European Springs Web Team, Author at European Springs Ireland

The decline of our planet’s overall health and sustainability is a growing problem, and many businesses ask themselves whether they are doing enough for the environment. We think that there is always more that businesses could be doing to reduce their carbon footprint, so instead of trying to find a finish line where you stop thinking about eco-friendliness, we ask that businesses and corporations strive for constant improvement.

In this article, we are tackling the difficult question of how the manufacturing industry in 2019 has been reducing its carbon footprint to become more environmentally friendly. Perhaps you can apply some of these smart ideas to your business?

Improve Your Energy Efficiency

This is, of course, a key aim for any manufacturing business, as reducing energy costs by any means possible leads to a higher profit, but it isn’t always clear how to manage this. To begin with, you need to able to obtain a thorough understanding of your business’ current energy consumption and where that energy is source.

By carrying out an energy audit, you can identify the areas where your business could save money (and the planet’s resources). It may turn out that replacing your overhead lighting could make a bigger difference than you were originally expecting.

Flip the Green Switch

The majority of power plants worldwide still rely on fossil fuels, but where possible businesses should support clean fuels. Britain is working hard to produce more of its energy through solar, wind and geothermal, but we need businesses to support these goals if we’re going to make a difference.

Green energy is more than just sustainable; it’s sensible. Stay ahead of the competition by switching to the technology of the future now.

Careful Planning

With some careful management, businesses can make their time and resources far more efficient. This may involve upgrading your current management system to a program which embraces the internet of things style of approach, whereby huge swathes of your business are quickly monitored and analysed using improved data management technology.

If you start a long-term plan for your change to greener energy, you will be more likely to see staff acceptance of your changes, as well as efficient and worthwhile savings in your company.

Using Recycled Materials

Creating a bigger market for recycled materials will help the recycling industry to grow, so it is important to source and purchase recycled materials where possible. On a similar note, you should also aim to educate your employees on the importance of recycling by carrying out training and sticking to green policies. Ensure that as little of your waste goes to landfill as possible by sourcing companies or charities that will recycle your difficult materials when the government cannot. You may want to start your research by looking into Terracycle; a company which aspires to make the most of difficult plastics and very useful for any company which needs to dispose of a lot of plastic packaging.

Regular Maintenance

This should be standard practice anyway, but keeping your equipment well maintained can add a lot to your business. For example, if you take good care of your machinery, then you may be able to sell it on so it can be re-used once you are ready to upgrade. Good maintenance will also help to prevent the sudden breakdown of your equipment, which can slow progress and output as well as putting tension on the remaining working machinery.

Did you know that when air conditioning units get dusty, they soak up more power? You may have machinery or equipment that functions similarly, draining more power to try to overcome an obstacle and therefore becoming less efficient. This can be avoided or reduced by keeping your company clean to stay green.

Eco-friendly Building Designs

If you’re thinking of moving your business, you should think about moving to an eco-friendly location. Think of the energy costs you could cut back on by moving your staff to a workshop that receives a lot of natural light and uses a sophisticated and efficient heating system.

Education

One of the greatest steps towards an eco-friendly business is giving your staff and employees education in eco-friendliness. Once they know what to look out for and what needs to change, your staff may be able to suggest thoughtful, targeted improvements for your business. It could be little things like arranging a staff carpool or arranging for company recycling boxes, or it could be something bigger and better. Either way, getting your staff working towards a common goal will help with team bonding and could even boost morale.

You should be focusing your business towards a greener future today. We’ve covered some brief examples showcasing how you might improve your output by making it greener, with a lot of emphasis on careful planning and staff involvement across the board. As forward thinking spring manufacturers, we have had a lot of success implementing green initiatives at our premises across the UK, and we’ll be wishing you the best of luck in saving the world with us by going green.

In this article, we consider whether enough is being done to improve diversity in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. We will discuss where we stand in comparison to other countries and sectors, the benefits of improving, and strategies for individual businesses to improve their local working diversity.

What Does Diversity in Manufacturing Mean?

In the 21^st century, a diverse workforce means supporting male, female, trans and fluid genders of different ages and races. To achieve great diversity within your business, you need to start by first becoming aware and fully understanding how to best appeal to people of different gender, age and race. For example, this may involve ensuring that younger generations can attain the skills they will need to pursue careers that rely on good education in science, maths or English.

How Do I Attain Diversity in My Business?

Encouraging diversity in your business requires you to take a step back and consider your current setting; are you employing a near-equal number of men and women, would a member from the LGBTQ+ community feel comfortable working in your environment, have you advertised your business in such a way that encourages minorities to apply for positions with you?

Remember to think of how your business looks from the outside too; if you are finding yourself using the excuse that your company’s diversity is poor because you don’t receive many applications from minorities, then it may be that they don’t perceive your company as a place that would make them feel welcome.

If your company only employs men, then that is all that your potential applicants will see, so unless you find ways to tell them that they will be accepted, they may assume that your company is selectively hiring men.

You need to encourage women and minorities in your job adverts and marketing efforts if you want to make them feel welcome, especially if they are going to be the first minority in your business.

How Do I Retain Diversity Once I’ve Hired It?

Once you’ve solved your application problem – if you had one – your next step is ensuring that they stay with your business. This means committing to making them feel welcome for the long term. To accomplish this, they are going to need someone who will listen to their needs, but most importantly, someone who they feel comfortable talking to when something needs changing.

This may be something as small as offering a dairy-free alternative in the break room, or it could be a fundamental change to their working patterns. For example, some religious minorities may need to take specific holidays. It is important both the employee and employer, to maintain excellent communication to ensure that these obstacles are successfully navigated. On the side of a new minority employee, they should give you suitable notice of any important religious holidays or issues they might face in the future where possible.

As the employer, you should encourage them that they have someone they can take these concerns to – you or another high-ranking member of staff – before issues arise. If your employee has failed to communicate some difficulties to you, ask yourself why they have found it difficult. It could be that they aren’t comfortable or feel embarrassed about their difference.

You can solve this by changing their point of contact; if you have someone from a minority in a high ranking position then they can serve as a role model for new hires – this could improve their motivation and productivity too.

Making continuous small changes can also make a big difference. Take the initiative and install an accessible or gender-neutral toilet. Offer vegetarian and vegan snacks, or engage the business in celebrations like Pride month.

What are the Benefits of Improving My Company’s Diversity?

In an article published by The Manufacturer in 2018, it was speculated that the UK has an annual shortfall of at least 20,000 engineers. Regarding solving this nationwide crisis, it is vital that we encourage a range of individuals to take up engineering, and one of the methods we should be taking to accomplish this is to improve our diversity. It’s thought that more than £11bn a year is lost in Engineering due to LGBTQ+ individuals feeling unable to be themselves at work, leading to a 30% reduction in productivity (InterEngineering 2016).

Aside from just minorities, manufacturing and engineering are still facing huge issues; simply encouraging more women to enrol in the sector would be a huge step forward. Of all engineering professionals in 2018, only 12% were women. To solve this issue, companies need to educate younger generations that they will be accepted in STEM subjects, degrees and careers. This may mean taking special care to encourage diversity in any apprenticeships or work experience that you are running.

It has been noted that businesses who gain traction in one area of diversity have an easier time improving other types of diversity too. This means that taking a step-by-step approach can be very effective and can also help with implementing attainable goals.

In an article from The Telegraph titled, ‘The Business Benefits of Promoting Diversity and Inclusion’, it was found that businesses with a healthy gender balance are more likely to outperform their competitors, so consider the fact that perhaps you can’t afford to not be a diverse business in today’s market.

We are dedicated to providing coverage on the skills gap in manufacturing and engineering, and this includes raising awareness about how diversity can positively impact your business. If you need high-quality spring manufacturers, speak to us for more information about our products and practices.

News travels fast, and with the speedy advancement of technology, there is always a lot to talk about in the manufacturing sector. In this article, we summarise some of the biggest news to come out of our industry for the first half of 2019.

MANUFACTURING HISTORY AND BIG BEN – FEBRUARY

With the UK manufacturing industry changing on a daily basis as Britain is stuck in Brexit limbo, some of history’s most positive success stories can provide those who work in the sector with much-needed hope. In the manufacturing industry, national success stories such as the history of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry are important, but in the first quarter of 2019, we were presented with the loss of this great foundry.

The national treasure that is Big Ben was crafted in a historic foundry called the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 1570. The foundry has cast and forged several legendary products, but while those products remain in use, the building that shaped them is soon to be lost.

Purchased by an American developer, the original site of Big Ben’s manufacturing is to be transformed into a boutique hotel. The United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust hit back with an offer to attempt to re-instate the foundry as a working site, claiming that the foundry was of national interest and enriched the cultural presence of Whitechapel.

Should the American developers win the site, 90% of the original bell business will be lost.

FORD CLOSING IN BRIDGEND – JUNE

The story surrounding Whitechapel Foundry is far from being new or isolated, unfortunately, as Bridgend in Wales looks to see the loss of 1,700 jobs in 2020. Car manufacturer, Ford, is closing down its engine plant there which will see considerable changes in the town’s production. Ford claims to be offering employees redeployment, but this will require staff to relocate.

BREXIT CONTRACTIONS – MAY

Brexit has haunted both quarters of 2019 so far as further postponement has seen manufacturing figures jump up for the short-term as a result of stockpiling, followed by deep falls as manufacturers run on their stockpiled goods. Of serious note, is that the UK industry has suffered from a contraction in May for the first time since July 2016, which was thought to have been spurred by the EU referendum.

The stockpiling means that manufacturers are finding it difficult to win new sales in recent months, and some believe that this could continue to worsen in the upcoming months. Duncan Brock, director at Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, stated that:

“A slowdown in the global economy, and trade wars hotting up could tip the scales even further next month and increase the likelihood that the UK manufacturing sector will remain in contraction territory”.

This could mean that manufacturing sectors will need to brace themselves as best they can for the months ahead, as we continue to discover the latest Brexit ramifications.

3D PRINTING – ONGOING

Innovation and improvements to the technology and automation used in manufacturing are not all bad and is, in fact, freeing up more jobs in skilled and highly paid areas like maintenance, programming and robot creation. 3D printing is one such improvement in our sector that is changing the way many company’s produce parts.

In low volume manufacturing, it is thought the 3D printing revolution will impact companies by improving their ability to produce short-run parts productions. This means that developers will be able to create, trial and launch new products with greater speed and efficiency.

This ability to test parts on an economic scale also means that we should see improvements to the quality of finished products in the long run too, which can be extremely beneficial for high volume manufacturers.

GROWTH IN UK AND NORTHERN IRELAND – JUNE

Although our nation is currently suffering from short-term contractions, Northern Ireland is seeing a positive year-on-year increase of 2.7%. It is thought that this number is at least partially affected by Brexit, with many companies pushing for maximising output pre-Brexit. For example, the pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector spiked 11% in comparison to the same month in 2018, leading experts to believe that these spikes are only temporary and Brexit-based.

Overall, the start to the year has mostly been fuelled by Brexit, which will undoubtedly continue to affect manufacturing until a conclusion is reached, and even then, we could see some fluctuations for a while following. For more information on Brexit, and how manufacturing fared in 2018, we recommend visiting our article, European Springs’ Take on the Annual Manufacturing Report 2019. In the meantime, we are a spring manufacturers business in the UK that is dedicated to trying to provide stability and communication in turbulent times, so get in touch for more information regarding our products.

The World Economic Forum shows that women account for 20% of engineering graduates but only 11% of the engineering workforce. The Office for National Statistics found that, in April-June 2017, only 48,000 women worked in engineering professions in the country, while there were more than 400,000 male engineers.

As spring manufacturers, we believe that addressing this still significant gender gap in engineering is of the utmost importance. But how exactly can the country, as well as UK engineering businesses, tackle this issue?

Where Are We Now?

2018 was the ‘Year of Engineering’, a government initiative that arose in response to statistics published by Newbury Electronic showing that only 23% of UK STEM roles were held by women and that the United Kingdom had the lowest percentage of women in engineering in Europe. The Year of Engineering brought more attention to these figures and aimed to improve them.

We believe that more initiatives such as these are needed to see more women in engineering roles. In addition, by bridging the gender gap in engineering, the UK has the potential to add £150 billion to GDP forecasts by 2025, according to McKinsey’s MGI report.

Potential Ways to Bridge the Gender Gap

There are many barriers that appear to stop girls from continuing their STEM studies or pursue engineering careers. These issues are complex and multifaceted, since women are a varied group, but they tend to focus on challenges such as gendered norms and stereotypes. Challenging society’s attitudes and expectations of what consists of a ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ career path is a great start. A way to achieve this would be to engage women with STEM from a very early age, including engineering, to ensure a continued interest in these subjects.

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills says that 43% of STEM vacancies are difficult to fill at the moment due to a skills gap in the industry. To be able to fulfil this demand, we need to find 1.8 million new engineers by 2020, which will also allow the UK to remain competitive in the global economy. Attracting the next generation of engineers, therefore, is crucial; it’s equally important to include women in these initiatives as well, which will help to attract more professionals and address this skills gap at the same time we address the gender gap issue.

Apprenticeships are another great way to ensure more women follow an engineering career. By increasing the number of high-quality apprenticeships, it’s easier to raise awareness of the industry among women, as well as young people.

Female role models and mentors can also influence women’s decision to pursue engineering; in 2014, Esther Dyson, named ‘the most influential woman in all the computer world’, said that “there’s an awful lot of women. But none of us is Bill Gates”. It’s easy to see what Dyson meant; despite the fact that there is a lot of female engineers across the globe, their voices are not getting heard as much. Having someone to look up to can make a huge difference and impact someone’s decision to follow a certain career path.

Another way to bridge the gender gap is to offer girls the chance to have hands-on STEM experience, be it in the classroom or as part of STEM-related after-school programs. Practical learning can give girls more confidence in their abilities, as well as show them the importance of choosing a career in engineering.

Many girls and women place more value on collaborative environments instead of competitive ones. However, many academic programs are often rooted in competition and on ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. It’s vital that schools foster learning environments in which all students can contribute and discuss ideas and solutions. All ways of thinking should be accepted, which can help everyone feel like they fit in.

Not only are there many ways to start reducing the gender gap in engineering, but organisations and businesses should invest in this issue and seek to balance the ratio of women to men in the industry, in order to achieve a more diverse and inclusive work environment.

European Springs & Pressings Ireland understand the importance of addressing the gender gap within engineering. We also know that more must be done. With this in mind, it’s crucial that businesses, as well as the government, take steps to ensure more women are introduced into the sector.

Addressing the skills gap is never an easy task, but understanding it is the first step towards correcting it. In this article, we will consider what some of the biggest companies in manufacturing are doing to bring in a new generation of talented engineers.

The Dyson School of Design Engineering

This school from the Imperial College London is making dents in the skills gap by always looking to improve its course and services. This should encourage prospective pupils to take their course and follow a fulfilling career in the engineering sector. The Dyson School invests in providing better facilities and constantly striving to improve its curriculum to ensure that students will receive not only a good education, but a useful one. The founder, James Dyson, stated that:

‘our esteemed institutions are churning out many graduates with impractical degrees’.

This was said in relation to the fact that many of the children currently entering primary schools will be working in roles and jobs that we can scarcely imagine now. Engineers working on solar-powered cars, or farmers with chemistry degrees perfecting automated farms functioning on hydroponic systems – these are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Dyson School doesn’t just teach Masters and PhD courses, their curriculums also give students the knowledge they need to succeed in the real world by teaching them about commercial strategies too. This means that their talented engineers are less likely to disappear under the radar once they graduate.

What will surprise some readers is that the school is only in its fourth year of teaching, but perhaps their fresh outlook is precisely what the engineering education sector needs at this moment in time. They receive sponsorship from major players in the world of engineering, such as NASA, CERN, and even the NHS, which helps the school to continue to improve and develop its premises, as well as its students.

Some projects that the students of The Dyson School have been tackling include improving solar-powered electric racing cars, quad-rotor drones and helium balloon spaceflight systems. In other words, those who study at The Dyson School will be working on solving problems and issues that will be present in the future, making their ideas and work extremely relevant. In contrast to many institutions, their courses are more than just academic – they are practical too.

For an industry that thrives on innovation, we must ask ourselves why we are one of the sectors with the greatest resistance to change. On average, only 12.9% of the people applying to engineering courses are women, but The Dyson School of Design Engineering prides itself on an almost even split of 48% female students. This teaches the engineering industry that change is possible, and it is happening now.

One aspect that other universities and schools would currently struggle to replicate is The Dyson School’s dedication to providing its students with a debt-free experience. Students at the school are picked from the brightest and best and are subsequently awarded free tuition upon entry to the university.

European Springs & Pressings

The Dyson School of Design Engineering isn’t the only area of manufacturing that is working hard to provide a better learning experience for budding engineers. We are spring manufacturers who have always been concerned with the future of our industry and have been writing articles for years about what we can do to improve:

Advice on Securing Your Dream Job in Engineering

The Importance of National Apprenticeship Week

Is the Future of Engineering in Masterships?

How to Inspire Future Generations of Engineers?

We firmly believe that the future of manufacturing could be bright if we put the effort into fixing the skills gap now. We think that more schools like The Dyson School of Design Engineering would make the difference, alongside more teaching in schools that apprenticeships are not necessarily less respected than a university degree, and that careers such as our own could be more beneficial than the debt they will incur at university.

There are plenty of companies already supporting the next generation by providing apprenticeships. Firms such as British Gas, E.ON, Rolls Royce, Virgin Media and the Royal Navy are just a few of the possible places where the youth of the today can develop their skills and improve their CVs. Will your corporation be the next to join this list of forward-thinking engineers?

One of the latest pushes in manufacturing and engineering across the world is to develop products that are increasingly eco-friendly. Cars are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses on our planet, so making the switch to electric is a massive feat of modern engineering that might genuinely change our world for the better.

In this article, we will consider the many benefits of swapping to electric, as well as how these vehicles function and some of the key thinkers behind its propulsion.

The Benefits of Going Electric

Fueling a pure electric car could cost a third of the price of traditional petrol and diesel tanks. Buying an electric vehicle (EV) is economical, but many people are still resistant to the idea of investing in one. It’s easy to understand why the public might be reluctant to make the switch currently, but hopefully, as EVs become more popular, these challenges will be easier to overcome.

For example, one of the big worries that prospective owners of electric vehicles face is the lack of electric charging points. For those who live in rural areas, the feasibility of owning an EV doesn’t make sense if there will be nowhere to charge it.

Similarly, a lot of people own cars for the sense of freedom that they afford. An EV, on the other hand, doesn’t currently offer the same sense of security. The fear of running out of charge whilst driving an electric vehicle is a real one, and it even has a name – range anxiety – but in real life situations, there are few differences to breaking down in a petrol or diesel car.

In the event that your electric car ran out of charge, you would simply be required to phone your breakdown provider and be towed to the nearest charge point. You may need to specify that your breakdown provider brings a flat-bed tow truck because a rope or lift-tow could damage an EV.

Currently, there are as many as 16,500 connectors in the UK, and the aim is to raise this to 100,000 by 2020. Currently, ASDA is one of the best stores to charge your car at with chargers featuring at 19% of their stores, but these figures need to increase before our country can make a wholehearted change to electric.

The Importance of Going Electric

Going electric is not just about the cheaper costs of fuel, maintenance, and current discounts for early buyers. It’s about saving the environment by using cars with far lower greenhouse gas emissions – EVs don’t even have exhaust pipes because they don’t generate the same nasty fuels. In fact, driving an EV could reduce your carbon emissions from driving by more than 66% in the UK. It is forecast that by 2040, more than half of all new car sales globally will be EVs, meaning that the UK is going to have to work on raising those 80,000 plus charging points.

How Electric Vehicles Work

Electric cars are much easier to understand than petrol or diesel engines. While a fossil-fuel powered vehicle needs all kinds of extra bits and pieces to keep the temperature of different parts of the vehicle in check, plus the exhaust pipe to chivvy the fumes out of the vehicle, an electric vehicle simply requires the electrical battery and a place to be charged. This could make the maintenance of electrical vehicles much cheaper in the future as fixing them will be far simpler.

Key Developers

Elon Musk is often the name that comes up during discussions about electric cars. As the head of Tesla, he’s had a lot to say about the limitations of fossil fuels that our society is currently facing. For the name of the first electric car inventor, though, you can look back as far as 1837 to the Scottish inventor, Robert Anderson, however, this car’s battery was not rechargeable and therefore not nearly as economical as the systems we can see today.

Electric car development has come a long way, quite literally – Tesla’s electric Roadster has even been launched into space, and you can watch a live stream of it from the video below:

Electrical cars are undoubtedly the future of travel – with fossil fuels continuing to decline, it is unlikely that we will have many options other than to adopt the electric car. Manufacturers of EVs still face many challenges before they can convince the public to pick up their product, but we’re confident that they can solve it. EVs decked out with solar panels to promote longer-lasting charges is just one solution that is currently being explored by engineers in this sector.

The fate of our future lies in our ability to overcome problems to provide cleaner, better and more efficient ways of living life. Luckily, innovation is at the heart of all things manufacturing, and as spring manufacturers we will continue to work on developing our springs to provide you with the best products available on the market today.

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Author: European Springs Web Team