Mr Kevin Smith MSc CMgr FCMI FRSA MIET MIED
Production Facilities Manager
Kevin Smith is the Production Facilities Manager for the School of Engineering here at the University of Southampton.
Responsible for the teaching and research interface with all production facilities in the School for undergraduate, post graduate and for research and enterprise activities.
He is a time served, apprentice trained engineer who has also completed an MSc in Rapid Product Development from Bournemouth University and is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI).
Kevin has considerable experience of working within the aerospace manufacturing industry and has held a variety of industrial roles from the shop-floor through Supervision and into Senior Management.
He has vast experience in both Production Manager and Works Manager roles and has managed several sub-contract manufacturing companies. The majority of his work experience is connected with producing high quality machined components for a large number of the aircraft and aerospace companies across the world including Agusta-Westland, Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell-Douglas, Rolls Royce, Safran and NASA.
During this period he has also accumulated substantial knowledge and experience in Design.
His current interests are in Design Methods, Material selection, Manufacturing and Applied Technology.
He is particularly interested in how new and emerging technologies can be incorporated into the Design and Manufacturing process.
He has used his expertise in Rapid Product Development and in particular his knowledge of 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, to produce numerous novel and bespoke components for many research and undergraduate projects both here and at Bournemouth University.
Kevin is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institution, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and currently working towards attaining Chartered Engineer status and is a Member of the Institute of Engineering Designers.
Since joining the University of Southampton, Kevin has overseen the restructuring of the Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Centre (EDMC) and its associated facilities, including the provision of three new Design studios and increased access to workshops.
He has been responsible for encouraging considerable new investment in modern manufacturing processes and has been integral to the process of ensuring that students have greater access to the practical aspects of engineering.
He is particularly keen that as many students as possible, experience both the Design and the ‘making’ process and encourages practical involvement at every level…
“Engineers both design and manufacture and as such our students should have some practical skills to enhance their academic knowledge”.