The Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry has been appointed as a lead auditor by the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA) (
www.ppma.co.uk) — the trade body that aims to promote the use of robotics in British industry.
The MTC (
www.the-mtc.org) will have lead responsibility for auditing UK robot integrators seeking certification from BARA, and engineers from across the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres will be available to support the scheme.
The audit will ensure that UK companies are qualified to integrate robotics into a production line.
Certification will demonstrate that they have the appropriate skills and procedures, if they pass a rigorous audit and on-site checks.
Jeremy Hadall, chief engineer for intelligent automation at the MTC, said: “There has been a three-fold increase in the number of robots sold in the UK over the past decade, with some analysts predicting that the global market for industrial robots could become a £30 billion industry by 2025.
“This has prompted the need for an industry benchmark to evaluate integrators’ technical knowledge and safety practices.
“As things currently stand, anyone can claim to provide systems integration services, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are trained or competent to integrate a robot into a production line.
“The new audit system will offer end users peace of mind that the company and integrator they have appointed to carry out the work has been independently verified.”