engineering for growth - royal academy of engineering

Royal Academy of EngineeringPrince Philip House, 3 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5DG Registered Charity 293074

As the UK’s national academy for engineering, we bring together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering.

The Academy’s activities are driven by four strategic challenges:Drive faster and more balanced economic growthFoster better education and skillsLead the professionPromote engineering at the heart of society

For more information: email [email protected] visit www.raeng.org.uk or www.engineeringforgrowth.org.uk

01ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING | engineering FOr grOWTH

Sir John Parker GBE FREngPresident, Royal Academy of Engineering

“engineering makes a major, often unrecognised, contribution to the life of the nation, in terms of wealth, health and wellbeing. Engineering is the driver for growth across many dimensions; in this publication, the Royal Academy of Engineering sets out how engineering is about economic growth, improvement in people’s individual lives and society’s progress.”

View our microsite at: http://www.engineeringforgrowth.org.uk

09 Growth in health and wellbeing

10 Infrastructure for growth

03 Growth in energy diversity

01 Economic growth 02 Growth in skills and jobs

04 Growth in the quality of life

05 Growing the knowledge base

06 Growth in sustainability

07 Growth in communications

08 Global growth

The 10 key areas of growth


Engineering is one of the key engines of the UK’s economy, driving world-leading hi-tech innovation and adding immense exportable value.”Warren East FREngChief Executive Officer, ARM

01 engineering drives economic growth by adding value to products and services. Applying scientific principles, engineering transforms raw materials and energy into products and services as well as creating the structures and systems that underpin economic activity.

The engineering sector employs over 5.4 million people and manufacturing accounts for more than 50% of the UK’s exports. The drive for more balanced, sustainable economic growth will have engineering at its core, yet the evidence shows that the demand for engineers exceeds supply across all skills levels and throughout all sectors of the economy.

world players such as Samsung and Texas Instruments.

ARM’s engineering strengths are in design and development and it has been highly successful in seeking out current and future growth markets. It is taking a lead in consortia driving the ‘internet of things’, where devices are equipped with chips that allow them to communicate and work together as a system. ARM is also working on next-generation mobile devices and on even smaller chips utilising nanotechnology.

As well as developing innovation in its products, ARM has developed an innovative business model that positions the company at the centre of collaborative research and strategic partnerships.

ARM has sold 30 billion microprocessors worldwide, with more than 16 million sold every day. The company regularly features in worldwide lists of top companies for innovation, although it does no manufacturing itself: its business model is to license its technology to the huge silicon factories run by

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28%

£481bn

easily identifiable contribution of the engineering sector to the economy (ONS Supply and Use Tables)

gross value added of all sectors in 2009 where engineering is an important component (ONS)

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ArM is a UK company that disproves many of the clichés about UK engineering. Based in Cambridge’s ‘Silicon Fen’, it has built a global business in microelectronics, often regarded as a sector where the UK missed out.

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If UK companies are going to be able to compete successfully in the future, we need to raise the skill levels throughout the supply chain and UK manufacturing as a whole.”Dr Ralf SpethChief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover

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02 engineering industry plays a significant role in developing the skills of the future workplace by means of apprenticeships and graduate training programmes.

There are 2.3 million skilled people in the engineering-related skills base – 8% of the workforce. There is a high demand for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates and, for certain disciplines, there is evidence that demand outstrips supply. With 39% of UK engineering employers planning to expand and recruit, there is a need to ensure an adequate skills pipeline. This makes it critical to address the enduring poor representation of women in the UK’s professional engineering workforce, which is the lowest in Europe.

own new programmes to build the skills it needs to compete on quality and reliability in global markets.

The group has already transformed its Halewood plant on Merseyside and has repeatedly signalled its commitment to the UK engineering base. It also supports the UK’s largest team developing low carbon vehicles. The automotive sector is sometimes thought of as a ‘mature’ business, yet Jaguar Land Rover has shown there is massive growth potential still in the industry.

The new fourth-generation Range Rover directly supports more than 1,000 UK engineering jobs and will be sold in more than 170 countries worldwide. The vehicle incorporates technology advances such as the first all-aluminium construction for a vehicle of its type, and its engineering has been entirely developed in the group’s R&D facilities.

Jaguar Land Rover is taking advantage of the long tradition of automotive skills in the West Midlands as well as developing its

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1.28m

£250k

new science, engineering and technology professionals and technicians required by 2020 (Royal Academy of Engineering)

average lifetime wage premium enjoyed by graduate engineers (Royal Academy of Engineering)

Jaguar Land rover, now owned by the Tata group, is investing significantly in manufacturing and research facilities in the UK with the aim of building a sustainable and profitable business. in the 2012-13 financial year, its investment in products and facilities will total in the region of £2 billion.

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Energy is, and always will be, crucial to our way of life. It has played a fundamental role in shaping human progress. Our ability to harness energy is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal world.Engineers are leading the drive to resolve our all-consuming dependence on energy from ultimately finite natural resources.”Lord Browne of Madingley Kt FREngImmediate Past President, Royal Academy of Engineering

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03 Power and energy underpin every aspect of social and economic life. growth and diversity in energy provision have long been priorities for engineering. With much of the UK’s aged fossil fuel plant set to come offstream, engineers are tackling massive challenges in creating an energy system that is fit for modern purpose - secure, sustainable and affordable.

Environmental concerns are creating growing demand for diversity of supply, using new technologies and renewable sources of energy that do not rely on hydrocarbons or create damaging pollution and emissions. UK engineers are world leaders in developing new technologies in wind, wave, tide and solar power.

Innovative UK energy companies, large and small, are researching and testing new kinds of power devices that use renewable sources as the UK seeks to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and meet its climate change commitments.

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86.1%

£110bn

UK fossil fuel dependency Q2, 2012 (DECC)

investment required to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2020 (National Grid)

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With 15% of energy (around 30% of electricity) set to come from renewable sources by 2020, a predicted 30,000MW of wind generation is to be installed by the end of this decade (6,000MW is currently installed). This significant increase requires thousands of turbines to be installed, either at remote onshore locations or out at sea, and integrated into the existing electricity network by National Grid.

The implications of using more intermittent generations on the energy network poses a variety of challenges. Despite increasing uncertainties, the grid needs to give customers a stable supply of 50Hz at the appropriate voltage.

For the first offshore windfarms, a single subsea cable was installed to link back to the onshore grid. Decisions are now being made to construct a more sophisticated network of terminals linking multiple offshore windfarms. In addition to these undersea cables, the electricity network on land will need to be strengthened and extended to accommodate the rising influx of renewable power generation.

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04

In engineering and elite sport, leadership and team building are critical. Both need goal-oriented strategies and competent, ethical, management if they are to perform at their best.Technological advances that provide people with better access to sporting opportunities can greatly enhance quality of life and self-esteem, and in some cases, help them to achieve extraordinary success.”Professor Sarah Springman CBE FREngCivil engineer, champion triathlete & Vice President of the International Triathlon Union

“

engineering is about innovation, and continuous improvements to existing products and systems are an essential part of engineering design. Modelling and simulation technologies have dramatically expanded engineers’ abilities to optimise products for use in everyday life and to develop new services for people and society.

Engineering makes a tangible difference to everyday living, improving the quality of life for people with special needs; allowing people to work in clean environments and remotely online; underpinning sport at every level and bring new forms of electronic entertainment and communications into our homes and our hands.

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173,118

8YEARS

hips, knees and ankles replaced (NHS and private) in England and Wales, 2011(National Joint Registry)

the increase in life expectancy in Western Europe since the 1970s (Leon DA, International Journal of Epidemiology, March, 2011)

Draft builds wheelchairs and has specialised in the stripped-down lightweight chairs used by disabled athletes to achieve amazing feats of speed and endurance, as well as those used in handcycling, rugby, waterskiing and rowing. It is an international business, and as much as 50% of output from the Huntingdon-based company goes for export.

This is a specialised business, but the challenges that Draft meets are common to many innovative engineering companies: the need to build strength into structures while

if Draft Wheelchairs was a nation represented at the London 2012 Paralympic games, it would have finished 21st in the medals table with seven gold and two silver medals. not bad for an engineering company with just six employees.

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reducing weight and the quest for new materials and designs to improve performance and the user experience.

Draft’s product lines uses engineering in areas such as healthcare, medical and surgical applications – meeting the demand for products and systems that are tailored to the individual and their health needs. Draft also makes custom, everyday use wheelchairs for clients, borrowing technology from its sporting heritage. But the market for personalised devices of many kinds is huge – and growing.

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UK engineers are at the forefront of both research and the translation of that research into innovation that creates wealth and addresses the challenges we face as a society.”Professor Dame Julia King DBE FREngVice Chancellor, Aston University

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273 & 2,422

59-71%

number of spin-out companies set up by UK universities and by recent UK graduates 2009/10 (Royal Academy of Engineering)

of UK research across engineering disciplines classed in 2008 as being internationally excellent(Royal Academy of Engineering)

Dr Neil Buchanan’s Enterprise Fellowship has allowed him to develop his portable flat satellite dish at Queen’s University Belfast. It offers wireless broadband at sea and in ‘not spots,’ which is compelling at a time when there is a shift to cloud computing.

Dr Susannah Clarke at Imperial College London is using her Enterprise Fellowship to develop

Creating innovation from the fruits of scientific research requires sustained applied engineering effort. The Academy’s engineering enterprise Fellowships enable researchers to spend a year developing the commercial potential of their work. The Fellowships bridge the gap between the laboratory bench and the boardroom by offering awardees seed funding, expert mentoring and access to business angels.

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surgical instrumentation to boost the success rate of hip replacement surgery. Her tool could make serious improvements in patient care and significantly reduce NHS cost.

Enterprise Fellow Dr Daniel Elford at Loughborough University is working on novel noise barrier technology, which could help reduce noise pollution, which is estimated to cost the UK £7 billion every year.

engineering research ranges across a spectrum of disciplines that push the frontiers of science to tackle real-life problems. engineering researchers work with many other disciplines to develop new ideas into innovative products and services. UK universities have a global reputation for the quality and depth of their engineering research – and global corporations choose to site their research and development activities in the UK because of this.

Growing the knowledge base in engineering is crucial for accelerating innovation, spinning out new companies as well as driving exportable, global technical leadership. The Royal Academy of Engineering is working to bring more businesses into strategic research partnerships with universities: it supports 165 research posts that are supported by £24 million of investment from industry and other third parties.


06 The contribution of engineering is the key to reducing the impact of human activities on the planet. Sustainable and clean technologies are in demand worldwide, and UK businesses are well-placed to take advantage of growth opportunities.

Recent research also shows that green business is good business: companies that grow their investments in sustainable practices are more productive and profitable than those that do nothing.

With its drive for continual improvement in process and efficiency, engineering underpins cleaner, greener growth.

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16%

productivity gain in ‘green’ companies against the average(University of California/ Paris-Dauphine, 2012)

Sustainability is about doing better things and doing things better. Engineering is a key contributor to that.”Sir Jonathan Porritt CBEForum for the Future

“

Lucite International may not be a household name, but it is the biggest name in acrylics and one of its big brands is Perspex®, first used almost 80 years ago.

Lucite has similar sustainability challenges to many companies in chemical industries that have traditionally been based on hydrocarbons. The company is pioneering the use of biomaterials as feedstocks, specifically fast-growing plants that do not form part of the food chain, as well as using waste materials from other processes.

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is one of the chemical industry’s most important building blocks and the foundation of the family of materials known collectively as ‘acrylics’. They are used everywhere – in touchscreens, cars, bathroom fittings, paint and architectural features. For decades, global use of acrylics has been significantly outpacing general industrial growth, and that is set to continue.

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123,296cars registered in the UK in 2011 emitting less than 100g/km CO2 (SMMT)

Over the past 15 years, Lucite International has developed the Alpha technology, a new route to MMA production based on readily available raw materials. Alpha has provided the opportunity to reduce capital investment and significantly improve operating economics.

The Alpha technology has already delivered attractive yields compared to other MMA technologies, as well as cutting waste and emissions. Programmes to further improve raw material use and significantly reduce energy consumption are well developed.

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07 From the surge in tablet computing,smartphones and online businesses, the past 20 years have seen an explosion in computing and communications technologies and a convergence in terms of devices.

With concepts such as ‘cloud computing’ and the ‘internet of things’, engineers are creating new information flows and communication streams, bringing massive growth to existing channels and providers as well as opening up opportunities to innovative start-up companies.

This has created a transformation of the way the world works, plays and communicates. The pace of change and development has impact on billions of lives

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6.8bn

1021 Bytes or 1 Zettabyte

number of mobile phones in use worldwide, Q4 2012 (GSM Association)

amount of information estimated to be accessed on the internet in 2015(Cisco)

Although now mostly owned by the giant EADS Astrium European Aerospace and Defence Group, SSTL started as a small spin-out firm from Surrey University.

Its fundamental concept has been the use of commercial off-the-shelf components in smaller, simpler systems produced in shorter timescales, increasing affordability and allowing new technology to be implemented faster. SSTL designs, builds, operates and

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is proof that size does not matter in engineering: small companies can make a big difference and can compete and grow in sectors where once only huge government-backed enterprises could flourish.

CASe STUDY The web is a critical global infrastructure that is transforming society – with hundreds of billions of pages that touch almost all aspects of modern life. As we seek to understand its origins, appreciate its current state and anticipate possible futures there is a need to address the critical questions that will determine how the web evolves.”Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FREngDean, Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences, University of Southampton

“consults on satellites with payloads of less than one tonne. They have now developed particularly strong expertise in small satellites, especially those using cameras and other imaging systems.

SSTL has customers ranging from governments, researchers and commercial companies using earth observation for applications such as urban mapping, agricultural and water monitoring, disaster response and in-orbit science experimentation.

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08 engineering is a prime focus in the growth of international investment. The trade is two-way: UK engineering groups such as BAe Systems and rolls-royce operate and invest in all major markets, while inward investment in sectors such as aerospace and automotive from such companies as eADS and Tata has regenerated UK industries.

UK engineering is a prime mover in international development as well: UK companies including Arup and Atkins are addressing the infrastructure needs of industrialising countries while many other UK engineering companies and individuals provide material help in the drive to tackle poverty, hunger and disease.

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112,659

34,800 & 37,300

UK jobs created or secured through inward investment by foreign firms in the UK, 2011/12 (UKTI)

number of people employed (2011) by BAE Systems in the UK and the US respectively.

With more than 17,000 employees in the UK, EADS is firmly rooted in Britain’s advanced technology industrial base.There is a strong presence throughout the UK: Airbus is a centre of excellence for wing and pylon work, Astrium is the UK’s largest space company and Eurocopter provides helicopters for the majority of the country’s emergency police and medical support units.”Dr Tom EndersCEO EADS

“

As a result, Rolls-Royce provides power to more than 500 airlines, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers, and energy customers in more than 80 countries.

The company invests significantly in research and development – over £900 million in 2011- and supports a global network of 28 universities. In addition Rolls Royce supports universities to connect the company’s 11,000 engineers with cutting-edge research and filed 475 new patent applications in 2011.

growth for global power systems company rolls-royce means continually pushing the boundaries of technology to meet the demands of its aerospace, marine and energy customers worldwide for better performance, greater efficiency and lower emissions.

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Rolls-Royce employs over 40,000 people in manufacturing and service facilities in more than 50 countries, with 21,000 people based in the UK. The company spends some £5bn with a global supply chain of some 8,000 suppliers across 70 countries and supports over 250,000 additional jobs.

In the UK, Rolls-Royce spends over £2bn purchasing goods and services from some 2,000 suppliers supporting an additional 100,000 jobs.

These photographs are reproduced with the permission of Rolls-Royce plc, copyright © Rolls-Royce plc 2012

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09 engineering provides the systems and devices that help to alleviate suffering and improve wellbeing. Demographic changes, with people living longer and so more likely to suffer chronic illness, put pressure on healthcare systems and facilities.

This demands greater investment in monitoring and measurement technologies for use by individuals and healthcare professionals. Engineering is tackling the challenge of customisation and personalisation of medical treatments to meet individual needs. Regenerative medicine is now engineering replacement body parts and tissues, with the growing challenge of customisation and personalisation of treatments to meet individual needs.

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28.6%

11m

UK population aged 60 and over in 2034, against 22.6% in 2010 (ONS)

people in the UK have a limiting long-term illness, impairment or disability (DWP)

Engineering is revolutionising the way we deliver healthcare, including pinpoint accurate robotic surgery, ever-higher resolution imaging, new kinds of prosthetics and implants and systems that help patients live well at home.This constant innovation improves the quality of life for millions of people and drives a world-leading UK industry.”Professor Lord Winston Hon FREngProfessor of Science and Society, Imperial College

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As part of the fast-growing medical engineering sector, Andor supplies precision equipment for detecting and measuring light – scientific cameras, spectroscopy solutions and microscopy systems that support research in other industries, such as pharmaceutical companies, laboratories and hospitals. The company now employs more than 300 people in 16 locations worldwide.

Originally a company spun out from university research, Andor has invested not just in innovative

Belfast company Andor pioneered technologies that enable detection of a single photon and the capture of events that last a billionth of a second.

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products, but also in the whole process of innovation. It has set up a research and development centre specifically to bring new ideas to fruition faster and it has acquired businesses that can offer complementary technologies to its own systems.

The results speak for themselves: for the last 14 years Andor sales have grown at more than 30% a year, and both turnover and profit rose more than 30% a year even during the recent financial downturn.

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10 engineering creates the infrastructure that provides vital services to society – such as energy, transport, water and communications. For business and industry, engineering improves safety, capacity and efficiency.

Investment in infrastructure and construction stimulates growth in other parts of the economy and raises UK competitiveness across many dimensions.

A systems approach to planning infrastructure brings understanding of critical interdependencies between sectors and creates opportunities for dual or multiple use.

Everything about Crossrail is big. The heart of the scheme is a pair of rail tunnels, 21km in length, that run under central London to connect the national rail systems in the west with those in the east, both north and south of the river Thames.

Eight custom-built tunnel boring machines are digging and lining the tunnels as they go; the route is precisely mapped out to avoid the existing infrastructure of sewers, watercourses, underground railways and power systems.

When it is completed in 2018, up to 24 trains an hour will cross central

Crossrail is the largest civil engineering project in europe and also the biggest current UK infrastructure project. The initiative will drive a new high-speed east-west link across central London, cutting commuting times and decongesting some of the busiest parts of the capital.

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44.3%

£250bn

growth in passenger kilometres on UK railways in the last 10 years 2002/03 to 2011/12 (ORR stats)

the value of the UK’s infrastructure pipeline that includes over 500 projects and programmes (HM Treasury)

The UK economy can only grow if it has the right economic infrastructure to support it.Investment is needed to ensure the UK’s infrastructure is fit for purpose for the next generation. If we are to ensure our place as a global economic power, the time for action is now.”Sir Roger CarrPresident, CBI

“London, serving new interchange stations in the West End, the City and Docklands.

Crossrail generates growth in its construction phase – growing the capacity and capabilities of the UK construction and civil engineering sectors which already have a global reach.

As a completed infrastructure, the intention is that Crossrail will both fuel growth in the communities that it serves and contribute to wider growth by enabling the transport of people and goods within the UK and beyond.

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engineering for growth - royal academy of engineering

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