Background
James Frew Ltd is one of the largest privately owned building services companies in Scotland providing integrated building services, including plumbing, heating, mechanical services, micro-renewables, gas maintenance, and property upgrades for the public and private sectors, including design installation and maintenance.
The company operates from their headquarters in Stevenson, Ayrshire, covering all areas of Scotland.
Challenge
James Frew believes the strength of the company is in its people and is committed to the training, health and safety of its employees.
Over half of the total workforce consists of fully qualified gas engineers who are each required to be certified; often multiple certifications per employee are required to practice. The certification process requires each gas operative to undergo training and assessment of a core gas safety qualification in addition to various specialism qualifications relating to the nature of the work being undertaken. These qualifications must be refreshed every five years and, in almost all cases, are not synchronised which leads to difficulties in the training schedule, increased training costs, and workforce planning issues through lost time and lack of continuity.
For a business such as James Frew Ltd and its employees, compliance in this field is paramount and non-compliance threatens jobs and the security of the business.
Solution
Academic input was required as the project involved a strong focus on developing pedagogy for identifying training needs and linking these requirements to business process improvement; in particular, in bringing into the industry context tools that have been developed and are widely used in education but can be further developed to meet the needs of the business.
The company was awarded a Scottish Funding Council (SFC) Innovation Voucher, administered by Interface, which gave it the opportunity to collaborate with West College Scotland to develop a new innovative training planning process, including the monitoring of certification renewals, development of individual training plans and the measurement of the impact of training through AMI (Achievement Measurement Indexing).
“We are delighted to work with West College Scotland on the Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher and it has helped us align training plans and enhance our service offer”. Roddy Frew, Managing Director.
“The SFC Innovation Voucher has allowed James Frew and WCS to positively collaborate to implement business improvements and develop more meaningful relationships that are mutually beneficial. In doing so, our staff at the college have been able to use this knowledge to work with other organisations to help them improve and enhance the products and services that they offer”. Andrew Fogarty, Head of Energy and Engineering, West College Scotland
Dr Stuart Fancey, director of research and innovation at the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“The Innovation Voucher Scheme has been a huge success, linking hundreds of Scottish small businesses with universities’ expertise. Entrepreneurs growing their businesses have been able to develop their products in ways they would have struggled to do by themselves and I’m excited that this expertise now includes Scotland’s colleges as well as universities.”
Benefits
Company – Through reduced costs and improved quality of training, this new process will provide business efficiency savings ensuring that James Frew Ltd continues to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in a fast-moving commercial market. By enabling a more structured approach to developing people through training, the project will also impact on the motivation of staff and employee satisfaction.
College – West College Scotland will improve their service delivery in gas engineering and develop a greater understanding of the training needs analysis for the building services sector as a result of the collaboration. The project will also enhance understanding of industry within the College and support the development of processes that will make the College more responsive to business needs.
Impacts
The project developed a process that identifies the need for early training interventions, determine more specifically exact training requirements and demonstrate measurable achievement in knowledge transfer.
The impact of the project will lead to improved training interventions that are linked to individual training plans and business process improvements. In terms of outcomes and impact, it is envisaged that whilst improving the relevance of training interventions, significant cost savings and improved efficiency will be realised through a more planned and systematic approach to training.
By developing a more structured approach to developing people through training, the project will impact on the motivation of key staff and will increase employee satisfaction.
Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.
Background
Plansafe Solutions Ltd is a leading expert in health and safety legislation, solutions and services. Based in Dumfries, the company has customers throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe. Plansafe is also a UKAS accredited asbestos surveying body and has extensive experience across a wide range of properties in this field.
A third division of the company provides Engineering Services and a key aspect of this team is inspecting plant and machinery to ensure that it is fit for purpose, and issuing certificates, similar to a car MOT. This is a statutory requirement for all types of equipment such as cranes and forklift trucks, construction plant and farm machinery, and also minor pressure systems such as air compressors and ventilation equipment.
Challenge
The company had outgrown its manual method of recording the inspection results, and producing client reports and certificates, all of which are a legal requirement, and wanted to move to a streamlined online system. There was nothing commercially available in the present market which met all their needs, so the company, through a referral from Scottish Enterprise, turned to academic expertise to help develop their own tailor-made solution.
“What we needed was a bespoke and innovative IT system that cut down on data inputting time, reduced administrative burden, and offered customers a web-based, easily accessible and streamlined service,” explained Robert Burton, Senior Engineer Surveyor at Plansafe Solutions.
“The new system also had to be compatible with tablets, so that our engineers could input the information as they were out and about visiting client premises and businesses throughout the region. The system also had to be designed so that the information would be fully protected at all times,” he added.
Solution
Mari Findlay, Business Engagement Executive at Interface, met Robert Burton, Senior Engineer Surveyor and Plansafe Solutions’ Managing Director, David Wood to discuss the company’s specific needs and a brief was developed for circulation to universities across Scotland for consideration.
After selecting two universities to speak to in more detail about their proposals, Plansafe chose to collaborate with Dr Robert Kukla and Dr Alan Cannon at The Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation (IIDI) Edinburgh Napier University to develop the new innovative IT system.
A Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher for £5,000 was awarded to fund the initial collaborative work, with Plansafe making a financial contribution towards the final first phase software programme.
Benefits
Robert Burton, Senior Engineer Surveyor at Plansafe Solutions, said:
“Thanks to Interface, Plansafe found the ideal collaborative partner in Edinburgh Napier University whose team were quick to grasp exactly what the project requirements were and to offer a suitable solution.
“The system developed has enabled Plansafe to increase efficiency, rationalise resources and provide clients with a reliable, cost effective service, in order to satisfy their legal obligations.”
Dr Alan Cannon, Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University’s Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation, said:
“The funding from the SFC allowed us to transform a very good idea into a commercially viable system to assist safety engineers in their working practice.
Using an iterative methodology, we were able to explore, develop, refine and expand the system whilst addressing the practical conditions of conducting robust safety inspections in the field. The research has shown the system can free up highly valuable time for inspectors allowing them to further concentrate on utilizing their safety expertise.
As researchers, we found it highly satisfying to apply our skills to working closely with such an innovative company with a vision for the future of their industry.“
Follow on opportunity
Following this successful collaboration, Plansafe completed a Follow-on Innovation Voucher to further develop the second phase of their software development with Edinburgh Napier University which allowed the refinement of the system to be a viable potential product for other companies in the safety engineering field to adopt. To address the needs of Plansafe and the wider industry other features were investigated and incorporated such as: the inspection of other types of equipment; protected online access for clients to their inspection certificates; the managing of the full inspection lifecycle.
Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.
Background
One of the biggest problems IT companies have when it comes to sourcing new business is the cost and the time it takes to search for businesses looking for their services. Many IT companies spend a great deal of money by advertising in magazines and media that may not bring them the return they need or target the correct market. Company Connecting has been set up to provide a business to business service connecting companies. It helps IT companies be found by prospective partners and suppliers so that they can grow their business and it saves other companies time and effort by helping them find the IT skills to meet their business needs and aspirations.
Challenge
Company Connecting were looking to create a new online platform for matching businesses based on requirements. In order to develop a prototype for this platform, expertise in interactive search and interface design was essential.
Solution
Janice Grant Shaw, the owner of Company Connecting, had been working with Business Gateway in Aberdeen on the overall concept. Her Business Gateway advisor referred the company on to Interface. After sending out a search to various universities in Scotland, Interface matched the company with Dr Martin Halvey, Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde, who has extensive knowledge of research in both recommender systems and interactive information retrieval. The collaboration enabled a Proof of Concept which was funded by a Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher. Company Connecting used the initial prototype as a framework for company data along with the skills/attributes. The intention was to get companies to try out the attribute and search mechanism to prove the overall concept and to develop the search mechanism to enable companies to find other companies who could help/complement their business. Company Connecting then used the feedback to develop the full product and take it to market.
In speaking about the process, Janice said:
“Without Interface it would have taken us considerably longer to launch Company Connecting. Business Gateway introduced us to Interface to see if we could get help from any of the academic institutions in Scotland. We submitted our proposal to Interface and received offers from four universities.
It was apparent that the University of Strathclyde understood the premise for Company Connecting and what we were trying to do, and, after receiving the grant from the Scottish Funding Council, we rapidly moved onto the development stage. Dr Martin Halvey of Strathclyde and I worked together and defined the full specification. Martin helped me to understand the options available for faceted searches and the various methods that could be used. Searches of data are becoming increasingly complicated. The issue for many people is the sheer volume of data available and the quality of the data returned.
From the outset, Martin understood the importance of the very focused search required and the need to up the quality of the returned items – over anything else currently available. I continued to work on the data side of things, whilst Martin developed the options for searches and educated me on the technical aspects. Company Connecting had no in house resources available to help with this experimentation stage.
Interface helped bring Company Connecting to life”.
In August 2015, Company Connecting Limited officially launched their new website. The mission of the site is to help IT tech companies talk with one another, as well as to provide a showcase for companies to show their skills, services, and products.
It is anticipated that the company and University will continue to work together.
Benefits
The project resulted in getting the prototype to a ‘Minimum Viable Product’ stage, which could have the impact of:
• Creating new search and matching mechanisms
• Enabling the prototype product to be tested across Scottish companies
• Generating sales
• Creating employment.
The benefits of the project to the University and the Scottish economy are:
• Provides visibility of Scottish technical companies and their skills globally
• Provides a mechanism for Scottish companies to find partners to join up skills and win bigger contracts
• Access for students to all tech companies and what they do, in Scotland initially and then internationally
• Creates jobs in a new business
• Potential to go global, which is good publicity for Scotland and its educational institutions.
Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.
Design LED, founded in 2004, is a global leader in the field of LED light-guide technology and have created a unique lighting solution in the form of low weight, flexible light tiles. Light tiles are made up of integrated LEDs that form extremely thin, energy efficient, transparent panels that are modular and allow users to direct light exactly where they want it.
Challenge
In 2014 Design LED approached the Intelligent Lighting Centre at the Technology and Innovation Centre, part of the University of Strathclyde, with the aim of bringing together a small group of SMEs and academics to develop their core technology and provide an inorganic LED device technology platform which would use half the energy consumption and run at half the cost of current retail and consumer lighting. The technology involved the combination of existing Design LED technology with next generation and emerging LED devices, to enable thin, flat, flexible and uniform, sheets of light, which are highly reliable, low cost, energy efficient and highly desirable by end users.
The Intelligent Lighting Centre has established connections in the lighting technology development community and was able to identify a number of potential European partners that would be able to support Design LED’s aims and objectives.
It was decided that a more efficient means of meeting multiple prospective project partners was by attending the major industry exhibition, Light+Building, and conducting meetings there and nearby.
The academic team were made aware of new funding streams that were specifically designed to help businesses build relationships in Europe and approached Interface for more information.
Solution
Interface was able to identify the Horizon 2020 SME Engagement Voucher as a viable funding solution which would cover the cost of engaging with potential partners in Europe.
This funding programme is the first step of the European Funding journey; designed to support Scottish SMEs explore opportunities, with the help of Scottish Higher Education Institutes, and assist them in forming collaborative partnerships to strengthening their applications for Horizon 2020 European Funding, a €70 billion European funding programme which supports research and innovation in Europe.
Dr James Gourlay, Technical Director at Design LED said, “Applying for H2020 SME Engagement Funding could not have been easier. The academic from the Intelligent Lighting Centre, Janet Milne, is an expert in the field and took the time to meet me and understand our aims and objectives. Janet took the lead on completing the application form, she dealt with the legal contracts including the confidentiality and intellectual property agreements and, apart from providing our company details, there was nothing for me to fill in.
“They kept me informed and involved throughout the process, providing me with a final report at the end of the project which led to an application for H2020 European Funding. As a result of the project we have built very strong relationships with our European partners and will continue to work with them. All in all this has been yet another excellent experience of working with academia and will be extremely beneficial to the expansion of the company.”
Outcomes
Thanks to the successful application of funding, four Design LED Products personnel representing senior management, technical, operations and product marketing were able to attend the Light+Building event in Frankfurt allowing them to meet with a number of potential project partners.
This proved to be highly successful with the objectives of the original project proposal being exceeded and three Horizon 2020 European Funding applications being submitted.
For more information on Design LED visit www.designledproducts.com
Perthshire-based LoadFast Systems is a global Engineering and Manufacturing company that develops bespoke solutions to businesses in the construction and processing industries for the efficient handling of materials.
The Business Challenge
LoadFast Systems wanted to develop a technology for the vertical transportation of materials. Existing technologies in the field don’t sufficiently protect the materials being transported, creating significant amounts of dust and damage which can be highly problematic and lead to increased costs. Armed with strong and credible ideas, the team required support to see their initial designs refined into a superior market offering.
The Solution
John Fuller, President and CEO at LoadFast Systems, met Lorna Watson, Business Engagement Executive for Interface – the knowledge connection for business, at a networking event hosted by Perth and Kinross’ Chamber of Commerce. Interface facilitates collaboration between businesses and academia for the development of business ideas and support of business growth.
Following detailed analysis of LoadFast’s requirements, Interface facilitated a partnership between LoadFast Systems and Glasgow Caledonian. Glasgow Caledonian’s academics have already provided a degree of validation to LoadFast’s pursuits, and together, academics and the team at LoadFast will work to optimise LoadFast’s transportation device.
Interface has also supported LoadFast’s successful application for Innovation Voucher funding from the Scottish Funding Council.
The Impact
The benefits of Interface facilitated partnerships with Scotland’s academic expertise are clear. As a result of the collaboration, the company has projected £1M additional sales, 2 – 3 additional jobs, and 5 – 10 jobs safeguarded.
In March 2017 Loadfast employed two new members of staff: Loadfast expands the team.
John said: “There are many ways that SME’s can get help with their projects but the biggest issue is the time taken to do this when you only have a small team. Having a local, proactive source like Lorna has made the process easy and quick, with a high quality outcome.”
Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.
React2 is a specialist software company based in Peebles, developing speech and language therapy rehabilitation tools for both adults and children suffering from brain injury and trauma.
Since 1998, the company has developed a suite of speech and language therapy (SLT) software called React, which has been a leading product for SLT, sold to therapists and private individuals throughout most English speaking countries.
The Business Challenge
React2 recognised the need to investigate, for the first time, the mechanisms underlying stroke patient recovery using computer assisted home therapy. This led to their Managing Director, Dean Turnbull, meeting with Dr Siobhán Jordan of Interface and the Knowledge Links team to investigate how the academic sector could support the development of the young business and to take forward the ideas of React2.
The Solution
The result has been a successful collaboration with SINAPSE, the Scottish university research pool for brain imaging. The research is being undertaken at the Brain Research Imaging Centre (BRIC), a member of the SINAPSE collaboration, at the Division of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh at the Western General Hospital.
The project is investigating the patient recovery through leading edge functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The academic alliance injected fresh, new approaches to the business and may lead to further developments of the React2 software, which contains a vast number of new exercises in an easy-to-use and up-to-date interface, and is a huge step forward in computer based therapy. The React2 development has combined the development skills of NHS speech and language therapists, as well as specialists from around the world.
PhD student and speech therapist, Anna Jones, who is leading the research, comments: “The results will assess the overall effectiveness of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) and its long-term benefits. ‘React2’ could dramatically improve SLT for many stroke patients, allowing for more intensive therapy than is currently available.”
React2 sees the potential in e-health as the way forward for patient care.
Managing Director, Dean Turnbull, is thrilled by the collaboration: “This is the sort of research that we as a small company could never fund ourselves, but through Interface and SINAPSE, we are working with the foremost brain imaging specialists in the world. It’s fantastic.”
A 3 year studentship, part of the Knowledge Exchange in Translational Imaging grant funding from Scottish Funding Council to SINPASE, will take the research forward, and the next step of the project will investigate the long term mechanisms underlying stroke patient recovery using computer assisted home therapy and will investigate the patient recovery through leading edge fMRI imaging. This will involve the University of Edinburgh’s Brain Imaging Research Centre at the Western General Hospital’s Division of Clinical Neurosciences. Dean believes that this will result in significant business growth, with increased sales and new employment within the company.
“We are delighted that the collaboration between Propeller Media and University of Edinburgh, facilitated by Interface. Importantly, this relationship highlights how SME’s can benefit from expertise available”. Siobhan Jordan, Director of Interface
Highland Galvanizers was formed in 1978 to provide a galvanizing service across Scotland and has developed a reputation for quality and reliability of service.
In order to provide a better service, in 2002 a second plant was opened in Cumbernauld operating under the name of Highland Colour Coaters, thus introducing a quality means of having colour on galvanized steel. Developing this process extensively, the Company now offers its unique Colourgalv process to those who want both decorative and corrosion protective coatings on all manner of metalworks.
Challenge
This Colourgalv process runs into an occasional problem called pinholing where the galvanized steel appears to evolve some gas during the curing of the powder through the hardening powder-coating causing small craters or pinholes.
Solution
Interface identified expertise within six universities across Scotland and the company opted to work with Glasgow Caledonian University.
“We were delighted with the responses we received from the universities. Glasgow Caledonian was clearly able to demonstrate expertise in this area,” commented Geoff Crowley, Managing Director, Highland Colour Coaters
“We have reduced the rate of re-works from 4% to less than 1%, saving between £70,000 and £100,000 per annum to our business…For researching a problem that we don’t have the people, time or resources to do ourselves, this KTP was great for us”
Following discussions between the partners, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) was identified as the most beneficial mechanism for managing the research for the company.
Benefits
- Access to world leading research and facilities to address industry-wide challenge
- KTP Associate working within company focused on research
- The project led to further collaborations with the University of Abertay and the University of Strathclyde
Background
John White & Son, a Fife-based family business, is recognised as the oldest independent weighing company in the UK. The present Managing Director, Edwin White, is the eighth generation to be involved in the business since its foundation by his ancestor John White in 1715.
Challenge
Throughout the 20th century, the company expanded its range of industrial weighing equipment to include retail scales and pre-set weighing machines, from which the company’s flagship product, the Cartomat checkweigher was developed in the 1960’s and used widely across the spirit bottling industry.
By the 1970’s, with advances in technology and mechanical weighing machines being phased out, the company transitioned to electronic weighing, pioneering in the manufacture and development of a broad range of electronic weighing equipment.
However, the last decade has heralded a transformation in the use of weighing systems as the industry embraces huge technological advances in engineering software and in particular, the use of mobile weighing technology.
The commercial automotive industry remains a strong market for the company and John White is now expanding its product range to develop a new suite of mobile weighing systems for a wide range of automotive applications. In order to develop its mobile weighing systems for a range of vehicle types, the company’s Research and Development have focused on areas such as electronics, design, engineering, software, instrumentation and prototype development.
John White initially sought assistance from Technology Ventures Scotland – the independent body tasked with brokering Knowledge Transfer and R&D commercialisation opportunities in Scotland, who in turn referred John White to Interface.
Solution
Interface brokered links to David Kennedy, an academic working at University of the West of Scotland School of Engineering and Science (formerly the School of Science and Technology at Bell College, Hamilton).
Following discussions between the academic and the company they decided to apply for grant funding from The Scottish Government under the SCORE programme – a scheme designed to support R&D projects jointly undertaken between public sector research bodies (such as Higher Education Institutes, Research Institutes, and Scottish SMEs).
The funding application was successful and the 18 month collaborative project between John White and the University of West of Scotland started to work on a prototype that will herald the next generation of advanced electronic weighing systems and allow the company to further develop its manufacturing capabilities.
Business benefits
Edwin White, Managing Director, John White & Son (Weighing Machines) Ltd. said:
“We are delighted with the progress of this collaboration. By combining the input from our own staff who have long experience in the field of weighing with the knowledge and expertise from the University of the West of Scotland, we are able to cut down on the time needed to develop our new range of products. Using Interface has been of great benefit and it can do the same for other companies in a similar position to ourselves”.
Equal Adventure, located near Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland, is a registered charity with their main aim being to continue the development of equipment, information and resources, making outdoor adventure, fieldwork and active lifestyles accessible regardless of disability.
Equal Adventure works in a number of areas to ensure that adventure is accessible to people with disabilities which includes; equipment development, training, events and information. The trading arm of the charity operates as a social enterprise to ensure that the products they develop are able to reach the people and organisations that require them through sustainable manufacture, pricing and supply.
Equal Adventure had developed and created a prototype of snow board bindings for double leg amputees and needed to complete stringent laboratory based assessments of the product to validate the bindings.However, they did not have access to such expertise or facilities and required a third party to carry out the highly specialised testing so that the new product could be developed for the market.
Equal Adventure approached Interface – The knowledge connection for business after learning about the free and impartial brokerage service they provide.
Interface worked to translate their needs into a suitable brief for Universities and research centres across Scotland. Having conducted an extensive search Interface identified the required knowledge and facilities within the University of Strathclyde. The University’s department of Design Manufacture and Engineering Management’s Industrial Projects scheme allowed a student to undertake the design, development and testing of the product over the course of an academic year.
The project provided a unique work experience opportunity giving the student direct practical industry experience and resulted in a working prototype which established the design viability.
As a result of the knowledge connection made by Interface, Equal Adventure have proved the bindings are safe for use by double leg amputees and in doing so they have been able to add another product to their range.
Suresh Paul, Principal Advocate at Equal Adventure explained, “Interface linked Equal Adventure to the expertise provided by the University of Strathclyde which has been invaluable to us and enabled us to extend our product range making outdoor adventure even more accessible to all.”
Thanks to this partnership Equal Adventure has been able to authenticate the safety elements of the prototype and have subsequently created a new product which has allowed them to enter new markets, increase sales and safeguard jobs.