Condition monitoring software added to 'Factory in a Box' product

The Factory in a Box is a custom-designed, mobile mini-factory developed by the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) with the universities of Birmingham and Loughborough and in collaboration with industry under the Thermal Energy Research Accelerator (T-ERA) project, which is part of the broader £250m Energy Research Accelerator programme funded by Innovate UK.

It features a range of British-built smart manufacturing technologies - including sensors, advanced automation, big data and remote engineering tools - that can be shipped in a container and deployed rapidly to provide digital factory capabilities almost anywhere in the world.

The Smart Manufacturing Accelerator at the MTC delivers Factory in a Box solutions, or elements of this manufacturing approach, to the manufacturing supply chain.

By adding Senseye’s software to the Factory in a Box, users of the MTC’s mini-factories will gain automated, data-driven insight into the condition of their industrial machinery without the need for expert manual analysis.

Senseye’s advanced algorithms analyse information from Industrial IoT sensors and platforms to predict failures, diagnose problems and identify the remaining useful life of machinery. Manufacturers using Senseye have halved their levels of unplanned down-time and achieved reductions in maintenance costs of up to 40%.

Simon Kampa, CEO of Senseye, commented: “Our unique software can be used on any machine from any manufacturer and we are seeing rapid worldwide adoption. Being part of the Factory in a Box is testament to the quality of our software and provides us with another compelling way of working with forward-thinking manufacturers around the world.”

Robin Thatcher, Chief Engineer for T-ERA at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, commented: “The Factory in a Box provides smart production capacity at pace and precisely where they are required. Senseye’s software adds best-in-class condition monitoring and prognostic capabilities to reduce unplanned machine downtime and increase overall equipment effectiveness, it is an incredibly valuable addition to our product.”