The monthly news from Bennett Engineering [August 2022]

Project parking or progression

Right now there’s a bit of economic uncertainty. Rightly so with inflation hitting 10.1% this week.

Our question is this; if you have a projects list how do you know which ones to park and which ones to progress when you consider the current operating environment we’re in?

There’s so much to think about like capacity increase gifting you longevity, more storage for bigger raw materials purchasing to reduce import tariffs, machine modernisation to remove need for new installations… this paragraph should go on and on!

If the board are asking how to reduce Capex spend in the plant or to guide best expenditure are you too close to identify the projects that will have the right impact or future proof your business? 

Enter stage left (in high vis and safety boots)… team Bennett Engineering. 

Fresh eyes, lots of experience, listening ears, seen lots, safe pair of hands….

Please don’t hesitate in reaching out, John and Craig are happy to pop over for a tour, hot beverage and chat. Call us on 01509 363 060. 

Sticking around

Sometimes it takes a long time for a project to be completed. And that’s OK with us.

Other times a long working relationship is developed where our team become part of yours. A perfect scenario too.

Either way sticking around is part of our DNA. For however much (or little) amount of time you need us.

Whether you need us to become part of the furniture or your project scope changes, people come and go, legislation changes or safety considerations mean creep is a good thing.

Just like our fan project. You can read all about that here (CLICK ME)

Manufacturing stats

Whilst MAKE UK and BDO have identified the East Midland’s isn’t a top performer when it comes output or investment there’s lots of good bits for us in their 2022 Regional Manufacturing Outlook report.

  • The East Midlands’ overall productivity is the 7th best in the UK, at 85.9% (UK=100). 
  • Manufacturing productivity is at 91.6% of the UK average, ranking 9th across all regions and nations.
  • East Midlands output balance has remained positive since Q4 2020
  • The East of England is the UK’s third-largest region in terms of gross value add (GVA) and the sixth-largest manufacturing sector.

A long report but it has nice charts!

Opening the can

One of the holiday cottage bingo points is whether there will be a can opener.

Now some of the team pack the kitchen sink and others are more sparse with what they take.

But if there is a tin can with no ring pull and you’re away you can guarantee there won’t be an opener is all of our experience.

So when this article (click here) popped up it made us smile as there’s not one but FIVE ways to open cans without a can opener detailed here.

We’ve read them all! 

Robots or people

Robotic CNC machining, where do you stand on that?
 
Whilst there’s huge respect from us as engineers for the progression of technology to help with agility, mass production and safety it’s sad to see a lot of the hand skills in the manufacturing world are being lost as people retire.
 
It’s expanding fast this mix of software and hardware to provide pioneering robots in all of the sectors of manufacturing.
 
Our view is even with technology people are always essential and skills develop as new ways of working become the norm.