Apprentice project drives energy efficiency and savings

14 November, 2024

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 Engineering, 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.

Roger Trueman commented: ‘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.’

Paydon Blow commented: “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.”

In addition, Neil Addison, Managing Director at TROX UK, emphasised the crucial role that apprenticeship programmes played in addressing the skills gap and developing a workforce capable of tackling the industry's sustainability challenges. He pointed out the value of combining practical on-the-job training with academic qualifications, ensuring apprentices gained both technical skills and a deeper understanding of the sector’s evolving demands. Addison highlighted the success many of TROX’s former apprentices had achieved within the company, showcasing the effectiveness of this approach and reaffirming TROX’s commitment to apprenticeships as a pathway for new talent. By recognising Paydon’s achievements and discussing ongoing recruitment, Addison demonstrated TROX’s proactive strategy for future-proofing its workforce by developing talent from within.

Similarly, Professor Duncan McFarlane of the University of Cambridge praised the way innovative technology had enabled apprentices to bring about meaningful change within their organisations. McFarlane commended how Paydon, through the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project, introduced low-cost digital tools like the Raspberry Pi to achieve significant energy savings at TROX while also contributing to their sustainability efforts:

“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.”

Both Addison and McFarlane’s reflections reinforced the broader message that apprenticeships and digitalisation had been key pillars for the future of manufacturing, offering clear benefits in terms of sustainability, efficiency, and workforce development.

For further information please visit: www.troxuk.co.uk

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