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Following the autumn budget today (27 October), Alastair Wilson, Tax Partner at MHA, believes the Chancellor missed a trick by failing to address long standing issues blighting the manufacturing sector including supply chain issues and freight costs:

“The Chancellor’s budget did little to address ongoing pressures being felt across the UK manufacturing sector including supply chain issues and rising shipping and fuel costs.

“The highlight for manufacturers will be the positive expected tax relief from the increased scope of qualifying costs within the R&D Tax Reliefs regime to include certain data and ‘cloud’ costs which up to now were the burden of businesses. However, the Chancellor should have gone further by making Robotic Process Automation software costs a specific inclusion as a qualifying cost, which would help the government accelerate its aim of ‘high productivity, high wages’ across the economy.

“The extension of the £1m Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) until the end of March 2023 is welcome but is unlikely to change many businesses’ investment plans and certainly will not offset the negative financial impact to come from the rise in Corporation Tax announced in the March 2021 budget, or the increased level of National Insurance for employers (which will become the Health and Social Care Levy) announced in September. 

“The increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage which will come into effect from April 2022 are clearly beneficial for employees but will add to the wage inflation being experienced by employers. The combined impact of the NIC increases and the Minimum/Living Wage levels will automatically cause wage inflation of more than 5% for many employers from April 2022. Ultimately these will likely end up being passed on to end consumers.

“In short, it was a very quiet budget for the manufacturing sector that did little to solve the ongoing issues being experienced across the sector. As some in the industry have said, it may not be a ‘high productivity, high pay’ economy but more a ‘high cost’ economy.” 

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The engineering skills shortage has over time become more acute. Finding the right personnel who are capable of carrying out complex maintenance tasks quickly and efficiently to keep plants up and running is an increasing challenge. The ever-growing application of renewable energy resources also adds to this challenge, particularly when it comes to measuring power quality. Mark Bakker of Fluke looks at how advancements in power quality test instrumentation are helping to alleviate some of these pressures.

With cost pressures rising and a shortage of sufficient skilled staff to carry out regular maintenance and inspection, it can be difficult to give all installed equipment the attention it needs. Constraints on costs, limited in-house technical resources and a lack of adequate training are just some of the common factors that can lead to maintenance best practices not being followed. Particularly challenging applications, such as those in hard-to-reach areas, can also contribute. The lack of technical expertise has in recent times become even more pressing, with the IET reporting that to meet demand for skilled labour, the UK requires 186,000 engineers to be trained immediately, while Germany reports a shortage of 340,000. Similar shortages are reported in France.

Plugging such vast skills gaps will not happen overnight, and so new technological solutions are required that allow personnel to carry out effective maintenance in less time and using less resources, while also ensuring maximum safety. In response, new advances in test and measurement devices which offer truly plug-and-play functionality are helping to deliver more effective and timely maintenance routines, helping to avoid the risk of downtime, reduced capacity or expensive equipment failure.

AIRMATICS^TM, the IoT compressed air monitoring solution from CMC, the global compressed air controls, performance and monitoring specialists, is offering would-be gamers the chance to win $100 in Amazon vouchers every month by playing TAG dash, an online computer game launched by the Belgian-based firm.

 In a bid to inject a bit of fun into the world of air compressors, players get to jump into the shoes of Maintenance Mike, a bottling plant specialist, who must install an AIRMATICS^TM SMART TAG on four compressors located on a factory floor as quickly as possible before returning to the AIRMATICS^TM AERO control panel to commission the installation.

Time penalties are incurred for coming into contact with a number of obstacles that include forklift trucks, boxes and steam. Everyone gets a place on the TAG dash leader board and each participant is automatically entered into a monthly prize draw for the chance to win the vouchers.

Players can access the game by visiting https://airmatics.eu/tag-dash-game. One winner will be notified at the end of each month.

Graham Coats, Sales Director at CMC, comments: “Air compressors are a critical component for any manufacturer, yet they can be highly technical and are often overlooked. With TAG dash, we hope to bring a bit of excitement to an otherwise unexciting area, shine a light on the humble air compressor and create a bit of healthy rivalry amongst those who work in the manufacturing sector.”

Nicolas De Deken, President at ENERGAIR, the US division of CMC, adds: “If ever there was a refreshing approach to raising awareness around sustainable air compressor management, then this is it. With Tag dash, CMC has taken a specialist area and, using a touch of creativity, given the world of air compressors a universal appeal. I’ve no doubt that engineers and plant managers across the world will welcome Maintenance Mike and the chance to win each month.”

AIRMATICS^TM is a cloud-based solution that provides data, analytics and insights for individual compressors through to entire compressed air systems, in real time, via an easy-to-use graphical interface. The technology can cut compressor-related energy bills by up to 30 per cent and has saved Britvic €173,796 each year since it was installed.

For more information on AIRMATICS^TM visit www.airmatics.eu. For more information on CMC visit www.cmcnv.com.

As we celebrate the first anniversary of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code, EngineeringUK has announced that over 160 organisations have now committed to working together to increase the number and diversity of young people entering engineering careers.

Launched in October 2020 The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code asks Signatories to sign up and commit to four pledges: inspiring connection, driving inclusion, showcasing engineering and improving impact.

Organisations range from large international engineering firms to SMEs, professional engineering institutions, and government departments including: the Department for Education, universities, including Anglo American, Airbus UK, Imperial College London, Make UK, Network Rail, Nissan, Shell and Siemens.

 Becca Thurston, Early Careers Manager at Wessex Water said:

“Joining The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code has helped add more structure and purpose to our careers engagement. We are going to start using the Impact Framework and the Measures Bank tool to help us to review the data we are collecting and the impact our activities and presence at events is having. Having access to the work of others is inspirational and reassuring.”

• Scope of work for UK’s largest manufacturer of electric and range-extended vehicle drive systems included Finite Element Analysis 
• And comes as London-headquartered Equitus repositions itself as a group of companies following period of growth

Equitus, a London headquartered company, has delivered a design validation of battery racks for Magtec. 

The scope of work for the UK’s largest manufacturer of electric and range-extended vehicle drive systems included Finite Element Analysis (FEA). 

Equitus is one of a small selection of companies with high level technical proficiency capabilities in FEA, a computerised method for predicting how a product reacts to real-world forces, vibration, heat, fluid flow and other physical effects.

The collaborative project has ensured that Magtec’s racks - which when loaded with batteries weighing a combined 1260 kgs subject them to forces six times that of earth’s gravity - are safe while also providing assurance to electric truck manufacturers.

Design validation included alignment with five United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

It comes as what was Equitus Engineering repositions its offer to become Equitus World; now the parent of Equitus Engineering, Equitus Design and Equitus Innovations. 

The transition to a new business model - with all four now having their own domains -  follows a period of growth for Equitus, which also has bases in Manchester, UK, and Bangalore, India, 

Equitus founder Raam Shankar said: “Working in such a progressive and collaborative way with Magtec has been a great pleasure. 

“Magtec approached Equitus to do some design validation of their battery racks, we assessed the design and offered Magtec recommendations that were accepted.

“The wide spectrum of our capabilities and experience in FEA means that we select the right analysis approach whether that is problem physics, application, idealisation (shells, beams, solids) contact setup and modelling, and a range of static and dynamic loading conditions.

“For Magtec, the weight being carried over the frames was two batteries of 230 kgs each and four batteries weighing 200 kgs. Our capabilities, coupled with Magtec’s commitment to safety, provided validation and assurance in design to electric truck manufacturers. In the year of COP 26 being held in Glasgow, we feel that UK companies collaborating on UN SDGs is a positive thing.”

Raam, TEDx Alumni, added that Equitus is now entering the most exciting phase in its six-year history. 

“We decided to reposition the business model from one to four separate yet integrated companies. This approach will enable Equitus to pursue our objectives with more clarity while providing clearer value and solutions driven work for our clients.”

Equitus has worked with clients including Babcock, European Space Agency, Pall Corporation, Sellafield, STFC, Centrax Gas Turbines, AMOT Corporation, and Kawasaki. 

Magtec was formed in 1992 and has been at the vanguard of the very latest clean technology; designing and manufacturing electric drivetrain solutions to power or repower commercial vehicles and trucks.

The company currently has hundreds of drive systems operating in trucks around the globe and is based in the heart of Sheffield’s manufacturing hub. 

EQUITUS ENGINEERING

Click here for more on Equitus Engineering

Across all sectors there are differing regulations and practices that organisations need to adhere to in order to operate their businesses safely, effectively and efficiently. From hygienic food storage, to the safety of materials handling equipment and monitoring when certain assets or equipment might fail, businesses need to record data and check its accuracy to prove their product or equipment is safe and that the organisation is adhering to consistent safety measures.

Yet in many cases, businesses continue to rely on manual, time consuming, paper-based monitoring processes which are not only inefficient, but also have a high likelihood of inaccuracy. With pressures increasing on businesses to improve productivity and streamline their operations, they need a means of performing these critical regulatory processes in a way that not only saves valuable time, but also provides peace of mind that these checks are timely and crucially – accurate. 

Chris Potts, Marketing Director, ANT Telecom explains how automated compliance monitoring through the use of IoT sensor technology can support businesses in achieving these goals, as well as providing further data-led insight to take proactive and preventative action where necessary. 

Casper, Phillips & Associates Inc. (CPA) has upgraded its proprietary crane analysis software, used for pre- and post-processing during finite element analysis of cranes.

The crane analysis software suite, which is a set of programs that perform both pre- and post-processing, was developed with container cranes in mind. The pre-processing module is used to develop criteria, geometry, and loads. Users note how quickly wind loads can be developed using different design codes and boundary layer wind tunnel tests.

Joblogic and Refcom have collaborated to launch a software module in the UK that ensures F-Gas compliance.  It also makes it simpler and faster for HVAC engineers to comply since they can now input the data directly into a compliant logbook via a mobile app.

Legislation demands that an engineer must track and record any movement of refrigerant gas in an official logbook.  There also needs to be a back-office system that shows all the work completed on equipment.

This newly extended award-winning range of HDC Chisels now has a superior ergonomic design and 11 different blade widths up to 40mm. 

HDC Chisels are designed for jobs on site that need strength and precision for accurate chiselling work. 

All the blades are forged using a unique steel formula into a one-piece I-beam construction for strength and rigidity with a robust profile for extreme breaking strength and a design that maximises power transmission downwards through the tool.

These forward-thinking brands are pioneering sustainable business practices in their industries. 

Did you know that bridging the ‘The Circularity Gap’ by embracing the circular economy could shrink global greenhouse gas emissions by 39%!* That’s why Emma Safety footwear has become a leader in sustainability having created the world’s very first ‘100% Circular’ safety footwear range, 

While Snickers Workwear is at the forefront of sustainability in the workwear industry by sourcing the highest quality, most hard-wearing products with as little environmental impact as possible. Ensuring garments are made from ‘preferred fibres’, enhances durability and comfort to create hard-wearing workwear with a long product lifetime which is key to reducing waste.