President's Blog

25 September

Hi Everyone

Thanks to the North East Regional committee for hosting my visit there, the two debates on Skills and Energy were insightful. The stark reality is that the region is recruiting workers from Poland when we should be providing them from here. That should be a wake-up call that we need to be encouraging more people into science and engineering.  Demand for technical skills is very strong and there has never been a greater time to be an engineer.

The old ICI Wilton site was impressive and buzzing with new investment and new businesses. A new wood fuelled boiler has been installed with the capability to generate almost 30MW of electricity or a combination of steam and power for the site. Fascinating technology but to survive commercially it needs the Renewable Obligations Certificate subsidy - Rocs. With such a big difference between virgin and recycled woods, does anyone think? we would benefit from subsidising this technology before deeming it mature enough to survive in the competitive marketplace? PB Power's update on electricity generation costs 'powering the nation' suggests that we will need the ROCs for a long time to come. Is it right to spend £bn's on these subsidies when the technology will never be competitive? In the report wave power seems particularly questionable. Bio mass and wind turbines look a little more promising.

The NE process industries and the regional universities have assessed the skills gap and we had a forum in Middlesborough to review the data and identify actions. Support into school is an essential element of this strategy and our younger engineers can really make a difference here. Research in the region suggests there is a shortage of 20,000 engineers, which coupled with the recent ETB report highlighting 70% of 16-19 year-olds don't know what engineering is - means we have a real problem, right now, that needs actioning. What do you think?

On energy supply, I think fusion has significant potential but the path to commercial demonstration is long and challenging. Media say progress to fusion power is just as damaging as some of the renewables messages we have been hearing. In the 1950s the public were led to believe electricity from nuclear fission would be 'too cheap to meter' - not quite the reality! Nevertheless fission power is and should continue to be an important source of the energy mix in our lifetime.

Yours Aye

John

August 22

 
Abinay Ramani raised the question after having lived around the world  -  why is it that the UK is so slow in responding to bad weather conditions? The smallest amount of snow fall, flooding or even leaves on the railway line and transport grinds to a halt. Just what frequency of an event occurring do we need to have serious countermeasures available? Hard frost is a certainty across the UK in winter and so we are well equipped to salt and grit roads, but we don't need a vast fleet of snowploughs in the south. Or do we? Surely the cost to the economy of a day, or even two disrupted by snow, far outweighs the cost of retaining snowplough capacity. Is this the same for recent flooding or are the effects sufficiently local that additional spend on countermeasures is not warranted?

A month's rain in four hours is unlikely to be repeated in the same location so it may be more sensible to 'pay as you go' for the damage rather than try to fight nature on a very wide basis. I am sure this message would not be welcome to the hundreds of businesses and householders that were flooded (with whom I stress I have great sympathy with), after having lived alongside the Thames in Oxfordshire for many years . My question is at at what point do we implement the countermeasures to combat nature? You could extend this to global warming ie. let it happen then manage round the effects. Or have I opened a Pandora's Box?!

Had an evening with the Aberdeen committee and other members. It was fascinating  to hear their views and also light relief from two days of offshore survival training. Being immersed in a swimming pool while hanging upside down in a simulated helicopter and then escaping back to the surface certainly gets the adrenalin running. At least I am now cleared for offshore trips over the next three years..

Despite August being a traditionally 'quiet' month in the business and IMechE calendar, I am still as busy as ever and the new Fellows lunches I attend at Bird Cage Walk HQ are a great chance to hear views from some of the top people in the engineering profession. 

In addition, we are preparing a number of documents for the UK government and with an election looming (any ideas when?) is now the right time to 'set the agenda' for engineering and lobby, lobby, lobby. My area is energy and we are also looking at transport. I am pleased the IMechE is delving into this area at its Managing Carbon Credits and Emissions Event on 11 September, but I want to know if you think there are any other themes other than our current four of Energy, Environment, Education and Transport, that you feel we need to push?

Yours Aye

John Baxter 

August 2

I am sure many of you watched last week's news of the floods. Some of you may even have been affected in some way by the misery they caused.

In my opinion, the chain of events that ensued following the floods proved a graphic reminder of this country's vulnerability of critical services to the effects of weather. 
Severe flooding somewhere in the UK seems to be the norm each summer. The government and the engineering community need to get their act together now as plans for a massive house building programme are developed. Covering more of the SE of England with concrete and tarmac can only lead to more flash floods, in my opinion.

The media may be keen to pinpoint the flooding on climate change but in my view this is just part of the ever changing weather patterns that have happened over the millennia. Isn't it a sobering thought just how easily water supplies can be lost to a huge area of the UK and how close we were to losing one or a number of key electricity sub-stations in Gloucestershire?  My old town of Abingdon had flooding in a number of places that hasn't been seen for 50 or more years. 

We are taking action. In concert with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institutions are ploughing their efforts and expertise on a submission to government on sustainable energy.  This is a proactive step and will provide ideas on a range of topics but ideas are not enough - actions speak louder than words. With the politicians off on their summer recess and thoughts of an early election as they return in September I am not confident of a clear direction being identified this side of 2008!

I would be interested in your thoughts on what we need to do to bring about change on such a fundamental scale?

Flooding aside, I joined in part of the 'Investing in Alternative Energy' seminar with fellow engineers, bankers, investors and lawyers having an active debate on how to promote this market.  Energy continues to stay with us as a hot topic, and is indeed a key theme for the IMechE. The format of keynote addresses and roundtable cafe sessions was really invigorating and the delegates saw it as very valuable.  I applaud the professionalism on every front that made the event a success. The IMechE prides itself on having a great building steeped in history and in a prime location and being so close to the UK government we have no problem attracting people to use the building. Pity I missed Gordon Brown when he attended a meeting Birdcage Walk recently! 

I was greatly impressed with the breadth and depth of talent from our young engineers when I visited Formula Student at Silverstone. It was an outstanding success and it is already well reported in the main website. All I need to say is what a great showcase for IMechE and a huge thanks to everyone that made it possible. 

13/07/07

13/07/07

Back from leave and trying to figure out how to get through a backlog of emails and post.

Hosted my first lunch for newly elected fellows on Tuesday. The collective expertise round the table was a reminder of the breadth and depth talent of the IMechE membership. Attended the Worshipful Company of Engineers where the prestigious Stephenson Award sponsored by the Institution was presented to two teachers who had given an immense contribution to the teaching and promotion of Science and Technology.

This weekend I will be attending one of the IMechE’s most important events - Formula Student. I am really looking forward to meeting some of the best young engineering minds in the world, whether they are going to be the next Lewis Hamilton or Ross Brawn. This year we have had a record number of entries, 110 universities from India to Italy and for the first time ever a low carbon demonstration category.

Hertfordshire University has developed a hydrogen racing car, with its hydrogen sourced from farm manure. Does anyone know if that is a world first?! Oxford Brookes has also gone the extra mile and developed a hybrid racing car. The media have been quick to catch on to this as a great news story but some have pointed out that the event is not so environmentally friendly.

Let me address that: Formula Student is one of the most important educational engineering projects in the world and we challenge these minds to give them an academic and practical learning experience that cannot be matched by any other project of its kind. Engineers are constantly developing ways and learning new technologies to sell to the mass media market and without us learning along the way, that simply can’t be achieved. Developments from Formula 1 racing go straight into the mass car market. 

Comments as always are welcome!

July 1

I spent last week sailing with the IMechE Scottish Chairman – Paul Cariss - on his yacht and it was as if we lived through the 13 June PE article “Sea of Plenty”! It covers the wind and wave energy research in the waters around the Orkney Islands north of the Scottish mainland and we saw at first hand the different devices being tested.

Orkney has had a wind test site for over 20 years but more recently has become the home of the European Marine Energy Centre providing test sites and support services for wave and tidal devices. The PE article paints a good picture of the challenges faced in a marine environment but it is only when you leave the comfort of an armchair and a magazine and venture onto the ‘briny’ do you feel the magnitude of the task to place and maintain marine energy devices. Our Scottish Chairman and I are both former submariners and so we have considerable experience of what the force of the sea can do.

During our voyage we saw the both the ‘Open Hydro’ tidal device and the PELAMIS wave “sea snake”.  The former sits between a number of islands where the flow of water between the North Sea and the Atlantic accelerates producing a strong tidal stream: the latter is on the west coat of the
Orkney Islands facing the unrelenting Atlantic waves.

I strongly support Government working with industry to test and develop ideas and equipment to increase our knowledge of new energy options, but this must be in a climate of honest reporting of results and a realistic appreciation of the engineering challenges.

The PE Article indicates “… he cannot reveal data due to client confidentiality clauses…”.  Understandable to a point,  but I was reminded of the Osprey wave device deployed off the Caithness coast near the Dounreay site where I worked in the 1990’s.  Osprey arrived with considerable media hype (the word “spin” had not been invented then but subsequent events would have proved it very appropriate!).

Within a few days it started to break up and had all but disappeared after two weeks. Confidentiality clauses and talk of the tail end of a hurricane left the local community deeply sceptical as all we saw was the usual summer weather and wave patterns for Caithness.  The site medical officer at the time suggested that only benefit was just about every member of the workforce walked a couple of miles each day to watch Osprey progressively disappear – great for their health!

Renewables will play an important role in future energy markets but the variability and low availability of wave, and particularly wind, and the challenges of producing energy from tidal streams which are not uniform in each direction means that there will have to be a considerable cost advantage, or perpetual subsidy, to make these viable in the long term.  The energy and engineering communities are doing a disservice to the public if we leave the impression that renewables alone can deliver a secure, sustainable and affordable energy future. At the IMechE I know that the Carbon Challenge seminar today will draw in a variety of experts from reducing carbon emissions from all forms of transport and that is a key part of the drive to meet the Government’s overall emissions targets.

With the disbandment of the DTI by our new Prime Minister his cabinet colleagues John Hutton, (Business and Enterprise portfolio), John Denham (Innovation and Universities), and Hilary Benn (Environment) could provide strong leadership by forming an independent commission. This should draw from industry and academia to advise Cabinet on the short, medium and long term energy options we need to follow in the UK.

A lack of clear leadership at this time could make the UK become too dependent on imports, particularly of gas, where we will have little control over both the quantity available and the price we have to pay.

Yours

John

June 30

"Last week I was in the United States, on business but kept abreast with Institution developments at home. As most of you may now know, we have established four key 'themes' at the IMechE - energy, environment, education and transport. One of the education areas that is a concern is the continuing lack of entrants to the Whitworth Awards where, this year, we have had just six entrants for this prestigious and financially attractive scheme.

Along with the extensive coverage in the media about this lack of interest in an award worth over £14,000 we also saw our Chief Executive, Ruth Spellman, on a 30 minute BBC radio show debating the value and requirement for apprenticeships and up-skilling our workforce. There are many IMeche Presidents that have been apprentices and I hope individuals and companies out there will visit www.whitworthscholarships.org.uk for more information.

Other developments include speculation that the Department of Science and Innovation, the department within the DTI which oversees the engineering profession, may be moved to Education to create a better synergy between universities and the science and engineering community. Although I can see some credence in this move, I would suggest that two other options for what is becoming an increasing necessary element of government be considered:

1) being located into the Treasury and linked to all future government projects or

2) creation of a separate department with overarching influence to areas such as education, DTI, DEFRA etc. I would be interested in your views on this.

Finally, one of the comments last week suggests that a year in office for a President is too short and does not allow continuity on pushing forward plans. As many of you know, some of my earlier predecessors did indeed have longer or multiple terms and this did create more direction and cohesiveness in forward planning. Should this be considered for the future or indeed is the role even necessary nowadays? For those of you that have been emailing me about the Carbon Meter. I can tell you that we have been developing a commercial product with the help of an external company with the prospect of a product for use in any building. So watch this space! I am off on holiday for 2 weeks so look forward to reading more comments in July

19 June

This has been a busy week for me at the Institution with a number of key events occurring all at once.

I chaired my first Trustee Board as President and welcomed our newly elected representatives. This meeting also provided an opportunity for the Chairman of IMechE Young Members, Simon Cotton, to attend the Board and outline the YMB plans to choose a second, and possibly non-corporate, young member to sit on Trustee Board.  Apart from a very professional and well thought out process being considered, this increase in young member representation is, in my view, essential to ensure the views of our 30,000 non-corporate members are represented at the very highest levels of IMechE.  I look forward to welcoming our newest member to Trustee Board in the very near future.

This week the Institution also staged its Manufacturing Excellence 2007 Awards with over 400 people attending the ceremony.  MX is a very important brand and activity for the IMechE and our sponsors. To build on the success of 2007 we are committing additional funds from the IMechE to market 2008 to an even wider audience. We had a good turn out from MPs, including the First Minister for Northern Ireland, Dr. Ian Paisley, as well as representation from Government with the DTI Industry Minister, Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge, speaking on the need and value for manufacturing to UK PLC. The overall winner on the night was Trend Control Systems from West Sussex.  A full list of the winners can be found at www.mxawards.org

Four of the IMechE Young Members are spending a year as “The President’s Apprentices” and I am looking forward to spending time with them in the coming months.  An invitation for young members to apply for this ‘year in office’ will be sent out in July and the new intake should be in place in November. The aim of this scheme is to engage young members with IMechE networking events and the activities of the Institution at Birdcage Walk, industry and Government. We are also investing in some additional training opportunities in areas like media interaction and presentation skills for them.

A new activity for IMechE is our “Investing in Alternative Energy” seminar. This is targeted at finance and investment specialists and there is very strong interest in this topic. I look forward to seeing the output from this event.

I will be abroad on business over the next few weeks but look forward to receiving your comments.

Your aye

John

1 June

It is incredibly almost two weeks since I became President and a lot has happened since then for me to reflect upon...including this blog receiving 2,500 ‘hits’ in half that time!

Climate change, the environment and energy are still topping the agenda all over the world, as I discovered giving my Presidential Address Energy for Life at Hong Kong’s International Climate Change Conference. I found Members there are part of a very vibrant community, echoing their economy, and it is a place where engineers are revered for their skills and professionalism.

I left the event wondering how we can bridge the gap between the level of consensus on the likely effects of global warming against the reality of government and individuals doing something about it. One of IMechE’s roles is to provide guidance and sometimes challenge to government on this, however we can also help individuals to understand the technical issues behind climate change and how changing their lifestyle just a little can make a big difference.

Surprisingly, the CO2 meter developed by IMechE, and in our foyer, is believed to be a world first for integrating water, gas and electricity consumption. By simply monitoring the use of utilities a reading of CO2 production can be produced. As it gets everyone’s attention, visitors and employees, I wonder if it could make someone a very lucrative business deal – so one day we will all have one in our kitchens!

More practical ways of dealing with carbon emissions will be revealed today at the IMechE “Saving the 20%” event which will look at practical ways of tackling the carbon footprint of UK buildings. We really do need to examine how we are developing and building our homes and if technologies such as the Aquifier Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) or biomass are best in building technology.   
 
My Stirling engine has also caused a real stir - I should have bought shares in the company! Many of you have expressed an interest in getting one – mine was a birthday present - www.stirlingengine.co.uk

Attended the IMechE Safety and Reliability Group's (SRG) Marine Energy Converter lecture this week and also the Royal Academy of Engineering Annual Awards  - the ‘engineering Oscars’! Great to see such talent and be reminded that we still have some great engineers in the UK – both young and old. My first Trustee Board in the chair next week.

Delighted nobody has challenged my strong nuclear stance - yet......!!

Look forward to hearing from you.

Yours aye

John

Pic: Brian Wimpenny, Immediate Past Chairman of SRG, John Baxter, and Richard Vote new SRG Chair 

23 May

Welcome to the first President’s blog of the IMechE.

I knew from the outset that energy, environment, education and transport are relevant to countries worldwide and these are also the four key themes for IMechE. During my year I will champion these themes.

It was also an opportune coincidence that the UK Energy White Paper was unveiled on the same day as my inaugural address – Energy for Life. The text version of the paper will be published on the IMechE website (www.imeche.org) at the end of next week.

More so, I was pleased to see that comments in my address, which promotes the idea of having nuclear as a cornerstone of future energy generation, are in tune with those being proposed by Government

Nuclear is a carbon free source of energy and there is an urgent need worldwide to re-invigorate the nuclear industry and build new capacity. Of course this needs to be part of a balanced portfolio of diverse energy sources including clean fossil fuel generation and renewables. This will provide environmentally cleaner electricity and also enhance security of supply against shortages of any one fuel. In recent years the almost continuous media coverage of climate change with renewable energy as the solution has hidden the immediate need for new large scale generation capacity. At last the governments around the world seem to be waking up to this issue.

Combating climate change and providing a diverse and secure energy portfolio is one of the biggest and most exciting challenges facing the world’s future and working engineers.

However, I am always interested in hearing the views of others on this wide ranging and often controversial subject. This blog will be a chance for you to tell me your views.

Now off to attend and speak at the International Climate Change Conference in Hong Kong, meet some of our members and also visit some hydrocarbon facilities. This will be a busy year and I look forward to receiving your comments on the blog.

John