Invention Inspiration

Whatever you’re designing, engineering or developing this week, take some time out to be inspired by the entrants at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva. A photo gallery on the Guardian website looks at several of the 789 exhibitors form 46 countries taking part. The article mentions in particular a hands free umbrella and a landing system for planes involving a series of parachutes. Some of the entrants are just prototypes, such as the folding electric bike, but all may give some inspiration regardless of your product or service area.  According to the article, “Even the ribbon-cutting was done by a humanoid robot.” The exhibition is in its 40^th year and organisers were pleased to see more than 60,000 visitors despite “the cost of the Swiss franc and the economic situation throughout the world”. For the full range of photos from the exhibition visit the website at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gallery/2012/apr/19/international-exhibition-invention-geneva#/?picture=388907152&index=0

Shale Gas – what do the risk managers say?

Will shale gas become part of the U.K. energy industry or does it pose a threat as some campaigners say? Engineers and project managers looking at this potential new sector of the industry could read the report from insurance brokers, Willis, discussed on the Guardian website. According to the article, the report ‘looked at the risks…and concluded that as long as shale gas companies adhere to industry best practice, the risks can be significantly reduced.’ The report noted that it is the casing of the well that is crucial where best industry practice is to ‘drill a well with intermediate casing 4,000 feet deep into the layer of rock beneath which lie the vast majority of gas deposits.’ While the industry was given a ‘reasonable risk profile’ a commentator noted that ‘underwriters are not there to cover long-term health hazard and other latent issues." so debates on this new energy sector are probably set to continue.Read the article here http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/17/shale-gas-fracking-risks-insurance-broker?newsfeed=true

Carbon capture and storage – a whole new industry?

Will carbon capture and storage be the next big industrial sector for engineering and project management? The government is investing more than ₤1bn – allocated to fund a competition and potentially a new industry. CCS projects capture the carbon dioxide from power plant emissions and store them underground. A similar project was cancelled in October; this time it has different parameters. According to a report on the Guardian website, some sources estimate that the industry could generate more than 100,000 jobs once a company can design “the first workable demonstration project’. Nick Baveystock, of the Institution of Civil Engineers, is quoted as saying "CCS is a long way from being realised in a suitable form and at a competitive price…Government must try and regain lost ground in this area, but it remains to be seen whether this second attempt will be more successful than the first." Learn more about CCS and read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/03/carbon-capture-storage-competition?newsfeed=true

Support for South West defence industry

The importance of the defence industry in the South West was highlighted this week for both the technology it supplies and the jobs it creates. Defence Minister, Peter Luff, talked about both points when he visited the Ministry of Defence establishment, Abbey Wood, in Flinton, Bristol. Speaking to the Gazette newspaper, he is quoted as saying "Companies of all sizes supply the defence sector…in Bristol and up the M5 corridor into Gloucestershire…it is really exciting to see the ingenuity of British engineering being used so effectively at the MoD.” He also commented on the need for more young people to go into engineering, particularly in the defence sector. Some of the product shown to Mr Luff and other industry figures included developments in communication that block out any noise disturbance, night vision monocles and solar thermal water heaters. Read the full article at
http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/9621288.Defence_minister_praises_staff_in_visit_to_South_Gloucestershire/