PICTURE : TOM BANKS
ITS says great technology and people equals quality delivery
PEOPLE
POWER
For many years , the North-East has been a leader of innovation – including the adaptation and development of technology and engineering to solve problems and improve people ’ s lives .
And for 30 years , Middlesbrough-based Industrial Technology Systems ( ITS ) Ltd has been providing “ engineering excellence ” in many shapes and forms , with its high rate of customer and employee retention proof it knows what it ’ s doing .
Now , with a revitalised leadership team , it is aiming to expand on what ’ s been achieved so far to take ITS to bigger and better places – and to provide its customer base and new customers with leading edge solutions for at least another 30 years .
“ It ’ s no surprise the Tees Valley is leading the way in so many areas , but perhaps the people of Teesside are talking about their successes more than they used to ,” says ITS MD Graham Ives . “ They ’ re very proud of the achievements of the region , and so they should be .
“ Teesside is full of talented people and organisations who want to make the world a better place by helping other businesses , and ITS is no different .”
Throughout its 30 years in business , ITS has delivered solutions to manufacturing problems that help save lives and improve
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Innovators – ITS MD Graham Ives , left , and CEO Malcolm Knott .
the quality of life , for people all over the globe .
As one of the largest privately-owned systems integrators in the UK , ITS solves customers ’ problems by designing automation solutions to deliver high-quality , user-focused systems aimed at keeping people safe and improving lives .
The systems ITS provides are built to a set of engineering standards known as GAMP ( Good Automated Manufacturing Practice ). These standards are used to ensure that systems are designed and built to best engineering practice to do what is needed for years to come .
It ’ s hugely important when the system is , for example , controlling the mixing and formulation of cancer drugs that the millions of people across the globe who rely on those drugs to improve their lives and hopefully cure them get exactly what they are expecting .
ITS ’ machine vision systems are used to inspect the quality of drugs , ensuring they are correctly produced , sealed and labelled . That way , the patient gets what the doctor prescribed them , and they can trust what the packaging says about the dosage and the expiry date . Put simply , they can trust that it ’ s safe to put into their bodies .
The use of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning is enabling ITS to carry out inspections and quality checks previously only possible by using human inspection .
The firm ’ s cobot and robot systems are not only used in manufacture , packaging and laboratories to deliver safe products to patients , but also to help workers by using these systems to carry out awkward , heavy or mundane tasks , thereby reducing repetitive strain injuries and freeing workers up to carry out more stimulating work .
CEO Malcolm Knott said : “ Robotic systems , Artificial Intelligence and digitalisation offer a great opportunity to take on some of the mundane work