As one of the leading UK University groups focusing on the advancement of Engineering Quality Improvement (EQI) practice to enhance the effectiveness of product and process creation, we are enhancing the capability of engineers in using engineering quality and reliability tools in the continuous improvement of products, processes, and systems in design and manufacture.

Established in 1994 as a Masters partnership between the University and Ford Motor Company we have since developed a strong track record of success in working with industry, providing innovative solutions for postgraduate professional development, consultancy and applied research focused and tailored to the needs of our partners. 

Our bespoke consultancy service assists companies with product and process design, quality improvement, and failure avoidance strategies in the following areas:

• Facilitation and documentation of Failure Mode Effects Analysis.
• Design Verification Planning including bespoke analysis and test development.
• Reliability Analyses including Fault Tree Analysis and Product Lifetime Modelling.

• Robust Design Analyses including Parameter Diagrams and Noise Factor Management.
• Analyses of Product function including Functional Tree Analyses and Interface Analysis.
• Practical Problem Solving applied to product and processes.
• The team have applied these and other methods within the automotive sector and are expanding the application of many techniques to provide services for aerospace and domestic appliance organisations.

BEQIC is supported by academics with track records in the application of engineering quality improvement tools, product development, and manufacturing.  With the strength of industry experts, who contribute the wealth of their knowledge, we use innovative and pragmatic problem-solving approaches to develop tools and methods to solve automotive engineering challenges.

The Director of BEQIC, Dr. Felician Campean, is a leading authority in "Failure Mode Avoidance", a methodology which is applied to design and manufacturing processes in the Automotive Industry to ensure highest consistency and customer focused quality in the product.

We have a dedicated suite of seminar, breakout, and study rooms within the School of Engineering which offers a suitable environment for company off-site training and development. If you prefer your training on-site, we can also deliver bespoke and/or 'off-the-shelf' short courses in the workplace.

Find out more about our professional development courses >>

The interdisciplinary research team in Advanced Engineering Systems Optimisation (AESOp) addresses the development of design optimisation frameworks, tools, and evaluative applications studies to meet the challenges of maximising the potential of complex engineering systems.

Typical systems comprise multiple interacting disciplines and objectives, highly non-linear constraint envelopes, and high-cost discipline analyses (e.g. automotive vehicle design).

The primary focus of AESOp is the development of tools to aid the reduction of the design-to-production time in complex design, development, and manufacturing processes. Despite major advances in engineering analysis, the complexity of integrating multiple sub-systems towards optimised product development remains a bottleneck, and thereby has a significant economic impact upon development and production processes (e.g. automotive, manufacturing, environment, resource management).

Through its membership, AESOp is able to investigate issues with a skill set that brings together mathematical and numerical understanding with engineering and industry requirements knowledge.

The Research Team integrates mathematicians with both academic and industrially-based engineers, reinforcing the interdisciplinary research ethos promoted in the School of Engineering.

The Research Team collaborates with Ford, Jaguar-LandRover, and Switchgear & Instrumentation, and maintains links with the Multi-disciplinary Optimisation Group at the University of Leeds (MOGUL).