Program Overview

Metrology for Industry Foundation Degree

Course Overview

Getting it wrong can prove costly, as bad data can be disruptive to decision making and improvement planning. However, getting it right helps to manage risk and support quality management, continuous improvement and waste reduction activities that enhance productivity.

Why You Should Study This Course

Metrology is the science of measurement. Industrial metrology is the application of metrology within manufacturing and its supporting services. It is a keystone of manufacturing trade and productivity. No trade can take place without some form of measurement validation to say that the component part or batch of parts conform to design intent and specification.

Sustainable trade comes from supplying quality parts on time and for a competitive cost, therefore effective measurement is a key function in gaining confidence in data and driving productivity.

This course aims to help you:

• work towards becoming an industrial metrologist that offers a lead to organisations in relation to measurement issues and metrology planning
• gain a deep understanding of industrial metrology planning and evaluation tools
• understand the importance of metrology in driving productivity

What You'll Study

Year One

• Study Skills - 20 credits
  • This module will introduce you to the university, the course, and the tools we provide to help you complete your studies. We will look at academic study and how you can link this to your place of work so that you can input into your organisation whilst you learn.
• Introduction to Metrology - 20 credits
  • We will show how metrology fits and can help productivity within industrial metrology, the organisations that support and underpin its processes and procedures and how metrology can effectively control measurement confidence within your manufacturing context.
• Mathematics for Metrology - 20 credits
  • From first principles of measurement to the latest measurement technology, mathematics plays a large role in the measurement numbers we see. Trigonometry, geometry and statistics all regularly play a role in measurement. We will build up your applied maths to support understanding of metrology and measurement procedures and equipment.
• Engineering Science for Metrology - 20 credits
  • We will show you how measurement results are affected by physics, and how by understanding the basic principles of engineering science, you can mitigate and understand uncertainties within a measurement process.
• Standards and Traceability - 20 credits
  • Core metrology up to the point of measurement is underpinned by a broad spectrum of standardised practices. Some of which are underpinned by legislation, government and international policy and requires managing and traceability of outcome, so that it can be audited and confirmed. The impact of this reaches into almost all companies who wish to trade and comply to supplier requirements. We will look at company quality management systems such as ISO9001 and the wider impact of standards, calibration and traceability.
• Coordinate Metrology Practices - 20 credits
  • By far, the most common form of measurement undertaken each day in engineering is coordinate metrology. We use coordinate metrology to show you how to dissect any piece of measuring equipment no matter what its output. We show how to break it down into constituent parts and look for individual strengths and weaknesses as well as overall system idiosyncrasies. Whether buying new equipment or evaluating existing equipment, determining system capabilities is a valuable skill for a metrologist.

Year Two

• Business Management Awareness - 20 Credits
  • As a Metrologist, you will find yourself making decisions that can severely impact both positively or negatively the company you work for. In this module we will give an insight into key management tools that will support your work, such as project management and lean and agile principles. But also the wider business implications, looking at return on investment and cost/benefit analysis as well as other financial tools that may help any decision making.
• Measurement Systems Analysis - 20 credits
  • How do we know if a measurement systems and process is capable? If performed incorrectly or with bias, it gives us bad information that can undermine productivity and quality. MSA is a way of determining the capability of a measurement process, more than just a GR&R it is a tool box of tests, analysis and reports.
• Smart Manufacturing Metrology - 20 Credits
  • Measurement technologies and the move towards automation and smart manufacturing is an area of metrology that companies need to be aware of and be prepared for, including an awareness of Industry 4.0. This module is a look at in process measurement and an introduction to Industry 4.0. The module is either delivered on campus or at an industry exemplar site (subject to availability).
• Measurement Uncertainty - 20 Credits
  • All measurement is subject to variation. The evaluation of uncertainty is a key tool in calibration but also plays a current and expanding future role in manufacturing measurement. You will learn how to create an uncertainty budget based on accepted international principles. A way of estimating the potential variation without interfering with a running process or when planning a new process.
• Work-based Project - 40 Credits
  • As a final project to finish the degree, you should select a work-based issue or process. Utilising the metrology tools and skills you have gathered over the previous two years, you will provide analysis as to the capability and function of that process, providing conclusions and recommendations for improvement. This project can be a major metrology-related project that supports your organisations ambitions for improvement or, if a suitable work-based project is not viable, a desktop study of an area of metrology or measurement technology can be undertaken.

How You'll Learn

Developed in consultation with industry and stakeholders, this part-time vocational entry course is a focused industrial metrology course. The teaching aim is to develop and expand the knowledge of industrial engineers and measurement specialists to optimise metrology within their company.

Lectures are 14 hours per 20 credit module, taught in two-day blocks for the six modules per year, for two years. A lecture launches each module, followed by a period of work-based application back in your company. At the end of that module learning period, you are assessed. The employer-driven intent of this course is to improve and deepen knowledge, develop work-based application skills and provide benefit to your company as you learn.

The typical lecture is designed for campus attendance with online tools utilised for remote support. The total contact hours are however a combination of face-to-face teaching and online classes/sessions.

Assessment

Each 20 credit module may be assessed by phase test and coursework against the modules learning outcomes. Assessment will utilise a variety of methods, including written reports, case studies, tests and individual and group presentations. The final module is a work-based project where you, where applicable, can resolve a work-based measurement issue.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Entry Requirements

Typical entry requirements:

• UK: At least 40 points on the national tariff in one subject at GCE or VCE A-level (or a VCE double award) or equivalent;
• International: At least 60 points on the national tariff in at least one subject at GCE or VCE Advanced Supplementary (‘AS’) level where the student has attempted and has been fully assessed in, but failed to achieve, an A-level; or
• Those without formal qualifications, but with significant relevant work experience and in appropriate employment.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

Fees and Funding

• UK: £7,085 per year
• International: £10,600 per year

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

Careers and Opportunities

In today’s fast-moving and competitive world of business, we believe that developing good metrology practice has never been more important for securing better data, decision making and managing risk.

We believe that metrology plays a vital role in modern life with specialist skills increasingly relied upon in energy, environment, life sciences, automotive, aerospace, defence, government, manufacturing and commerce. Employees working in measurement and calibration across the UK undertake tasks, including monitoring pollutants in the air, calibrating radiotherapy equipment or ensuring vehicle safety.

We have tried to shape this course in line with the manufacturing engineering industry with the aim of providing students with the skills and expertise needed in this field, and to help attempt to add substantial value to any current or future employer.

Upon successful completion, you will have knowledge of:

• the foundations of metrology (maths, science and standards)
• the well-established principles in metrology and the way in which these principles have developed
• the main methods of enquiry in metrology and the ability to evaluate the appropriateness of different equipment and approaches to solving problems
• the limits of your knowledge and the resources available to enable further personal development
• Industry 4.0 and its potential impact on metrology
• business tools in relation to benefit vs cost and broader tools that integrate to metrology.

You will be able to:

• understand the importance of measurement within manufacturing
• access, analyse and use information from a variety of sources to solve measurement problems
• evaluate different approaches to the solution of measurement problems within their organisation
• analyse measurement capability within their organisation and make recommendations for improvement
• locate relevant information (standards, processes and procedures) to enable informed decision making
• use scientific methodologies within your field
• act independently to analyse, plan and implement changes based on verifiable evidence
• develop the vocational skills valued by their employers.

Where Our Graduates Work

Previous graduates of the course have included inspectors, quality engineers, quality managers, manufacturing or production engineers, laboratory and measurement technicians and metrologists.