Background

RICOR Limited is a renowned and respected British manufacturer of metal pressing and welded assemblies with over 40 years’ experience of developing components for use in a range of sectors including automotive, power generation, retail and for developing green industry green technologies.

Engagement with the SKILLMAN Project

In the course of the piloting, apprentices from RICOR participated in several training sessions including Robot Programming, PLC programming, Process Optimisation, Introduction to Simulation Engineering and Machine Software Design Principles. The customised workshops based on the skills challenges highlighted by participants formed the basis of the training and, techniques were shared and tailored to specific business needs. Feedback from RICOR attendees demonstrated the fit of the workshops with business need; for example, one of the apprentices reported finding his role more interesting since the course and that his understanding and appreciation of robotics had improved since the training. Furthermore, the courses have clearly raised motivation and engagement levels amongst workers required to use robots in the workplace.

Outcomes

Since attending the course on process optimisation, one apprentice explained that he was ow connected to the robots via his laptop and was working to improve the programming of the robot to address and enhance cycle times and make inroads into energy efficiency. RICOR itself reported company gains in workers actively practising the skills acquired during the piloting to implement their knowledge – particularly in machine efficiency, impacting positively on both performance and energy efficiency. Moreover, the nature of the European Joint Curricula and its recognition at EQF level does mean that there is now an opportunity to roll out robotics courses and upskill its workforce located on its Poland site.

Case Study with Marc Bowcott at RICOR submitted as evidence to support this deliverable.