SCEBE Awards Winners

SCEBE prize winner Ruaridh McNair

Ruaridh McNair

4th year BEng Mechanical Systems Engineering

IMechE Project Award

Machine-learning maintenance lands graduate IMechE prize 

Recent Glasgow Caledonian University graduate Ruaridh McNair has won an IMechE Project Award.

Thanks to the generous support of the professional body and the recommendation of a head of department, the prize is given to a final-year undergraduate student who completes an outstanding research, development, or design project in mechanical engineering.

Ruaridh won the award for his project which looks at new approaches within the field of prescriptive maintenance. Prescriptive maintenance is an evolution of existing maintenance methods and uses machine-learning algorithms to recommend settings on how to run a machine to minimise maintenance.

I learned a great deal while writing my thesis. The current explosion of machine-learning technology is transforming every field in STEM, maintenance being no exception. The knowledge I gained about this field has already helped me accelerate my career as a technical engineer within industry, allowing me to interact with experts in the field.