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Test, Reliability and Safety Engineering

Welcome to the Test, Reliability and Safety Engineering Group within the Engineering Department. We aim to support industry to deliver cutting edge sensing technologies and applications. Please take some time to explore our capability and track record. We look forward to working with you.

Contact our cluster Co-Lead, Professor Andrew Richardson

Our Capability

We are a cross-disciplinary team able to address reliability challenges in mechanical, chemical and electronic devices and systems together with both production testing and in-field monitoring technologies. We work across length scales ranging from nanometre-scale degradation mechanisms to macro-scale health & usage monitoring solutions for the energy and civil infrastructure sectors. Our team has extensive experience in Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Physics of Failure, Design for Testability and Reliability, Health & Usage Monitoring(HUMS) and associated sensor technology. Our capability includes both Fault Tolerant design and Safety Critical Systems Engineering. The majority of our capabilities are transferable across industrial sectors.

Our Offer

  • Business Development

    We can assist you to further develop your IP through technology road mapping, brokerage with technology partners and potential customers and assisting with product innovation and product evolution.

  • Characterization Services

    We are able to characterize your technology in terms of performance and reliability. We have an extensive track record including the delivery of reliability modelling and characterization solutions for MEMS, microfluidic and macro scale sensor solutions.

  • Design Services & IP Generation

    We can tackle design challenges through projects, consultancy or collaborative bids for public funding.

  • Networking

    We have a range of partners from across Europe with extensive facilities for reliability and test studies around state-of-the-art technologies.

Our Facilities

  • 3D Printing: We can prototype devices with length scales from 10-2 to 10-5 m through our extensive 3-D printing facility
  • Sensor Design: We have extensive tool sets to support the design of physical, electrochemical and electro-magnetic sensors
  • Characterisation: We have fluidic and radiometric characterisation facilities in-house and within our partner facilities

Key People and Contacts

"The Reliability and Test Engineering team here at Lancaster University has the capability to not only assist you to control your manufacturing costs and outgoing quality but also to add USPs (Unique Selling Points) to your portfolio through features like self-test, condition monitoring and prognostics. Our team consists of experts from the Electronic and Mechanical Engineering disciplines with a background in materials, defect and failure analysis, reliability modelling and simulation, predictive maintenance and HW/SW solutions for embedded test and in-field monitoring."

Professor Andrew Richardson and Professor Sarah Green, Cluster Leads

  • Professor Andrew Richardson, Cluster Lead

  • Professor Sarah Green, Cluster Lead

  • Paul Ballington, Industrial Ambassador

  • Dr Nilla Karlsen-Davies, Partnerships & Business Engagement Manager

Meet the Team

This cluster of expertise in test, reliability, and safety engineering at Lancaster University is a valuable resource to a wide range of industries competing within both national and global markets. Having over 30 years experience in various safety critical industries, I strongly support this source of training, consultancy, research and development services and facilities that, in my opinion, offer unique opportunities to the wider industrial sector.

A quote from Industrial Ambassador: Paul Ballington, Rolls-Royce

Key Competencies

  • Integration of self-test solutions into electronic systems
  • Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
  • Defect modelling and Failure Analysis
  • Prognostic solutions involving HW/SW solutions
  • Test economics, statistical test and defect oriented testing
  • Health & Usage Monitoring and its use in predictive maintenance
  • Use of sensors and integration of sensors to support through life monitoring

Case Studies

  • Critical Mixed Signal Interfaces

    We've developed embedded test strategies for a range of critical mixed signal interfaces including phase locked loops and high-resolution analogue to digital converters.This analogue and digital capability is transferable to chip and board engineering across the electronics industry.

  • Defect and Failure Analysis

    We've carried out defect and failure analysis on bicycle components for the legal profession and acted as experts associated with failure cause and remedy.

  • Failure Prediction Methods

    We've developed failure prediction methods for a range of systems including turbines, motors and radioisotope detectors using machine learning techniques.

  • Rotating Machine Condition Diagnosis

    We've used vibration and temperature to diagnose the condition of rotating machines and identify the source of degradation and potential failure. The capability is relevant to machines across industrial sectors where in-field test and monitoring is crucial.

Partners

For short term commercial projects based around services or the procurement of custom instruments, our spin-out companies can assist.

  • enablingMNT UK Ltd

    enablingMNT UK Ltd is a commercial spin-out specialising in Micro & Nano Systems enablingMNT offers commercialisation studies associated with sensors and sensor systems.

  • Lancaster Product Development Unit (LPDU)

    Lancaster Product Development Unit (LPDU) has access to a range of commercial testing services associated with Mechanical Structures and Manufacturing processes

Recent Projects

  • Embedded Test for Edge based Sensing

    Our recent work has targeted the possibility of using low power embedded test hardware within smart sensors to deliver condition data able to drive prognostic algorithms. To test the concept an array of corrosion sensors has been prototyped by ULTRA Electronics. Our objective is to build an embedded test architecture that can be used in both production and in-field monitoring. This capability to be deployed within a wide range of commercial projects where production test and in-field monitoring could deliver commercial advantage.

  • Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

    To ensure the safety of components within the bicycle industry, the failure analysis of a bicycle crank has identified key design faults that have caused significant injury and resulted in both a successful compensation claim and re-design of products. The capability at Lancaster is invaluable and includes modelling, inspection equipment and analytical capability. It is deployable across numerous sectors including energy, environment and aerospace.

Related ERDF programmes

We can also provide access to funded support through our European Regional Development Fund projects and a range of other funding sources to support collaboration. Contact our Partnerships and Business Engagement Manager Mike Entwistle find out more.

Further engagement we can offer

  • Consultancy

    We have standard NDA and Consultancy agreements. Our daily rate is variable depending on your IP requirements. We can deliver all rights to you under full overhead rates but also offer reduced rates based on co-ownership of IP under certain conditions.

  • Student Engagement & Secondments

    We can work collaboratively through hosting your engineering and technical staff within our laboratories in addition to short term secondments of our staff and students at your facilities. You can also access over 4,200 science and technology students through internships, careers fairs, collaborative research projects, year in industry programmes, volunteering programmes and recruitment services.

  • Sponsorship

    For longer-term projects we operate industrial sponsorship schemes for PhD and Master's students. Costs typically involve fees, maintenance grants and consumables in the region of £75-£100K per annum although public grants can be applied for to reduce costs to the industrial sponsor.

  • Innovation Projects

    We have extensive experience in preparing bids for collaborative innovation projects through funding bodies including Innovate UK and Horizon Europe. Costs are in the main limited to 50% of your own costs only with grants covering the University costs.

  • Services

    We can carry out studies, experiments and analysis work on a consultancy basis. Costs depend on the staff and facilities required.

  • Co-location

    Businesses can join and network with our established local, regional, national, and international business communities and tap into a broad range of expertise, support, training and resources onsite. We provide lab space, office space and co-working space for up to 82 businesses via three dedicated co-location buildings on the campus.

  • Lab Access

    We have cutting-edge facilities to develop and test new products and processes for the global marketplace, our business partnerships and engagement team can help you access a wide range of facilities.

  • Professional Training

    Improve the competitiveness of your organisation and the productivity of your staff through professional training. We have flexible, part-time programmes designed for busy professionals or we can work with you to develop a bespoke programme for your organisation