Local students find a way to save water at Coca-cola plant

Engineering students Jonathan Owens and Jonathan Hamill worked on the project as part of their Extended Diploma course, supported by a SERC Industrial Development Engineer.

Coca-Cola presented a challenge to the students and following a number of meetings, together they developed a suitable solution.

Martin McNeill, Electronics Project Manager at Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland explained, “Our manufacturing facility at Knockmore Hill in Lisburn operates 24/7, running a total of nine lines.

“One of these lines is used exclusively for canning and as part of the canning process water runs through the line

to clean each can prior to filling.

“To help improve the efficiency of our water usage in this process, the students from SERC used their engineering knowledge and skills to design a viable solution to help us control the flow of water.”

Working in partnership with the Engineering team at Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland, the two students created a system which switches off the water flow when no cans have been detected in the line for more than 10 seconds, switching it back on when cans are detected.

An intelligent timer was incorporated into the programme, measuring the duration of each time the water was switched off, demonstrating the savings in water usage that could be generated by this solution.

Martin commended the students for coming up with this innovative solution, “We are very impressed by the quality of the students work and their ability to apply their knowledge to a ‘real life’ work place scenario”.

“It is important that young people understand that it is not just their knowledge but also their skills, creativity and attitude which matter in the work place.”

Speaking of his experience, student Jonathan Hamill said, “It’s great to get hands on experience and I’ve been able to put the theory I learnt in my first year into practice.

“Both Jonathan and I have also had the chance to develop our project management skills. I’m moving onto the Higher National Diploma in Engineering at SERC next year and hope to work on more industry projects.”