With Automate UK as a partner, an app for engineers is creating new sourcing models

The co-founders of Engineers Insight claim that traditional routines for researching and sourcing machine parts and the latest product launches are outdated and inefficient.

The mobile app, which will soon also function as a website, was only beta-tested in May 2023. But it already has 2,000 engineers signed up for its free services and currently carries information from around 50 suppliers. 

Up to now, says co-founder Tom Flude, equipment builders might need to contact multiple component manufacturers individually in order to access data and documentation before even deciding which partners to work with. “Now, an engineer can scroll through our app, can bookmark different products and send an enquiry direct to a supplier from our platform,” he says. 

Alongside push notifications of product launches, features, images and videos, users of the app can directly access key documentation such as manuals and CAD files.

The top three job titles among its subscribers are controls engineer, maintenance engineer and robotics engineer. But Flude points out that the resource is relevant to a wide range of roles, and remains relevant even when engineers move from one position to another along their chosen career path. 

Like Automate BEST, Engineers Insight understands the importance of supporting the profession at the very start of that career path, and has been working closely with college and university engineering departments around the UK. Flude is also an enthusiastic advocate for Automate BEST and Automate UK more broadly. 

Of course, career progression can also take engineers to roles among end user companies. Here, too, the app can retain its status as a primary source of knowledge about core technologies, says Flude, for teams involved in everything from specification to maintenance of essential equipment. 

Automate UK’s partnership with – and endorsement of – the app has also seen Flude become the new host of the UK Automation Forum’s roundtable events. He brings with him not only 12 years’ experience in the manufacturing sector, working for the likes of Yaskawa and Schneider Electric, but also a sizeable following thanks to his high-profile social-media presence and his engaging podcasts, averaging around 20,000 views per episode. 

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