A creative program is helping kids discover the wonderful world of engineering

CONSTRUCTION

Article | June 16, 2021

The global pandemic has affected fundamental aspects of everyone’s daily lives, from the way we work and learn to how we shop and socialize. The need for social distancing has brought about a number of changes to the public spaces used by all, such as one-way systems and temporary hand-sanitizing facilities. However, these measures are short-term fixes, often shoehorned into spaces that were not designed with social distancing in mind. The challenge for architects and designers as we move into a post-COVID future is to design for these new requirements in innovative and creative ways that still enable a sense of togetherness while maintaining physical distance – the new post-COVID architecture. These are three ways architecture might change as a result of the pandemic.

ENGINEERING TECH

Article | May 13, 2021

Whether it’s jigs, fixtures or grips, tooling remains a vital, if seemingly mundane, part of the manufacturing process. Regardless of the complexity of your products, the productivity and efficiency of your production depend on the availability of high-quality tooling aids. Maximising production efficiency and productivity is a key concern for manufacturers. Jigs and fixtures are manufacturing aids used to increase the reliability, accuracy and quality of the manufacturing process whilst minimising production cycle times and improving worker safety.

Article | April 21, 2020

As nations the world over continue working through the uncertainty of COVID-19, personal protective equipment is more important than ever. Under these circumstances, however, PPE doesn’t relate to the hard hats, eye protection and steel toe boots our concrete blog typically covers. It’s the protective items healthcare professionals need to perform their work safely. Medical PPE has been in short supply, with consumers looking to protect themselves against the COVID-19 coronavirus snapping up face masks, gloves and the like. As medical facilities’ need for these important tools grows, however, many have turned to unlikely sources: Construction companies.

ENGINEERING TECH

Article | July 13, 2021

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in its latest Fiscal Risks Report has forecast the cost to the UK public finances from climate change (physical risks) and the transition to net-zero (transition risks) across a range of different scenarios. Describing the challenge, the OBR states: There are many other policy challenges to overcome, so the path to net zero can be expected to involve many policy levers on top of carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes, including bans and other regulations, and public subsidies and investment. These will all have economic and fiscal implications of one sort or another – either directly (via taxes and spending) or indirectly (via wider economic outcomes). Taking early action to achieve net zero would add 21% of GDP to public sector net debt by 2050, a smaller amount than that added by the Covid-19 pandemic. This amount comes from increased spending on net-zero investment, the loss of tax revenues (such as fuel duty), revenues from tax on carbon and other costs such as increased debt interest payments.