Engineering apprentices develop technology to help wounded soldiers

Apprentices from seven of the company's sites around the UK were given the challenge of designing and manufacturing equipment to support the recovery of wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Within nine months the teams had to design and build devices that allow either bedside exercise and physiotherapy, or a device that allows patients that cannot move their bodies or heads to see around them. The concepts were all innovative and well thought out with excellent build quality. The overall winner was put together from a team from Rochester. The team used three cameras to give unrestricted views of the hospital ward. The three views can be alternated by a tap switch or by speech recognition if the patient is paralysed from the neck down. The device known as 'Inviso' provides patients with control over what they can see, allowing greater independence and boosting morale. Apprentice Steven Costin from Rochester said: "It's great to be at the final ceremony and impress everyone with our design. It's a huge achievement for our design to be developed further by the hospital. We would all be so proud to see patients using it in the future." All the apprentices showed great compassion, care, and belief in the procurement of the product, with a great deal of innovation used in all aspects of the project. Clyde Warsop, executive scientist and judge from BAE Systems, said: "All the apprentices showed great simplicity, but also great functionality in what they did. There were examples of bold decision making and innovative use of procurement of materials; with one design being made up largely of aircraft grade titanium." The Glasgow design used the bottom of one of the apprentice's chairs to function as a base stand, so their equipment could easily be wheeled about from bed to bed around the hospital. It was quite clear the apprentices worked with what they had and made the best use of it wherever they could. Warsop added: "All the apprentices showed great compassion and understanding for the soldiers they are making these devices for, and clearly have a genuine desire to make a difference and help." The apprentices themselves gain much from the experience, not least leadership, project planning and a wider perspective of project management. Additionally, the apprentices get to work with apprentices from different skill sets from electronics, electrical, mechanical, business, welding, pipe fitting and machinists; all working side by side and transferring knowledge skills and building team working. Former winner, and now judge; Robert Condliffe, a design engineer at BAE Systems, said: "Innovation is at the feet of our apprentices. "This is an opportunity for them to broaden their skills. The challenge allows them to see a project from start to finish, rather than the snippet of projects that they might be used to. As someone who has been through this process before, I know just how valuable it is, and how many skills you learn along the way."