19-year-old aspiring engineer Elliott Underwood has been making major changes at Micro-Mesh Filtration helping the business get up to speed with the digital era. The leading UK filter manufacturer has benefited from a new e-commerce website, a first for the company, and a facial recognition ‘clocking in system’ thanks to Elliott’s contribution.
With digital processes, sales and applications more prominent than ever in the workplace, and the acceleration of this due to the 2020 pandemic, many manufacturers are looking for ways they can utilize this.
Elliott is just one example of a young person bringing a fresh perspective to manufacturing, introducing new ways to utilize digital processes. He began his journey at Micro-Mesh over 12 months ago, whilst waiting to become an engineer in the RAF.
“During my time at Micro-mesh, I have been given a number of projects that are contributing to my experience as an engineer. There is only so much you can learn with pen and paper and having the opportunity to manage projects has allowed me to become more technically minded.” Elliott explained.
FilterFinder.co.uk is an e-commerce website created by Elliott to help the company supply new markets and increase its online outreach. From the platform, customers are able to cross-reference over 100,000 part numbers, order the part and get it delivered to their door within 72 hours. Elliott added:
“We have seen massive growth on the website increasing our website traffic by 400% and enquiries by 200%. The website is also a great way of collecting data, allowing us to analyse current trends and develop our product range.
On top of that, Elliott has introduced the business to a contactless ‘clocking in’ software, where a machine will recognise an employee’s face and automatically register their attendance and departure. This has proven to be more effective with the benefits of using less paper and data being recorded to the cloud. The software has also been adapted to include workshop data-capture allowing employees to clock into jobs, improving how time is managed in production decreasing line downtime and increasing job efficiency.
He concluded:
“I believe young people have a different approach to online and the way we use technology which is much needed within the manufacturing industry.”
“My advice to young people would be don’t be scared to speak up in the workplace and make suggestions - a fresh perspective could solve a problem a business has been having for years.”
Made Futures was created to encourage people to get jobs in manufacturing, in support of those who have lost their jobs over the course of the 2020 pandemic. There's still time to sign up and be part of the exhibition by filling in the form here.
Also, you can watch Elliott's Made Futures LIVE interview by clicking here.