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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.

HAS Technology (parent company of CM2000), created ARMED, an Advanced Risk Modelling for Early Detection service which – through the development of a mobile platform – enables health professionals to be identified in a Service User’s home to ensure the right care is delivered at the right time. 

Their technology has been designed so that both Service Users and Care Workers are completely protected, for example, sending alerts when a visit is running late so that advanced action can be taken. The service evidences a range of Service User improvements, tracks the impact of interventions and helps assess customer satisfaction levels. Linking to ARMED’s Family Portal module allows Service Users and their families to monitor the care and gives them opportunities to answer questionnaires that can be communicated back to the Care Provider, Local Authority and NHS.

Challenge
ARMED records around 10 million community care visit logs each month, and also collects a great deal of data on the needs of Service Users. They approached Interface looking at how this data could be used to evaluate the long-term health of an individual, further supporting those administering the care, as well as those receiving it.

According to Brian Brown, Director of ARMED:

“We approached Interface because they have an excellent reputation for linking business and academia.”

Solution
Interface worked with ARMED to develop their brief, sending it to the most relevant universities and research institutions in Scotland. They received a number of notes of interest but decided to work with Prof. Bill Buchanan, Professor of Computing, and Adrian Smales, PhD Researcher at the Institute for Informatics & Digital Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University.

Thanks to support from Professor Buchanan & Adrian Smales, the business secured a £5,000 SFC Innovation Voucher, administered by Interface. This extra funding helped to offset the cost of the project allowing them to process large amounts of data which gave them the ability to assess the likelihood of the onset of illness. This enabled at-risk clients to be easily identified and closely monitored, thus reducing the need for medical interventions.

Follow-on activity

ARMED were so pleased with their initial project with Edinburgh Napier University that they wished to continue the relationship and, in collaboration with Professor Buchanan and Adrian Smales, developed a second project focussed on building a more robust evaluation platform. Their overall aim was to gather additional information on patients’ conditions, in line with NHS and Local Council requirements, developing predictive techniques which help identify those at risk. In doing so, ARMED’s technology is able to pre-empt expensive hospital-based care, helping healthcare providers across the world to save millions of pounds and improve the quality of service to vulnerable Service Users.

The detailed research and development work in both stages was undertaken by Adrian Smales, a Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University, and whose research work has been focusing on the detection of frailty using data from a range of sources. Adrian commented:

“We have a long-term vision of using data to detect the early signs of illness, and apply new methods that should lead to improved care and better outcomes for all.”

Due to the nature of the project, and to cover the cost of the research team who were needed to develop the state-of-the-art predictive tools, ARMED once more approached Interface to apply for SFC Follow-on Innovation Voucher funding. The Follow-On Innovation Voucher allows companies to apply for up to £20,000 of funding which requires to be matched with cash from the company. Thanks to support from Professor Buchanan they were again successful and received almost £20,000 of funding which allowed them to progress with the project.

According to Professor Buchanan:

“Currently, patient information can only be effectively captured in controlled environments such as hospitals, care homes or a GP surgery. This project has significantly extended the effectiveness of ARMED’s mobile platform and by applying our research into advanced predictive analytic techniques we have successfully incorporated patient focused data capture with real-time personalised feedback.”

Brian Brown, Director of ARMED, added:

“By working with the University the time to market has been reduced. The development of this new technology has huge commercial benefits and we expect to significantly increase revenue. It also strengthens our export potential. We expect both quality and cost savings benefits for our customers.”

Since working with Edinburgh Napier University, HAS Technology have gone on to work with the Digital Health and Care Institute (DHI). The objective of this project was to apply advanced predictive analytical techniques to the data captured during homecare visits in East Dunbartonshire in order to identify markers which are indicative of the early onset of illness. Leveraging expertise from ongoing work in Primary Care in England will accelerate the integration of the ARMED mobile application into the Frailty Framework in Scotland, providing a unique opportunity to mine data across the boundary between health and social care. 

This collaboration has already been hailed a success in the East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership Care Inspectorate Report, where it scored 6 or excellent in the ‘quality of care and support’ category.  The report from the July 2016 Care Inspectorate told us:

“The people involved in the project were extremely positive about its benefits.  These included being more knowledgeable and aware about their activity, fitness and heart rate, and more informed about their general wellbeing.”

This is an example of how big data, machine learning and predictive analytics can be used in healthcare, and the collaboration between Edinburgh Napier University, the DHI and ARMED is an example of great Scottish knowledge exchange between commercial and academic partners.

With a proven success rate, ARMED has quickly expanded, deployed internationally, gained Microsoft recognition and created 5 new jobs, demonstrating how AI and deep learning can revolutionise preventative care. ARMED is an example of how SMEs can contribute to Scotland having a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy. 

2020 Updates

In accordance with the Medical Device Directive (MDD), ARMED has been certified as a medical device and can now be used in clinical settings.

Brian Brown, director of ARMED at HAS Technology, said: “We are delighted that ARMED has received certification as a medical device. Technology has a huge role to play moving forward and with so much evidence to support the benefits of early detection, this places ARMED in a much more credible position, especially within NHS spheres, to help make a real difference.”

The ARMED clinical evaluation stated that a “proactive approach to falls is considered crucial” and “significant reductions in falls” have been observed in trials when a risk of falling is identified, and the risk is managed.

It also highlighted that evaluations to date have identified clinical trends in patient groups including dehydration, weight loss, restlessness nocturnally, muscle wasting and reduced grip strength, all of which can be monitored by ARMED.

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.

Established in 2012, Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust is a community led regeneration project based in the North East of Scotland. The Trust was created to drive economic regeneration in the area and has a wide remit covering maintenance, regeneration and improvement of the community’s physical, economic, social and cultural infrastructure.

The Trust is focussed on developing the area to enrich the visitor experience, and extending their current season to include sports activities aimed at a younger demographic. Their long term plan being to market the area as the outdoor hub of Moray, these activities include a cycling festival, a motorcycle gathering and further development of the existing walking and whisky festivals.

The Business Challenge

Keen to use digital media to enhance the current visitor experience, the Trust’s aim is to develop the area’s technological infrastructure enabling it to support digital tourism. Conducting a trial marketing project in their already successful whisky sector, aiming to integrate the area’s oral tradition with local history in a site specific tour, would be the ideal first step in the process.

Based on the famous Glenlivet whisky, The Smuggler’s Trail would give them the chance to understand how technology would be used and at what cost; the practicalities of using it in rural areas- would GPS be an option or were localised servers more feasible; and how would they deliver the idea, would the data be held in the area or would visitors need to download it first?

The overall challenge of drawing in a younger audience required them firstly to ascertain market demand for their ‘outdoor adventure’ activities, carrying out local research but also seeking internationally successful examples offering key points to follow. They therefore needed marketing expertise.

If the Smuggler’s Trail tours are successful, the Trust’s aim is to take this new expertise and, combining this with the new market research, integrate digital technologies more fully into their overall future marketing plan.

The Solution

The Trust’s Local Development Officer, Lindsay Robertson, met Interface’s Kathryn Fraser at the Interface Digital Tourist event and Lindsay soon realised that Interface, with direct access to world class research expertise, would be able to help with both challenges.

Kathryn worked with Lindsay to create a working brief which would be sent to academics across Scotland inviting them to pitch for the project.

Having selected a number of interested parties from a range of universities and research institutions across Scotland, Kathryn put Lindsay in touch with Edinburgh Napier University, whose Centre for Interaction Design would be ideal. Having carried out research in digital applications they provided the perfect environment to test out the pilot project.

With this pilot now in development, Lindsay was keen to follow up by starting on market research for their overall rebrand. Knowing that Abertay University have an excellent Retail Marketing Programme, Kathryn put Lyndsay in touch with them.

Benefits

The Trust is currently considering findings delivered by both Edinburgh Napier and Abertay University. With access to leading digital technologies and space to trial the practical implications of their rurally based concept, Edinburgh Napier University has identified the most suitable platform and will be working with the Trust on its’ implementation. Crucially this research and development stage only required the Trust to match the academic time spent with their own. This will ultimately ensure the success of their ‘Smuggler’s Trail’ enabling this format to then be rolled out to other local heritage sites in their area.

As well as access to leading international interactive research, the Trust had access to top ranking university students who undertook their market research as part of their degree programme. This meant fully developed market analysis at no cost incurred to the Trust and hugely beneficial exposure to the commercial tourism industry for the students.

According to Lindsay,

“We are delighted to be working with Edinburgh Napier and Abertay Universities through Interface. The process so far has been extremely quick and easy and we hope that the key insights delivered from both institutions will have a huge impact on where we see ourselves in the future – we will certainly be incorporating the finds in our future marketing activity.”

August 2018

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the recently opened Tomintoul and Glenlivet Discovery Centre, which received funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to develop a fully immersive visual experience focusing on the past local illicit whisky industry.

Through Interface, the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust, which owns and manages the centre, accessed expert academic support from The University of St Andrews. Virtual reality technology is being developed as well as a 360 degree experience of an illicit still.

The Company

Bright Red Publishing is a multi-award winning independent publishing company which develops and produces high quality Study Guides for the new National 4, National 5, CfE Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications.  They collaborated with Edinburgh Napier University to create a unique on-line Digital Zone (www.brightredbooks.net) to further support students and teachers during a time of immense educational change in Scotland.

The Business Challenge

The company, wanting to produce the very best resources for Scottish students, was looking to support their publishing plans with on-line support across a number of subjects.  Although the company had the expertise to create and tailor the very best possible content, they did not have the experience to develop the digital strategy required to fully capitalise on the work they had done. 

The Solution

Bright Red Publishing approached Business Gateway, who referred them on to Interface.  After working with Bright Red to develop their initial brief, Interface put out an enquiry, searching through all of Scotland’s universities to find the right expertise.  Reviewing the resulting proposals from the universities, Bright Red felt that Edinburgh Napier University and, in particular, Professor Bill Buchanan, had the extensive expertise and support to get their digital project off the ground.  The collaboration was supported by a Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher, providing £5,000 to cover the cost of Professor Buchanan’s time.    

According to John MacPherson, Director of Bright Red Publishing

“Working with Interface has been a brilliant experience for Bright Red.  We have been able to access some amazing expertise and really step up our digital plans.  The creation of the Digital Zone has proved a game changer for our business and paves the way to a lot of exciting new developments.” 

The original aim of the project was to create a prototype interactive testing system.  The tests were to be developed in one subject area initially (Physics), to support the new qualifications being introduced in Scottish schools in 2013.

The project, supported by the Innovation Voucher, achieved this and delivered much more besides including:

Follow-On Activity

Building on the success of their original collaboration, Bright Red Publishing and Edinburgh Napier University applied for, and received a Follow-On Innovation Voucher for £20k, which the company matched in cash. 

The key challenge for the follow-on project was to scale-up the integration of fun elements and challenging on-line materials from within the area of Physics to a wider range of subject areas for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher grade books, creating innovative web-based materials to reinforce textbook learning.

The ground breaking Digital Zone currently offers a broad range of on-line supporting resources to students approaching their National 5 and CfE Higher qualifications.  The content, links, videos and games integrate completely with Bright Red’s best-selling Study Guides and the pioneering on-line tests allow students to check their progress and identify problem areas.  This is an absolute first for S4 and S5 students approaching these all new qualifications.

A key part of the innovation was the development of a website which aims to reinforce teaching-focused learning, but also provide new ways of supporting student learning. The infrastructure created scales across all the books, from Maths and Computing Science to English and French, in a consistent way. The site integrates key features for each subject, such as the range of calculators for Maths and language translators for French. 

The Benefits:

Company

This project proved to be very successful.  In terms of technical innovation, the approach offered by the digital test materials offered a distinct competitive advantage to the company in the market space in which it operates. The web-based materials offer a flexible, fully user-friendly and engaging product for both students and teachers. No other provider in this market offers in depth interactive tests designed specifically for the Scottish curriculum, which are both fun and educational with full explanations associated to each answer. The digital materials also provide adaptable support and guidance for both students and teachers dealing with brand new qualifications, during a period of great change and upheaval in the Scottish education system.

The Digital Zone (www.brightredbooks.net/subjects) has now sold over one million books, has more than 100,000 registered users and has had over two and a half million tests taken. Feedback from both students and teachers has been excellent.

John MacPherson, Director of Bright Red Publishing said:

“Collaborating with Professor Buchanan on this project has been incredibly exciting.  To enhance our printed content through the Digital Zone in the way we have has had a great effect on our business.  It has also opened our eyes to many more ideas and opportunities than we might not have considered before.” 

University

The benefits to Edinburgh Napier University were the further developments of its excellent portfolio of research and industrial expertise in building the novel software architectures related to testing for educational purposes.

According to Professor Bill Buchanan:

“The impact has been massive, especially as it properly supports our children in new methods of learning, while still keeping a focus on printed material, and in integrating teacher-led approaches. Everything we learned from the project has now fed back into creating enhanced teaching environments for undergraduate and postgraduate modules. Basically it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which Bright Red and the University took full advantage of. To think that we help to support our children’s education, every minute of the day, is an impact that few could dream of.

“We are so proud to have worked with such an innovative and forward looking company, who significantly contributed to Scottish society, and who will have an increasing role. Seldom have I seen such amazing vision from a company, and for one who have delivered so perfectly from every single angle. For me, I’ve learnt so much, while it has also been an opportunity to put in-place academic developments which fully support a child’s education, in an on-line environment.

“For an academic team to have the opportunity to help in the foundation education for our children is a unique opportunity, which can only bring benefits to all in our country. Many new projects have spun-off from the original project, including with us leading on an EU project which creates an engaging educational environment within Cyber Security.”

Scottish Economy

By fully developing this new business strand, the company has increased revenue and been able to offer employment opportunities.  In 2014 they recruited a Sales and Marketing Consultant to implement their new digital marketing strategy and also a Publishing Assistant to work closely with Edinburgh Napier on the on-line materials.  Initial expectation in the Follow On Voucher application was for sales of Bright Red Guides to increase from £190k in 2012/13, to £300k in 2013/14 and £500k in 2014/15.  The driving presence and popularity of the Digital Zone meant that in 2013/14, revenue leapt straight to £500k and is well on target to better that figure in 2014/15.

In a broader sense, the development of the Digital Zone represents the start of an integrated print and digital offering from Bright Red that will continue for many years to come.  The company have committed to an ongoing consultancy contract with Edinburgh Napier University and hopes to work with Professor Buchanan on other future projects.  In 2017 Bright Red Publishing announced further development to the Digital Zone to incorporate GOAL (Game Of Active Learning) which is being designed in collaboration with Professor Buchanan funded through a Scottish Enterprise SMART award. 

The project has allowed Bright Red Publishing, a wholly independent Scottish company, to compete in their market on an equal footing with rivals based outside Scotland.  Once they have developed this product further, it will be easily adapted for use overseas, particularly in markets such as India, China and Africa where the Scottish Qualifications Authority is a growing presence. This will require a greater staff resource and lead to an increase in export revenue.

MacPherson concludes:

“There can be little doubt that the opportunities arising from this collaboration are many.  We feel that our work with Professor Buchanan at Edinburgh Napier has really propelled Bright Red into a different space, and has great potential to launch our brand and product well beyond the Scottish border.” 

For more information on Bright Red please visit SMEs Rule! – A Case Study in Enterprise and Innovation – a blog by Prof Bill Buchanan, Edinburgh Napier University.

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.

Edinburgh based 442 Design is a brand and interior design company that works with a wide range of companies including BAA, Tesco and PropInvest.  Specialist areas include: interior and graphic design, large format print graphics and signage; rebranding and interior design work in new premises and offices; with a focus on brand identity.

Challenge

The company was interested in expanding its focus from retail interior space to developing external promotions and point of sale showcase units for pedestrian precincts.  The new product design involved creating glass units to showcase products from nearby shops eg. clothes, books, accessories etc. and include touch pads to allow potential customers find out more about the products and encourage them into the stores.

Aimed at driving increased footfall and spend, the product is intended to be a highly engineered, large glass display case which is used for promotion. It will use solar energy to charge the display lighting and is intended for use in outdoor environments. The customer benefits include lower installation and power supply costs, reduced carbon emissions and clear environmental responsibility profile.

442 Design sought to power these small showcase units by solar energy, however to branch out into this, the company required an investigative study to provide recommendations on energy requirements, size, cost and design. For this they looked to find the relevant expertise within Scottish Universities.

Solution

The company was referred by The University of Edinburgh to Interface – The knowledge connection for business, which brokered links to Professor Tariq Muneer from the School of the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University.  The relationship developed and the feasibility study yielded beneficial results identifying initial target cities and clients. 

Interface also supported the company in identifying a source of finance to offset some of the costs – feasibility funding under the Scottish Government supported SEEKIT programme (EDTC) hosted by Edinburgh Napier University.

Professor Muneer calculated the energy and carbon emissions saved by lighting the pod using solar rather than conventional energy. This is crucial information for customers as corporate responsibility is increasingly important.

Professor Muneer comments: “The commissioning and completion of this project is a good demonstration of the three-way collaborative links – industry, the academic world and Interface, who acted as the matchmaker. Quite often research work carried out by universities resides only within the campuses or in academic journals. Through organisations such as Interface, application of the above research work can achieve its flowering.”

“The glass ‘buypod’ units have been hugely successful and this adaption of the product into being run on solar energy is a very exciting development” said Laurence Smith, Project Director at 442 Design. 442 Design is familiar within the proven components of the glass pod but unfamiliar with the potential capability of solar technology, where the links with Edinburgh Napier University have provided invaluable assistance. 

Looking ahead, Professor Muneer will compile a detailed report on light/lux levels at various locations, and will take lighting specification for the pod and advise on variances in hourly levels of solar energy required to light the pod throughout the year. This information is vital to customers to enable maximum impact throughout the year.  Corporate social responsibility is important to 442 Design, and energy and carbon emissions saved will be assessed.

The Benefits

Both bodies benefited through this new partnership.  Working with Scottish Enterprise innovation advisor, Jim Shields they are now identifying scope for further activity in prototype design  and are investigating their eligibility for R&D/innovation grants.

Find out more about 442 Design here.

Napier University helped Scottish life sciences company, The Medical Device Co Ltd., save time and money trying to find a solution to an engineering problem it was trying to solve.

The Medical Device Co. Ltd managing director, John Targell said: “We specialise in helping clients in the plastics and disposable medical device industry take their ideas from initial concept to production.

The Business Challenge

“One of our clients wanted to do something out of our realm – in an area around thermodynamics – and luckily I met Dr. Siobhán Jordan, director of Interface at a seminar.”

After an introduction by Interface – the knowledge connection for business, The Medical Device Co. has been given help with technical challenges by Napier University engineering experts.

The Solution

As a result, the company has been told what they were trying to achieve would not be feasible as it defied the laws of physics!  However, this information allowed them to search for an alternative solution the company has now implemented.

John Targell continued: “This information was invaluable as letting us know that something is not possible saved us an immense amount of time and work.

“My previous experience with universities many years ago was that the collaboration process can be quite long-winded and the experts tend to be non-commercially focussed.  However, my recent experience has been excellent.  I’d certainly go to Interface again for help. They’ve made me realise that working with universities is a quick and straightforward process and ultimately the experience has saved us a lot of unnecessary work.”

Dr. Siobhan Jordan, director of Interface said: “This is an excellent example of one of the ways universities can help Scottish companies with their individual business challenges and Interface is keen to help business across all sectors and sizes access similar assistance.”

Kanthal is the world’s leading manufacturer of resistance heating elements offering a broad spectrum of products for use in domestic home appliances to large high temperature furnaces. The company has a production unit in Perth and forms part of the multi-national Sandvik Group, a high-technology engineering group and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of resistance and electrical heating element materials.

Kanthal has manufactured silicon carbide heating elements for many years with two types – recrystallised silicon carbide and reaction bonded silicon carbide – dominating its product range.

The Business Challenge

Industrial users of silicon carbide heating elements place a great emphasis on the strength, and in particular, the bending strength of silicon carbide heating elements to offer greater robustness and versatility within the manufacturing process.

Stan Moug, Product Development Manager, Kanthal explains, “bending strength plays a key selling point for the company, particularly when vying for international business against strong competition in the USA and Japan.”

Strength of product is not just a requirement in the manufacturing process, but also in the global transportation and shipping of the product.  For example, increasing demand for display glass used for applications such as plasma display panels, require longer and larger element lengths – anything from 2.5 to 3 metres are the norm, but longer rods, up to six metres in length are being demanded as the size of the panels used increases.  Therefore, we have to be in a position to offer products that withstand the rigours of transportation and reach the manufacturer or specifier in one piece.”

Whilst Kanthal was able to carry out some areas of testing capability in-house, the company needed to conduct specific bending trials which measured the accuracy in three and four point bending strength of silicon carbide rods with diameters ranging between 20mm and 55 mm.  This required fully calibrated materials testing equipment which gave accurate results. The fact that the measurements could be seen as impartial and independent was also seen as an advantage.

Kanthal initially contacted Scottish Enterprise Tayside, who referred the enquiry to Interface – The knowledge connection for business.

The Solution

Interface sourced assistance from across the Scottish academic community and made recommendations to Kanthal.  The company opted to work with the School of the Built Environment at Napier University.

The academic, Alan Davidson, Lecturer in Materials Engineering, worked with Stan at Kanthal to evaluate the bending strength of the silicon carbide rods.  A number of tests on over 300 rod samples were carried out and both Alan and Stan believed the results gave Kanthal encouragement to conduct further research into the manufacturing process of future silicon carbide rods.

Stan concluded, “Our industry is continually evolving and we need to look at ways of keeping ahead of our competition.  Working with Napier University, with the help of Interface, has been a very worthwhile exercise and the working partnership we now have with Alan Davidson is proving very successful.”

“Personally, I found Interface very helpful.  They asked the right questions and made sure they captured our specific requirements. Our search criteria can be very specialised and Interface managed to identify the best solution, on our behalf, before we commenced our partnership with Alan Davidson at Napier.  This saved us a lot of time”.