Beyond the VSD: Making motors run efficiently 18th January 2021

Engineers are moving towards increasingly sustainable solutions. Government statistics show the contribution of waste by the construction, demolition, and excavation (CD&E) sector, accounts for 62% of the UK’s total waste. Therefore, the need to implement site waste management strategies has never been more important. There are many examples of sustainable engineering being utilised in the past. But recent innovations have highlighted the need to create sustainable spaces.

Subsea engineering is one of the UK’s main global strengths. According to research by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the nation generates a staggering £8.9bn of the £20bn global subsea engineering spend. There is no doubt then that the UK’s subsea engineers are some of the best and most in-demand workers in the world. They are also becoming some of the rarest.

Acoustic specialist, Mason UK, has secured approval from the Royal Institute of British Architects for its educational seminars. Recognition from RIBA helps further cement the company’s reputation as a provider of quality educational content for architects, acousticians and mechanical engineers.

According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), dairy processors waste over 13,000 tonnes of milk every year. Here, Lee Sullivan, Divisional Director of Sales at Au2mate, explains how process automation can be used to reduce these inefficiencies, while boosting profits.

Over 100,000 of the UK’s students and recent graduates are set to receive critical digital skills training in the next five years as part of Bright Network’s new Technology Academy, recently launched - with the aim of creating the largest free digital skills training programme for undergraduates and graduates in the UK.

Most bridges are constructed using steel rebar reinforced concrete, many of these structures use Cathodic Protection (CP) systems to keep the vital steel reinforcement from corroding. Here, Gary Bradshaw, Director of Omniflex, discusses the problems inherent to CP system monitoring, and describes the modern approaches that make it feasible.

Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention. In 2020, manufacturing had to cope with the consequences of a global pandemic, unpredictable markets, and political instability, all while dealing with pressing issues that were already troubling the sector before, such as the need to form sustainable production practices. Here Neil Ballinger, Head of EMEA at EU Automation, offers an overview of three sectors where the difficulties of 2020 have originated new opportunities for 2021.

Electrocomponents is helping to revolutionise the way periodic inspections of petrochemical storage tanks are carried out in order to reduce the hazards, environmental impact, and costs.