Monday, 20 January 2025

Automation excellance lauded in ceremony.

The 43rd annual Honours and Awards Ceremony of the Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation (ISA) was held last week in the Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork. This ceremony acknowledges and encourages excellence in those training for careers in Instrumentation, Systems and Automation.

"The Ireland Section, which is voluntary with a membership of over 180, received its charter in 1978. Its purpose is to bring together all personnel involved in the instrumentation and related disciplines in order to enhance their capabilities in instrumentation design, manufacture and use," said current President Patrick Bonner of the Bonner Company (Which coincidentally was founded in the same year).

This year six awards were made, four of which submitted by Third Level institutions and two classified as Industry Awards. The presentations wer made by Councillor Dan Boyle, Lord Mayor of Cork. He said "When people involved in such diverse areas of technology achieve excellence and in the process produce quality work, it is only right that we should publicly acknowledge such success."

1. Apprenticeship Award:
Awarded to the best final year instrumentation Apprentice for notable academic and practical achievements in instrumentation.

Sky Moroney
The awardee was Mr. Sky Moroney on the nomination of Mr. Eddie Mc Elheron, Lecturer at South East Technological University.
He completed his apprenticeship in 2024 with Sulzer Pumps in Co Wexford and attended both phase 4 and phase 6 at the Carlow Campus of SETU.
Sky demonstrated exceptional commitment and attitude during his block releases and achieved credits (in excess of 80%) in all of his theory and practical exams.
He also completed other studies, PLC Night Class in FAS training Centre, Sligo, and Level 1 of The Certified Control System Technicians program (this is an ISA Program). He is currently attending Sligo ATU fulltime course in Batchelor of Engineering in Mechatronics, having completed his first year.

2. Degree Award.
Awarded to the best final year Degree student specializing in any area of Instrumentation and Control.

Stephen Cooper
The Awardee was Mr. Stephen Cooper on the noomination of Mr. Keith Smyth, South East Technological University.
The project revolved around the development of a wheelchair which is equipped with multiple technologies to enable advanced navigation in complex environments. His The Smart-Chair Navigator has shown to be a viable solution for using technology to bridge the gap in accessibility challenges by enhancing daily mobility needs of wheelchair users.

3. Honour’s Degree Award.
Awarded, on any nomination, to the best final year Degree student specialising in any area of Instrumentation and Control.

Eric Wickens
The awardee was Mr. Eric Wickens nominated by Mr. Aidan O Connell, Lecturer, MTU, Cork
Eric graduated from the Joint Honours BSc. in Industrial Physics at Munster Technological University (MTU) and University College Cork (UCC), where he achieved a First Class Honours. This four-year degree culminated in his final year project, called “Design and simulation of a MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical System) Biosensor” and was done in coordination with the Tyndall National Institute.
This project was a success and led to the fabrication of the simulated devices, a conference presentation and accompanying paper.

4. Post Graduate Award
Awarded to the best Post Graduate student awarded PhD / Bsc in Instrumentation / Applied Physics in Ireland.

Giovanna Ricchiuti
The awardee was Dr. Giovanna Ricchiuti, nominated by: Mr. William Whelan-Curtin Senior Lecturer, Department of Physical Sciences, MTU, Cork
Giovanna Ricchiuti has demonstrated exceptional multidisciplinary expertise and academic excellence during her PhD project on developing innovative photonic sensors for environmental pollution monitoring, process control, and food quality assessment. As part of the OPTAPHI Marie Sklodowska-Curie training network, Giovanna successfully completed a double PhD, splitting her time between Munster Technological University, where she focused on integrated photonics and physics, and TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology), where she engaged with spectroscopy and analytical chemistry. Giovanna’s groundbreaking work bridged two demanding fields, requiring her to master both analytical chemistry and photonics. Her achievements make her an exemplary candidate for recognition, marking her out as one of the most talented PhD students in her field.

5. Innovative Project Award.
Recognises a project which has made a significant contribution to the advancement of industry in Ireland through the use of Automation Technology

Sanofi, Waterford (IRL)
The award project was to the Sanofi Equipment Digital Twin Project Team - Mr. Michael Lawlor, Mr. Conor O’Sullivan, Mr. Aymeric Kerserho and Mr. Gregory Albertson on the nomination of Mr. Aidan O Connell, Lecturer, MTU, Cork
Sanofi Waterford has introduced a Multi New Format Fill Line (MFFL), which is an ad- vanced-design fill line capable of filling both syringes and vials with Grade A isolator. From the outset of this new line’s selection and procurement it was identified as the ideal candi- date to be the first Equipment Digital Twin.
The Solution developed is the result of a strong project team with both internal partnership between our Digital and Business teams as well as with the direct collaboration and support from the machine vendors and well as from industry experts to ensure its applicability and therefore creating a solution that is both innovative and practical.
Leveraging the equipment OEMs in-depth knowledge of the manufacturing process and the knowledge and guidance of industry experts which was iterative ensured our solution is technically robust and closely aligned with the needs of our users as well as ensuring that it is aligned with business objectives. The Implemented Equipment Digital Twin is an exact replica of the physical line equipment down to the “nuts and bolts” level created directly from the CAD (3D) models of the physi- cal production line machines.
As a result, the physics and communication of the machines in the Equipment Digital Twin are the same as the physical line, allowing us to use it as a pre-production environment. All software changes are implemented on the Digital Twin before transferring to the actual equipment. This means we no longer need to use the physical line for testing and trouble- shooting. By protecting the physical line’s operational time, we can provide life-changing medical products to patients even more efficiently.
By utilising the Equipment Digital Twin, we also reduced electricity consumption and mini- mised the need for vendors to travel, as they can test their modifications remotely. This leads to a substantial decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the improvement in precision and efficiency provided by the Equipment Digital Twin already result in less waste, including syringes, vials, and product materials. As the production line goes into full operation, we anticipate even less waste over time, further enhancing our sustainability efforts.

6. Pioneer Award.
This is awarded, on the nomination Society members, in recognition of a lifetime devoted to instrumentation in Ireland.

Recipient for 2024 was Mr. Ger Hellen, NeoDyne, who was nominated by Mr. Declan Lordan of Douglas Controls and Automation.
Ger graduated in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from UCC in 1976. He started work with EI Company, Shannon, a subsidiary of General Electric USA (GE) and an early US FDI investment in Ireland when it was established in 1963. Ger was on a manager development programme and within 2 years the unit production manager for a production line with 80 operators, making parts for 6,000 TV’s per day. Production and people management experience proved invaluable subse- quently but product technology, involving TV CRT tube electron guns, was obsolete relative to semiconductor electronics. After three years Ger moved to Mitchelstown Creameries as a maintenance engineer.
NeoDyne was established in 1998 with Kevin MacCarthy and grew at a steady 14% per year. Ger’s garage became a 6-person office. The fields covered mirrored Ger’s experience in SCADA, PLC, instrumentation and HV/MV electrical. NeoDyne moved to Eastgate Lit- tle Island in 2002. In 2016 a succession plan was progressed and the next step in 2021/2 in- volved a Management Buyout of Ger’s shareholding by four managers, all of whom who had joined NeoDyne 20 years earlier. The buyout completed in October 2022 and Ger retired in March 2023 after nearly 47 year’s continuous working.
Today NeoDyne is wholly owned by 7 Director Shareholders and a further 35 manager engineers work in profit-share. 2024 turnover was over €30M , the cur- rent employment is about 210 and offices are located in Little Island, Dublin, Galway, Waterford and Chesterfield in England.
Ger is a strong believer in building the capability of Irish engineering, keeping company ownership in Irish control, and the growth-mindset and can-do attitudes that US FDI com- panies have brought to this country over the past 50 years. Ger is proud of his farming and Huguenot roots (Ger’s Huguenot Helen ancestor came to Innishannon in 1747)


@IrelandISA @ISA_Automation #PAuto #Ireland #Automation

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