5 Most Important Skills for a Mechanical Engineer to Succeed

There’s more to being a successful mechanical engineer than being good at math and science. Whether you’re a recent engineering graduate or have been working as a mechanical engineering manager for many years, there are tips and strategies that can help you advance in your profession. Let’s take a look at some of these tips that can take your engineering career to the next level.

Spotlight

BOMAG GmbH

BOMAG is the world market leader in the field of Compaction Technology. The company belongs to the FAYAT GROUP since 2005. BOMAG is a manufacture of machines for the compaction of soils, asphalt and stabilizers/recyclers, land milling machines as well as pavers. Compaction equipment from BOMAG is used in areas as diverse as horticulture and landscaping to the entire range of road construction and heavy dam construction.

OTHER ARTICLES
Robotics and Automation

The latest on ICE's second UK infrastructure assessment consultation

Article | July 13, 2022

ICE Policy and Public Affairs recently launched a discussion paper and consultation on what should be in the second National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA). The work progresses the institution’s aims to influence infrastructure policy at a systems level. This autumn, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will publish its baseline assessment of the current state of key infrastructure sectors, along with proposals for the strategic themes and main priorities of the second NIA expected in 2023. Having been closely involved in both the establishment of the NIC in 2013 and the first NIA in 2018, our consultation asks what the core considerations of NIA2 should be – including net-zero, levelling-up and climate resilience – and explores which demand drivers have changed since the first NIA. Through this paper, we’re seeking to shape the wider infrastructure policy debate, consistently and over a number of years, by examining what our long-term infrastructure should look like – and most importantly, ensure it delivers the sustainable future outcomes we need it to. Look out for more updates later this year on ICE’s work in this area.

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Engineering Tech

10 simple ways to ensure a successful infrastructure project

Article | July 13, 2022

In amongst the chatter about how we can 'do' infrastructure better, there's now a growing consensus that we need to improve the way we design our interventions - 'design' in the broader sense of the word, rather than the narrow sense we tend to use as engineers. My front-end principles for better infrastructure Over the course of my career, the following front-end principles have served well to ensure we think through, before we rush in where angels fear to tread. Be clear about the purpose and the expected outcomes, and engage communities in decision-making through an effective communication strategy. Prioritise the user, aiming to offer services that are modern, effective and affordable. Seek to improve people's quality of life and support the transition to a more sustainable future, while also facilitating the functioning of the economy, enhancing productivity and accommodating growth (to the extent possible, given other competing objectives). Extract greatest value from existing infrastructure through timely maintenance, repurposing, renewal and upgrading. Seek to remove constraints and bottlenecks. Aim to make best use of data, automation, innovation and technology (including for future asset management), recognising the complexity and risks this may introduce. Recognise, analyse, mitigate and manage technical, environmental and climate risks, and complete any surveys necessary to support this. Improve governance, with robust, timely and transparent decision-making, supported by strong evidence-based planning, clear prioritisation, and best practice technical design and delivery. Seek an appropriate funding balance between 'user pays' and general taxation which incentivises behaviours in the best long-term social, economic and environmental interests. Complete well-evidenced business cases and risk assessments of proposed initiatives before embarking on projects, including financing proposals. Aim to allocate the risks identified to those best able to carry them. Facilitate collaboration between the government and business to promote delivery of the broader social, economic and environmental benefits. Clearly, there are many other issues to consider as a project develops, and the above principles may seem obvious to some, and a counsel of perfection to others, but it's surprising how many are overlooked in the rush to build.

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Engineering Tech

Zero-Energy Buildings: An Engineering Solution for Ecosystem

Article | July 14, 2022

Most buildings, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, consume a significant amount of energy over their lifetime, whether for lighting, heating, ventilation, or plugged-in devices. Buildings consume approximately 40% of global energy, 25% of global water, 40% of global resources, and emit approximately one-third of global greenhouse gases. The energy required to power these structures has risen precipitously in recent decades, putting an increasing strain on national power grids. This has increased the pressure to generate power by burning fossil fuels, contributing to the current climate change. This lethal cause and effect has compelled many engineers and policymakers to consider how we can reduce energy consumption in the buildings we build. What is a Zero-Energy Building? A zero-energy building (ZEB) is one in which the total energy used over the course of a year is equal to the amount of renewable energy produced - in other words, it produces enough energy to meet its own annual requirements. This means it does not require energy from the power grid, lowering greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to mortgage or bank repayments, utility bills are one of the most expensive running costs for these homes, offices, and manufacturing plants. So there are financial as well as environmental reasons for having ZEBs. The scope and approach of these terms vary, but the fundamental goal of reducing energy usage, improving building energy performance, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions applies to all definitions. Components of A Zero-Energy Building: A ZEB has two main components: reducing the building's energy consumption and producing renewable energy for on-site use. The first key element (lowering the total amount of energy used in a building) can be achieved through the use of energy-efficient lighting systems, insulation, better water management, improved ventilation systems, and smart meters. Even changing occupant behavior can have an impact on a building's energy efficiency. The second component (on-site generation of renewable energy) could include installing solar panels, small wind turbines, or micro combined heat and power systems to meet a building's electricity, heating, or cooling needs. Any excess energy generated by the building can be transferred to the national grid, allowing the building's owners to profit from their own thriftiness. Zero energy cities are an engineered extension of zero energy buildings. As more buildings become energy self-sufficient, communities and cities may become zero energy. This means that the total energy consumed by a city's infrastructure will be equal to the amount of renewable energy generated. Engineering solutions that create zero-energy buildings, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, are the first steps toward achieving zero energy cities - a transition that will be critical in slowing rampant climate change and that we must now accelerate.

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COVID-19 & Construction: You've Got to Take Care of Your Employees

Article | April 12, 2020

Tom, we’ve known you for many years while you were the CTO of EllisDon, one of Canada’s largest general contractors. Now you’re the President and CEO of CanBIM, a non-profit focused on construction technology in Canada, probably the largest organization like that in Canada. And a founder of wired.construction https://www.wired.construction/, which you describe as being a CTO for hire. Can you tell us a bit more actually about wired.construction.

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Spotlight

BOMAG GmbH

BOMAG is the world market leader in the field of Compaction Technology. The company belongs to the FAYAT GROUP since 2005. BOMAG is a manufacture of machines for the compaction of soils, asphalt and stabilizers/recyclers, land milling machines as well as pavers. Compaction equipment from BOMAG is used in areas as diverse as horticulture and landscaping to the entire range of road construction and heavy dam construction.

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Materials, Construction

Construction Procurement Platform Kojo Expands into Mechanical

PRnewswire | June 07, 2023

Kojo, the construction industry's leading materials and inventory management platform, today announced it has expanded to serve mechanical contractors. "At Kojo, our mission has always been to simplify processes for our customers so that they can have more time back to do what's really important – build," said Maria Davidson, Kojo's founder and CEO. "Our mechanical Beta launch has been our most successful to date. We're thrilled that our mechanical customers are already seeing so much value with Kojo and we're excited to continue to onboard many more all over the country." Since the offering launched in Beta, mechanical contractors have sent over 6,000 field requests to the office and created 17,000 purchase orders worth $50 million in Kojo. "By our calculation that's almost 6,000 times the field and office didn't have to call and email back and forth to figure out what was being ordered," Davidson added. Alex Eldridge at Tharco, a leading mechanical contractor in Maryland, said, "Kojo has been really smart in the way they've customized this build for mechanical contractors. For example, there are many nicknames for parts out there and this can create confusion for communication between the field and office. Kojo has a preset catalog field users can order from that even supports slang terms for easy field-to-office part name translation. It's details like this that convinced us Kojo was for us." The mechanical contracting market in the U.S. is huge and rapidly growing. More than $123 billion of mechanical work is done in the U.S. annually. The sector employs nearly 400,000 workers and that number is expected to grow by 5% through 2031. Kojo's expansion into mechanical follows the launch of its Automated Invoice Matching product, which streamlines the accounting process for commercial trade contractors. This builds on Kojo's purchase order and delivery functionality, making Kojo a true all-in-one platform that allows customers to manage the full end-to-end materials procurement process. Automated Invoice Matching launched in Q2 of 2023 and to date has processed $9.2 million in invoices, catching mistakes on 27% of invoices processed. Kojo announced their Series C in September of 2022. Kojo has now powered more than 10,000 construction projects across 47 states, saving customers 75% of the manual entry they previously had to do and reducing materials waste on jobsites by up to 90%. About Kojo Kojo is the construction industry's leading materials and inventory management platform. Kojo enables trade and self-perform general contractors to streamline every step in the procurement and inventory management process from takeoff to closeout. By connecting field, office, warehouse, accounting, and vendors teams on one software platform, Kojo gives contractors visibility into real-time materials spending and usage, helps them source the best prices and availability across vendors, reduces material waste, and increases labor productivity. To learn more, visit www.usekojo.com.

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Products, Mechanical and Motion Systems, Engineering Tech

Global Engineering Company JGC Holdings Selects Boomi To Modernize Its Business Systems

Businesswire | May 31, 2023

Boomi™, the intelligent connectivity and automation leader, today announced that JGC Holdings Corporation (“JGC”), a global engineering company, has selected the Boomi platform to modernize its IT infrastructure and support the company’s digital transformation goals. Based in Yokohama, Japan, JGC operates businesses across numerous regions worldwide, requiring a hub-and-spoke IT architecture to seamlessly connect its various applications and platforms. Given the complexity of developing a new system, JGC took a phased approach to combine its software as a service (SaaS) platforms, such as Coupa and ServiceNow. The scale of the project, which required connecting numerous interfaces, systems, and platforms, resulted in escalated costs. JGC approached Nomura Research Institute (NRI) to recommend a reputable vendor with a strong track record and experience in connecting multiple platforms and simplifying complex projects. “Boomi was among four vendors in the selection process and has vast experience in solving customers’ challenges across their digital transformation journey,” said Mr. Atsuo Honiden, Group Manager, Procurement DX Group, Digital Project Delivery Department, JGC. “Boomi was the best fit, both in terms of technology and cost effectiveness. In addition, Boomi’s solution matched our vision to gradually integrate a number of systems to achieve a hub-and-spoke architecture.” “Boomi has a proven track record in global deployments and provided a cost-effective solution for JGC Corporation’s procurement project,” said Mr. Akira Matsumoto, Senior Corporate Managing Director, Division Manager, DX Platform Division, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. “Boomi's various connectors have enabled us to efficiently implement a hub-and-spoke architecture, connecting multiple systems in phases.” “Boomi is the largest cloud-native independent integration company in the world with the largest customer base among integration platform vendors. We connect everyone to everything, and pride ourselves on connecting more than 200,000 unique endpoints, helping our customers, like JGC, to innovate their business quickly and efficiently,” said Kazunori Hori, Director, Japan at Boomi. Boomi touts a growing community of more than 100,000 members and one of the largest arrays of global systems integrators (GSIs) in the iPaaS space. The company boasts a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners, including Accenture, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake; and works with the largest hyperscaler cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft, among others. Included on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ and Inc. 5000 lists as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies, Boomi has won three International Stevie® Awards, for Company of the Year (two years in a row) and Product Innovation; the Gold Globee® Award in the Platform as a Service (PaaS) category; the Merit Award for Technology in the Cloud Services category; the Stratus Award as a Global Leader in Cloud Computing 2022, and received the prestigious 5-star rating in the CRN Partner Program Guide for two consecutive years. About Boomi Boomi aims to make the world a better place by connecting everyone to everything, anywhere. The pioneer of cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS), and now a category-leading, global software as a service (SaaS) company, Boomi touts the largest customer base among integration platform vendors and a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners – including Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake. Global organizations turn to Boomi’s award-winning platform to discover, manage, and orchestrate data, while connecting applications, processes, and people for better, faster outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.boomi.com.

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Products,Mechanical and Motion Systems,Construction

Komatsu announces plans to acquire German-based manufacturer GHH Group GmbH

Komatsu | December 21, 2022

Komatsu today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire GHH Group GmbH (GHH), a manufacturer of underground mining, tunnelling and special civil engineering equipment headquartered in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Founded in the 1960s and currently part of the German-owned Schmidt Kranz Group, GHH offers a wide range of equipment focused on loaders (LHDs) and articulated dump trucks in the mid-seam mass mining, narrow vein and low-profile market segments The company also supports customers with aftermarket parts and service support through the entire life of each machine. With this acquisition, Komatsu will add GHH’s factories and rebuild facilities in key markets, in addition to its robust product offerings and talented staff. “We are very excited about this acquisition as it represents a great opportunity for Komatsu to expand its offerings for underground mining equipment and accelerate new product development through synergies with Komatsu’s existing team and product offerings, By adding GHH’s factories and rebuild facilities in key markets in Europe, South Africa, India and Chile, we also aim to strengthen production and service capabilities for our customers.” Peter Salditt, president and CEO, Komatsu Mining Corp Komatsu intends to continue the excellent service GHH provides and plans to support business as usual post-acquisition. The combined team will then work together to expand Komatsu’s offering for underground mining equipment and increase customer access to products in new territories. “GHH is excited to be able to start a new journey with a strong player in the mining world. This opens huge doors for our people and our products to develop further and grow beyond what we could have hoped for, This is the next logical step in becoming a true global player and we look forward to becoming part of the Komatsu family.” Dr. Jan Petzold, CEO GHH Group Per the company’s ongoing mid-term management plan “DANTOTSU Value - Together, to ‘The Next’ for sustainable growth,” Komatsu is working to expand offerings for underground hard rock mining, creating new value for customers with the development of new equipment, processes and technologies that will help operations step forward to the next stage for the workplace of the future and provide a more sustainable environment for the next generation. About Komatsu Komatsu develops and supplies technologies, equipment and services for the construction, mining, forklift, industrial and forestry markets. For a century, the company has been creating value for its customers through manufacturing and technology innovation, partnering with others to empower a sustainable future where people, business and the planet thrive together. Front-line industries worldwide use Komatsu solutions to develop modern infrastructure, extract fundamental minerals, maintain forests and create consumer products. The company's global service and distributor networks support customer operations to enhance safety and productivity while optimizing performance.

Read More

Materials, Construction

Construction Procurement Platform Kojo Expands into Mechanical

PRnewswire | June 07, 2023

Kojo, the construction industry's leading materials and inventory management platform, today announced it has expanded to serve mechanical contractors. "At Kojo, our mission has always been to simplify processes for our customers so that they can have more time back to do what's really important – build," said Maria Davidson, Kojo's founder and CEO. "Our mechanical Beta launch has been our most successful to date. We're thrilled that our mechanical customers are already seeing so much value with Kojo and we're excited to continue to onboard many more all over the country." Since the offering launched in Beta, mechanical contractors have sent over 6,000 field requests to the office and created 17,000 purchase orders worth $50 million in Kojo. "By our calculation that's almost 6,000 times the field and office didn't have to call and email back and forth to figure out what was being ordered," Davidson added. Alex Eldridge at Tharco, a leading mechanical contractor in Maryland, said, "Kojo has been really smart in the way they've customized this build for mechanical contractors. For example, there are many nicknames for parts out there and this can create confusion for communication between the field and office. Kojo has a preset catalog field users can order from that even supports slang terms for easy field-to-office part name translation. It's details like this that convinced us Kojo was for us." The mechanical contracting market in the U.S. is huge and rapidly growing. More than $123 billion of mechanical work is done in the U.S. annually. The sector employs nearly 400,000 workers and that number is expected to grow by 5% through 2031. Kojo's expansion into mechanical follows the launch of its Automated Invoice Matching product, which streamlines the accounting process for commercial trade contractors. This builds on Kojo's purchase order and delivery functionality, making Kojo a true all-in-one platform that allows customers to manage the full end-to-end materials procurement process. Automated Invoice Matching launched in Q2 of 2023 and to date has processed $9.2 million in invoices, catching mistakes on 27% of invoices processed. Kojo announced their Series C in September of 2022. Kojo has now powered more than 10,000 construction projects across 47 states, saving customers 75% of the manual entry they previously had to do and reducing materials waste on jobsites by up to 90%. About Kojo Kojo is the construction industry's leading materials and inventory management platform. Kojo enables trade and self-perform general contractors to streamline every step in the procurement and inventory management process from takeoff to closeout. By connecting field, office, warehouse, accounting, and vendors teams on one software platform, Kojo gives contractors visibility into real-time materials spending and usage, helps them source the best prices and availability across vendors, reduces material waste, and increases labor productivity. To learn more, visit www.usekojo.com.

Read More

Products, Mechanical and Motion Systems, Engineering Tech

Global Engineering Company JGC Holdings Selects Boomi To Modernize Its Business Systems

Businesswire | May 31, 2023

Boomi™, the intelligent connectivity and automation leader, today announced that JGC Holdings Corporation (“JGC”), a global engineering company, has selected the Boomi platform to modernize its IT infrastructure and support the company’s digital transformation goals. Based in Yokohama, Japan, JGC operates businesses across numerous regions worldwide, requiring a hub-and-spoke IT architecture to seamlessly connect its various applications and platforms. Given the complexity of developing a new system, JGC took a phased approach to combine its software as a service (SaaS) platforms, such as Coupa and ServiceNow. The scale of the project, which required connecting numerous interfaces, systems, and platforms, resulted in escalated costs. JGC approached Nomura Research Institute (NRI) to recommend a reputable vendor with a strong track record and experience in connecting multiple platforms and simplifying complex projects. “Boomi was among four vendors in the selection process and has vast experience in solving customers’ challenges across their digital transformation journey,” said Mr. Atsuo Honiden, Group Manager, Procurement DX Group, Digital Project Delivery Department, JGC. “Boomi was the best fit, both in terms of technology and cost effectiveness. In addition, Boomi’s solution matched our vision to gradually integrate a number of systems to achieve a hub-and-spoke architecture.” “Boomi has a proven track record in global deployments and provided a cost-effective solution for JGC Corporation’s procurement project,” said Mr. Akira Matsumoto, Senior Corporate Managing Director, Division Manager, DX Platform Division, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. “Boomi's various connectors have enabled us to efficiently implement a hub-and-spoke architecture, connecting multiple systems in phases.” “Boomi is the largest cloud-native independent integration company in the world with the largest customer base among integration platform vendors. We connect everyone to everything, and pride ourselves on connecting more than 200,000 unique endpoints, helping our customers, like JGC, to innovate their business quickly and efficiently,” said Kazunori Hori, Director, Japan at Boomi. Boomi touts a growing community of more than 100,000 members and one of the largest arrays of global systems integrators (GSIs) in the iPaaS space. The company boasts a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners, including Accenture, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake; and works with the largest hyperscaler cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft, among others. Included on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ and Inc. 5000 lists as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies, Boomi has won three International Stevie® Awards, for Company of the Year (two years in a row) and Product Innovation; the Gold Globee® Award in the Platform as a Service (PaaS) category; the Merit Award for Technology in the Cloud Services category; the Stratus Award as a Global Leader in Cloud Computing 2022, and received the prestigious 5-star rating in the CRN Partner Program Guide for two consecutive years. About Boomi Boomi aims to make the world a better place by connecting everyone to everything, anywhere. The pioneer of cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS), and now a category-leading, global software as a service (SaaS) company, Boomi touts the largest customer base among integration platform vendors and a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners – including Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake. Global organizations turn to Boomi’s award-winning platform to discover, manage, and orchestrate data, while connecting applications, processes, and people for better, faster outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.boomi.com.

Read More

Products,Mechanical and Motion Systems,Construction

Komatsu announces plans to acquire German-based manufacturer GHH Group GmbH

Komatsu | December 21, 2022

Komatsu today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire GHH Group GmbH (GHH), a manufacturer of underground mining, tunnelling and special civil engineering equipment headquartered in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Founded in the 1960s and currently part of the German-owned Schmidt Kranz Group, GHH offers a wide range of equipment focused on loaders (LHDs) and articulated dump trucks in the mid-seam mass mining, narrow vein and low-profile market segments The company also supports customers with aftermarket parts and service support through the entire life of each machine. With this acquisition, Komatsu will add GHH’s factories and rebuild facilities in key markets, in addition to its robust product offerings and talented staff. “We are very excited about this acquisition as it represents a great opportunity for Komatsu to expand its offerings for underground mining equipment and accelerate new product development through synergies with Komatsu’s existing team and product offerings, By adding GHH’s factories and rebuild facilities in key markets in Europe, South Africa, India and Chile, we also aim to strengthen production and service capabilities for our customers.” Peter Salditt, president and CEO, Komatsu Mining Corp Komatsu intends to continue the excellent service GHH provides and plans to support business as usual post-acquisition. The combined team will then work together to expand Komatsu’s offering for underground mining equipment and increase customer access to products in new territories. “GHH is excited to be able to start a new journey with a strong player in the mining world. This opens huge doors for our people and our products to develop further and grow beyond what we could have hoped for, This is the next logical step in becoming a true global player and we look forward to becoming part of the Komatsu family.” Dr. Jan Petzold, CEO GHH Group Per the company’s ongoing mid-term management plan “DANTOTSU Value - Together, to ‘The Next’ for sustainable growth,” Komatsu is working to expand offerings for underground hard rock mining, creating new value for customers with the development of new equipment, processes and technologies that will help operations step forward to the next stage for the workplace of the future and provide a more sustainable environment for the next generation. About Komatsu Komatsu develops and supplies technologies, equipment and services for the construction, mining, forklift, industrial and forestry markets. For a century, the company has been creating value for its customers through manufacturing and technology innovation, partnering with others to empower a sustainable future where people, business and the planet thrive together. Front-line industries worldwide use Komatsu solutions to develop modern infrastructure, extract fundamental minerals, maintain forests and create consumer products. The company's global service and distributor networks support customer operations to enhance safety and productivity while optimizing performance.

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