February 2020

News 0 8 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk February 2020 At the end of last year, during the annual British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) gathering, BCAS President Jason Morgan and Primary Engineer UK Director Chris Rochester announced the recipient of the BCAS Primary Engineer Rogers Knight Award for 2019 at The Savoy in London. The Award is presented each year to an engineering professional in recognition of the impact they have had, working with pupils and teachers as part of the Primary Engineer programmes. Open to all teachers across the UK, to nominate their partner engineer, the Rogers Knight Award receives hundreds of entries from which the BCAS Board select UK manufacturers must tip the balance in favour of automation in 2020 to avoid falling behind international competition, according to FANUC UK’s managing director Tom Bouchier. The UK is the only G7 country with a robot density below the world’s average, with just 74 units per 10,000 workers. This positions the UK behind 14 other European countries, and 2020 must be year of automation for UK manufacturing to reclaim lost ground highlights the challenge that British manufacturing faces to compete with foreign productivity. A recent report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) highlighted the extent of the challenge, arguing that if the UK does not make a concerted effort to transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it will miss a pivotal opportunity for growth. Tom Bouchier commented: “One of the arguments against automation is that it is too expensive, a belief especially pervasive amongst those that need it most – SMEs. But when you consider that we are around 30% less productive per hour than a German manufacturer, then the financial impact of not automating is clearly far greater. “This misconception is underpinned by a lack of awareness surrounding automation. Features such as the ‘I am not a robot’ button on websites are indicative of the general mistrust of automation, and UK manufacturers need to work to overcome this mindset in order to boost productivity.” One of the major arguments in favour of automation is the opportunity it represents to upskill and train employees, essentially future- proofing careers and creating more fulfilling jobs. Organisations such as WorldSkills seek to inspire young people looking to enter the industry, by engaging with the workers of tomorrow and providing clear pathways to enter the industry. Tom concludes: “Automation brings a wealth of exciting opportunities for everyone in manufacturing. By being open about the value that it provides, British manufacturing can secure its own future, and help British businesses to compete on a world stage. “Automation should not be viewed with suspicion because it drives productivity, and is therefore not a risk to jobs. Failure to automate is a failure to increase productivity, which ultimately poses a much more real threat to UK businesses.” ARC wins 2019 Rogers Knight Award one winner. This year, the standard of entries was exceptional and after a tough deliberation, the Award was presented to Allan Crawford from ARC Ltd nominated by Colette Kilpatrick from St. Nicholas Roman Catholic School in East Lothian - both attended the BCAS Lunch at The Savoy to receive their awards. Allan Crawford commented: “I was initially surprised as I didn’t know the school had nominated me, but I am very honoured to have won the Award…For me, it was a way to pass on my enthusiasm for engineering to a new generation. Not everyone will want to be an engineer, but I think it is important that anyone, who might consider it, can hear first-hand from someone who understands and enjoys the work.” Kilpatrick added: “I have to say, my school is delighted that ‘our’ engineer has been chosen to receive the Rogers Knight award. Allan, for many years, has selflessly taken a couple of days out of his busy schedule to visit our school and talk to the children, from P1 right up to P7, about engineering and future careers within engineering for the ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ competition.” She added: “Engineering and STEM are a major part of our curriculum, but sometimes it can be difficult to show the science and link it to real engineering career opportunities. Allan’s visits help us to achieve this.”

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