19 Jan 2006
Winning prizes is getting to be a habit for BAE Systems Stewart Wylie, an electromagnetic specialist and technical authority working in the Engineering Team at Warton on programmes such as Typhoon.
The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) recently announced that a team comprising Stewart, three employees of the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and an employee of Agilent Technologies UK Ltd have won its prestigious Wheatstone Measurement Prize for 2005.
The winning nomination relates to the creation of the world's first formally accredited single-link internet-enabled calibration service, a project which has spanned five years and attracted other prestigious awards on the way, including a BAE Systems Chairmans Award.
Work began back in 1999 when the team realised there could be a way of using the internet to get equipment calibrated directly against one of NPLs Primary National Standards. Equipment designed for measurement has to be calibrated periodically. This often means either packing it up and sending it off to a suitable laboratory or accommodating an on-site visit. Costs, down time, non-optimum measurement uncertainties and damage risk are among the undesirable factors encountered.
However, the team came up with a concept whereby they could access this Standard directly via the internet, connecting directly to the NPL.
Stewart, a senior engineer at BAE Systems, said: The innovative solution we developed meant we could cut out all the intermediate calibration processes we had to live with before and meant no down time for the equipment. It was the first time such single-link traceability had ever been realised and in 2001 the first public service was launched.
From then on Agilent and NPL developed the idea further. They have now had the internet-based system fully accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), guaranteeing measurement standards and its great to think that we started the whole thing with a dial-up service between our lab and NPL. It really has been a fantastic team effort. The presentation at the IEE is the culmination of five years work and I think we can all be very proud of our involvement.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. The Company designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, combat vehicles, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years and is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems. BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The Company employs over 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately 14.8 billion through its wholly owned and joint-venture operations.
For further information, please contact:
Lucy Loughney, BAE Systems
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Email: lucy.loughney@baesystems.com
