DTI approved CEM providing free consultaion and subsidised projects to manufacturing companies

CENTRE OF EXPERTISE IN MANUFACTURE

Improving Your Product with DTI Funding

As a designated Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing and as specialists in engineering design analysis and simulation, Chalice Engineering provides services to manufacturing companies in Yorkshire and Humberside, to help them improve their products. Some of our work for these companies is subsidised through the RCME. Areas which benefit are:

• Comply with legislation, such as the requirements for CE marking
• Increase market share by improving your product's performance
• Improve reliability by designing out in-service failure
• Make your product safer

The Regional Centre for Manufacturing Excellence (RCME), the DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and Centres of Excellence in Manufacturing (CEMs)

RCME acts as the managing agent for the DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) - providing an advisory service on manufacturing matters and dispensing money allocated by the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), Yorkshire Forward (the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Development Agency) and European Regional Development Fund through the MAS, delivered in Yorkshire and Humber. That lengthy sentence is RCME's own description of its role. Chalice is one of a number of specialists approved (by both the MAS and the RCME) to provide subsidised consultancy to manufacturing companies in this region. All specialists like Chalice are called CEMs, and each will have its own specialisms. In our case, we are mechanical engineers and assist with engineering design.

More information about CEMs is available from the DTI MAS website here: www.mas.dti.gov.uk.

Qualifying Projects

Improving or eliminating uncertainties in the design of a manufactured product can be an effective way of adding value to your business. When we carry out subsidised consultancy work, we calculate the return on investment made. This is achieved most effectively by increasing your market share or, for a new product, shortening the time to market.

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There are two relevant types of intervention that Chalice can offer companies to help improve their products and profitability:

1. Research or technical investigation

The RCME will allow up to eight hours of work to be undertaken in the provision of research or technical investigations and the subsequent production of a report. This is a fully subsidised consultation and is usually sufficient to carry out a calculation or help implement best practice in aspects of engineering design.

2. Project intervention

Further work may be required for example, to investigate design changes to improve a product's performance, or investigate in-service failures. RCME grants towards project interventions are up to a maximum value of £2,500. There is a 10% management fee required by the RCME. Overall, for qualifying projects, the minimum subsidy that you will receive as a client is 40%. (The RCME may consider up to two project interventions per company, per contractual year, provided that each intervention seeks to address separate, unlinked issues.)