Recommissioning and Curriculum Integration of a Multi-Million-Pound Advanced Manufacturing Centre
Carlisle College | Advanced Manufacturing Facility
Role: Engineering Lecturer (HNC/HND) with AMC Recommissioning Lead Responsibility
Sector: Further & Higher Engineering Education
Project Type: Industrial Recommissioning, Safeguarding & Curriculum Integration
Background
I was offered a full-time position at Carlisle College as an Engineering Lecturer delivering HNC and HND Engineering programmes. During an initial site visit, I was shown the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) — a multi-million-pound facility intended to support advanced engineering education and industry-aligned skills development.
Despite the scale of investment, the AMC was not operational at the time. Although staff had previously been sent on specialist training related to the facility, the centre was no longer in use, key operational knowledge had been lost, and the equipment had remained dormant for an extended period. With teaching staff already fully committed, there was no internal capacity to reverse-engineer, recommission, or embed the system into curriculum delivery.
As a result, a significant institutional asset was underutilised, while its long-term sustainability and educational value were at risk.
The Challenge
The AMC comprised a complex, fully integrated industrial process system including:
- Water holding and mixing tanks
- Agitators, conveyors, and hoppers
- Industrial motor drives and speed controllers
- A Fanuc pick-and-place robot
- Multiple HMI interfaces
- A master PLC coordinating the entire process
There were no comprehensive manuals, no standardised documentation, and no structured PLC or robot programs governing the system. In addition, stagnated water within the vessels had led to algae formation, presenting operational and safety concerns.
Previous attempts to operate parts of the system had also highlighted the absence of robust control safeguards, with incidents such as flooding reinforcing the need for a properly engineered and fail-safe control strategy.
Proposal and Board Approval
Following a series of technical discussions and formal meetings with senior leadership, I proposed a revised working model to the college board:
- 0.6 FTE delivering HNC and HND Engineering teaching
- 0.4 FTE dedicated to recommissioning, safeguarding, and integrating the AMC into teaching delivery
This approach allowed the college to protect teaching provision while systematically recovering and future-proofing a major capital investment.
The proposal was approved by the board.
Technical Delivery
System Recovery and Safety
- Safely drained all stagnated water from tanks and vessels
- Coordinated professional cleaning to remove algae and contamination
- Returned the system to a safe operational baseline
Control System Recommissioning
- Diagnosed and restored PLC functionality
- Operated each subsystem independently in manual mode
- Verified sensors, actuators, motor drives, and communications
- Re-established reliable interaction between PLCs, HMIs, drives, and robot
PLC Optimisation and Safeguarding
After recommissioning, I undertook further optimisation of the PLC programme to ensure long-term safety and robustness. This included:
- Refining control logic to prevent unsafe operating sequences
- Introducing interlocks, permissives, and fail-safe conditions
- Ensuring the system could be operated safely regardless of user experience
- Eliminating the risk of flooding, equipment damage, or facility impact
This transformed the AMC from a fragile installation into a stable, repeatable, and protected industrial system.
Automation and Integration
- Developed coordinated PLC logic enabling full automatic operation
- Designed and implemented a structured and systematic Fanuc robot programme
- Integrated all subsystems into a single, coherent automated process
Curriculum Development and Integration
- Mapped the AMC directly to HNC and HND Engineering learning outcomes
- Embedded real industrial processes into teaching and assessment
Enabled learners to work with:
- PLC sequencing and optimisation
- Industrial robotics
- Manual vs automatic control strategies
- Fault diagnosis and system-level integration
Outcomes
Within a few months:
- The Advanced Manufacturing Centre was fully recommissioned
- Individual subsystems and the complete process line operated safely in both manual and automatic modes
- High-value equipment was protected through engineered PLC safeguards
- The AMC became an active, integrated teaching facility rather than a dormant asset
A subsequent visit by the college board demonstrated the entire system operating on full automatic mode, clearly evidencing the recovery of both technical functionality and educational value.
Impact
This work converted a dormant, multi-million-pound facility into a fully operational and safeguarded educational asset, delivering:
- Improved return on capital investment
- Reduced operational and asset-damage risk
- Increased institutional resilience despite staff turnover
- Enhanced learner engagement through authentic industrial systems
Key Capabilities Demonstrated
- Recommissioning of complex, multi-million-pound industrial systems
- PLC fault diagnosis, optimisation, and safety-critical control design
- Industrial automation and system integration (PLC, HMIs, drives, robotics)
- Risk mitigation through engineered interlocks and fail-safe logic
- Fanuc robot programming and coordinated process automation
- Operating effectively without manuals or legacy system knowledge
- Translation of real industrial systems into HNC/HND curriculum delivery
- Board-level communication and delivery against institutional objectives
Summary
This case study illustrates my ability to operate effectively at board level, technical level, and teaching level — recovering complex industrial systems, engineering safety-critical control solutions, and embedding advanced manufacturing facilities directly into curriculum delivery.