INDUSTRY News T Levels address shortfall
ABB COLUMN
TACKLNG THE HOUSING SHORTAGE WITH ROBOTS
The UK is an engineering powerhouse with the industry generating almost £650 billion to the economy each year – equating to 32% of the country’s economic output. Yet the engineering sector has seen a concerning decline in applicants (44.1%). By 2030, the UK may face a shortfall of 1 million engineers. (Source: Delivering Skills For Growth) T levels were introduced to tackle this challenge. They are a high-quality technical qualification designed with employers to meet the skills needs of industry. Case study: MedTec Design is a micro-business employing 8 staff that provide engineering design solutions for a wide range of sectors. Previous projects have included everything from wind turbines and aeroplane components to self-playing pianos! The firm’s remote location on the Isle of Wight means the talent pool for recruitment is limited. Director Daniel Carley (second from left) partnered with the Isle of Wight College and managed to recruit a T Level Engineering student for industry placement. When MedTec hit a busy period, they chose to offer an
apprenticeship to their T Level student: “I decided to offer Ethan (second from right), our brilliant T Level student, an apprenticeship as a way of developing our future workforce. We’ve invested time into training and supporting him and that’s paying back dividends as he knows the business well and how we work; he’s thriving.” Daniel enjoyed seeing Ethan grow in confidence to become a valued member of the team. In May, they attended the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce business awards, where MedTec picked up the Micro Business of the Year accolade. Would MedTec consider hosting another T Level student in the future? “100%, it’s like an extended recruitment process so you really get to test out the talent while also supporting them to develop. I really think more companies should give it a go and make life a bit easier for themselves in the long run.”
The UK is in the grips of a housing shortage which is making it harder than ever for people to buy a home. Despite ambitious annual targets set by the Government, the UK has a backlog of 4.3 million homes missing from the national housing market that have yet to be built. According to the Centre for Cities, to fill this backlog would currently take at least 50 years. Another issue is not enough social homes are being built with 1.3 million households waiting for social homes and last year only 11,400 new social rent homes being built, according to England Shelter. Furthermore, the UK is experiencing a skilled labour shortage, with a shortage of people available to work on housebuilding projects leading to issues including project delays and rising costs as construction companies find themselves having to pay more for workers. Things need to change, and robotic automation offers the ideal solution for construction companies in creating, manufacturing, and assembling both components and structures. Off-site modular fabrication, where entire sections of buildings
are made in factories and transferred to site for final assembly, has recently emerged as an increasingly viable construction technique. Modular pre-fabrication offers mass customized and standardized homes, with prefabricated elements combined to produce different shaped structures and buildings. Robots can be used to handle a variety of tasks including assembly and lifting of heavy items, gluing, joining, and screwing, sanding, and finishing surfaces, fitting windows, and doors. Robotic 3D printing is opening new opportunities for the design and manufacture of structures and components. Complex shapes can be made in parallel, reducing energy consumption. 3D printing enables manufacturers freedom and ability to utilize a wide range of building materials providing a more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional methods like cement mixes. As such, it offers several benefits, including reduced building time, minimal waste and material consumption and stronger structures, not to mention improved brand image through improved sustainability. To find out more about how ABB robots can help tackle the housing shortage and reshape the UK’s construction industry, visit
https://new.abb.com/products/robotics/industries/transforming-the- future-of-construction
Julian Ware, UK & Ireland Sales Manager – ABB Robotics Queen’s secures £6.25m award from UKRI
Queen’s University Belfast has secured a £6.25m funding award from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), as part of its Building a Secure and Resilient World strategic theme, to model and re- imagine supply chains across the UK in the areas of food, critical minerals, and fashion. Modern society requires resilient and reliable supply chains for stability. With recent world events such as Covid-19 and rapid climate change highlighting weaknesses in supply chains, this work will seek to find new solutions to address uncertainties. Led by Dr Hangfei Guo, Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain management from Queen’s Business School, the project will be based in Momentum One Zero (M1.0), one of the data-driven Innovation Centres being delivered by the University under the Belfast Region City Deal, with the aim of driving inclusive
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innovation across the region. President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s, Professor Sir Ian
Greer said: “This award from the UKRI will be transformative in tackling supply chain resilience to ensure we future proof this critical area.”
Economy Minister Conor Murphy stated: “The aim of this
project is to build strong local supply chains, so we are more able to withstand global challenges. It is a great example of academia and business working together and supported by government to find solutions to real problems. This innovative project will draw on leading edge capability provided through one of the new City & Growth Deals investments. It will also develop knowledge and skills that will benefit our economy long beyond the life of this project. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this work.”
Automation | October 2024 7
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