces. Equipping SMEs with the knowledge required to move from
craft based re-working to right-first-time high quality manufacture is therefore of the highest
priority.