The UK wind energy business – interview in The Engineer

As winter finally arrives, it is easy to see the power of the winds that surround our island, but how well is the UK set up to take advantage of them? In an interview in The Engineer online magazine, Julian Brown, Areva’s new UK director, gives a detailed analysis of what a wind energy industry needs and how the UK compares.

Areva is a French energy firm better known for its involvement in the nuclear industry, but now involved in developing wind power in the UK. Julian describes what a country needs to do to succeed from developing a supply chain to producing in volume. There are also many elements of the technology that need development and distribution issues to be addressed. This will mean skills such as renewable energy engineering expertise and offshore project management. For more of this detailed interview and assessment go to http://www.theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/interviews/arevas-uk-director-julian-brown/1011204.article

Painting the Forth Bridge is over but engineering work continues

There was much competition for the best headline at the news that the painting of the Forth Bridge was finally completed; The Scotsman went with “Forth Wonder of the world finished.” On such a huge piece of civil engineering, the bridge, built nearly 130 years ago, is still the subject of a huge range of maintenance, engineering analysis and monitoring projects keeping structural engineers busy for years to come.

For an intriguing portrait of the bridge from the civil and mechanical engineering perspective, the Forth Road Bridge website has details of all the current capital projects being undertaken. There is also access to the relevant technical papers published in professional magazines and at conferences, potentially useful for other professional engineers involved in engineering and project management life on such a grand scale.

For more information take a look at the world of the Forth Bridge http://www.forthroadbridge.org/home

Engineering award for councils, universities and the motor industry in Birmingham and Coventry

A consortium including the councils and universities of Coventry and Birmingham and key names in the motor industry, such as Jaguar Land Rover and Mitsubishi Motors UK, were awarded a key engineering award at a ceremony last week.

In the Automotive Award section of The 2011 Engineer Technology & Innovation Awards, the consortium was awarded the prize for its work in running the U.K.’s largest trial of electric and ultra-low emission vehicles. Large quantities of qualitative and quantitative data are being collected to help plan future vehicles and systems in a 3 year project due to finish in 2012.

Other winners include the Cambridge Design Partnership in the Defence category for frontline medical equipment and EM Renewable in the Marine Category for their ‘Snapper’ device to be used in near and off-shore situations. Full details on all winners and their achievements can be seen in The Engineer magazine or online here www.theengineer.co.uk

Help improve your CPD count - local events for professional project managers

As a professional project manager, attending local events hosted by the Association of Project Management is a direct way of reaching the 35 continuing professional development (CPD) hours required by the association.You’ll also get the chance to network as well as learning more about the topic itself.

The APM’s website offers several evenings in the south west area in the next few months including ‘Make risk management work’ in Oxford on Dec 1st, ‘Using enterprise architecture to support programme delivery’ in Swindon on 18th January and ‘Project Assurance Reviews’ in Bristol on 31st January.

Look at the APM’s website to find out about membership with groups including South Wales and West of England and the Midlands group. Alternatively national special interest groups include Contracts and Procurement and Value Management. A chance to meet up with contacts in different industries can be a valuable asset in your professional role and career. More on APM’s events at www.apm.org.uk/events

How did you gain your facilities management experience?

It's vital to be clear about your specific facilities management career experience when applying for a new position. An article in FMX Magazine, looking at issues in the facilities management industry, discusses how many professionals came into the role through another route and may have had all their training on the job.

"Facilities managers tend to not have formal FM-related qualifications, so you find yourself looking solely at their experience and current position," says one of the industry experts quoted in the article entitled 'The Talent Deficit'. The British Institute of Facilities Management are encouraging more higher education establishments to offer degrees and other qualifications in facilities management. Industry is also encouraged to offer specific graduate placements.

For all staff in the profession though, there are encouraging words to end with, "Because if one thing is clear, it is that first-rate FM professionals, however they acquired their skills, are as much in demand as ever." Read the full article at www.fmxmagazine.co.uk

Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2011

What do a reliability engineer from PEME Process Control, an aircraft engineering officer from the Army Air Corps and a systems engineer from GE Aviation Systems all have in common? They are three of the eight finalists in the Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2011.

The winner is due to be announced at a ceremony on Dec 1st organised by the Institute of Engineering and Technology and sponsored by GCHQ, Siemens and Intel amongst others. The award is to "honour the very best female engineers under the age of 30 working in the UK today," according to the IET."It seeks to highlight the achievements of women in engineering and to encourage others to enter the profession."

The ceremony, at Savoy Place in London and hosted by Mylene Klass, is free to attend (register online for a place) with opportunities to network and visit career displays from the event's sponsors. More details from www.theiet.org/events/2011/ywe.cfm

First international project control conference in London

Project control management comes of age with the first international Project Control Conference on 9th and 10th November.

University College London hosts an event welcoming planners, cost estimators, quantity surveyors and project support managers amongst others with a program of technical presentations, training sessions and academic contributions. Covering all industries interested in dealing with the best informed and trained project control professionals, delegates are expected from the oil, gas, aerospace, transport, pharmaceutical, and construction sectors.

Organisers describe the event as “the most important event for those working within the spectrum of Projects Controls, not just from an educational perspective but also in terms of building a network and exploring career opportunities. Speakers will include some of the industry’s top experts.” Sponsored by Oracle, ICS-Global and the Association of Project Management amongst others. Full program and details at www.projectcontrolsexpo.com