Anmar Al-Qutayri, senior manufacturing research engineer at AMRC Cymru, pictured with the interlinked touchscreen kiosk, which houses all of the necessary documents needed on the shopfloor

AMRC Cymru is set to become the first facility in the University of Sheffield AMRC cluster to have a completely paperless shopfloor. The innovative idea, which uses computer software and an interlinked touchscreen kiosk to house all the necessary documents for a shopfloor to function safely, was devised by Anmar Al-Qutayri, AMRC Cymru’s senior manufacturing research engineer.

His avid interest in gaming and computers inspired him to devise the concept and he hopes to roll out the software to all AMRC shopfloors — cementing the opportunity for the organisation to strengthen its long-term sustainability footprint. He highlights that the system is very easy to use and said one of the best things about it is that users can store as many documents as needed, all in one place, and they can be updated quickly without the need for paper copies.

He said: “Sustainability is big on the agenda for the AMRC’s future and AMRC Cymru has a key role to play in that vision. Our workshop manager Matt Booth was searching for ideas on how we could make the workshop more sustainable and going paperless seemed like a good place to start that would not only benefit the AMRC, but also all the companies we support, so I started to look at how we could actually achieve it.

“The stream deck, an interactive touchpad with tailored buttons that can be programmed to display images and documents, is an integral part of the system and was something I was using at home when gaming — this sparked my idea to use the software to enable our shopfloor to go paperless. I pitched the idea to Matt and he was on board, so we decided to run with it. Buttons on the stream deck can be customised and take you to any videos or documents you use most frequently. It may be a small touch pad, but it is simple and works very effectively.”

Mr Al-Qutayri highlighted that the impact of having this system in place helps to save paper, time, energy and money associated with having to manually create and use documents. It can also help to familiarise staff with machinery they are not used to, can add a further element of interactivity to the shopfloor, and enable engineers to keep up to date with safety documents and amend them at the touch of a button.

Andy Silcox, AMRC Cymru research director, said the interactive systems gives engineers easier access to vital work documents, assessment check sheets and work instructions, rather than having to find the relevant documents in a paper format next to the machine. He added: “As we develop the system at AMRC Cymru, the management team will have a greater assurance that the up-to-date information has been seen and understood by all users of the shopfloor equipment.”

Benefit their organisation
Matt Booth, workshop manager at AMRC Cymru, said feedback on the system so far from staff and other companies visiting the site has been very positive. He added: “Since introducing this system into our workshop, we have been able to not only demonstrate the benefits to the AMRC team, but have also demonstrated it to numerous visiting SMEs and large companies. They provided great feedback relating to its sleek look, how easy it was to use and the versatility of the system — more importantly they commented on how they could all see how this system could benefit their organisation.”

Pictured right: the stream deck provides shortcut links to the main system

Work began in February this year to set up the stream deck software system to work alongside a computer and touchscreen, to be housed on a metal frame within close proximity of any machine on the shopfloor at AMRC Cymru. Fast forward six months and four separate set ups have been successfully created and are ready to be implemented at the research facility, which is managed by the University of Sheffield and is a member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC).

The user-friendly system can store all mandatory documents needing to be displayed next to any machinery on the shopfloor, including method statements, risk assessments and demo videos of the machines in action and how they can be used.

Mr Al-Qutayri added: “Most people think of the big-ticket items, including energy consumption, solar and wind — but this project, despite being smaller, will have a great impact both in the short term and in the future. Everyone at AMRC Cymru has been really positive about this project and it has spurred me on even more to get the project operational in the fastest time possible.”

The full set up, which will cost around £1,700 each, was funded from a £1.5 million capital purchase grant secured through the Welsh government, which is being used to help enhance the research facility’s capabilities and use on future collaborative research projects.

Mr Al-Qutayri said: “I am really passionate about the work that we are doing to improve sustainability and I want to help leave a lasting impact — not just at AMRC Cymru, but across the whole organisation. I want to help AMRC Cymru become stronger in its sustainability footprint and work towards achieving more in this space. I also want this system to become a useful tool to help new engineers coming into the business to get to grips with the machinery, how they are used and the correct safety procedures to use without them worrying or feeling intimidated.”