July-August 2021

News 0 8 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk July/August 2021 with a capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year. Chris Foxall, financial director at Riversimple, said: “When we announced our long-term strategic partnership with Siemens at the start of the year, we were optimistic of the possibilities that our collaboration could bring in terms of supporting our preparations for full-scale manufacture. “Through the innovative work of the hackathon and leveraging Siemens’ expertise in technology software and plant simulation, driven by its engineering talent, we have been able to reduce the size of the proposed factory by 20%, saving significant cost from the outset, and supporting our ambitions for environmental sustainability. “It’s a fantastic outcome from our new partnership, with much more to come as we pursue our goal of creating the world’s most sustainable car factory to build the cars of the future, powered by hydrogen.” The hackathon brought together a mixture of experienced Siemens engineers and talent, facilitated by Dave Sutcliffe, head of automotive, Olivia Kelly, software engineer, and Elliot Bloor, a Higher Industrial Engineering Apprentice, who were both involved in a hackathon for the record-breaking ventilator challenge last year which accelerated and refined the production of 13,500 ventilators in just 12 weeks. Kelly said: “Hackathons are proving to be an incredible method of fast-tracking ideas and turning them into solutions. It was a fantastic experience being part of the Riversimple hackathon and coming up with some game- changing solutions with an emphasis on sustainability.” Hackathon participants were split into three teams focused on three areas: the composite manufacturing process; assembly and end of line; and energy. Dan Burbridge, Digitalisation Specialist, led the composites manufacturing team working alongside Aamir Adam, Field Service for Automation, Marie Aylward, Graduate Electrical Engineer, and Ben Parry, Digital Technologies Apprentice. Burbridge said: “Our key focus was on optimising production parameters such as floor space, staffing levels, number of shifts, and the level of automation needed for the carbon fibre monocoque chassis assembly. “Using Plant Simulation we were able to create a digital twin of the production process and test ideas. As a result, we were able to free up floor space and reduce the size of the factory.” The hackathon results were presented to key stakeholders at Siemens UK, Riversimple and the Welsh government. Reflecting on the achievement of the hackathon, Brian Holliday, managing director, Digital Industries, Siemens UK and Ireland, said: “The hackathon was a monumental exercise that resulted in a practical design for a future factory which will produce the cars of the future. “I am extremely proud of our team of engineers, including many apprentices and graduates at the start of their careers. Once again, we set a significant challenge to use brainstorming and development to accelerate ideas into real-life solutions, and once again they have come up trumps, demonstrating the power of collaboration and digital enterprise tools.” As an organisation we are often asked which are the most important manufacturing sectors. There are a number of ways of ascribing this but there is little doubt that the UK Defence, Aerospace, Shipping and Rail sectors are at the very forefront of importance to the long term health of the UK economy, providing high value, high skill jobs right across the country according to the latest data we have published in association with Raytheon UK. According to the data, these sectors account for over £12bn in manufacturing output - almost 5% of total manufacturing - and support 207,000 jobs directly and indirectly. Many of the companies in these sectors and their supply chains, 97% of whom are SMEs, are based in the North West, North East, and Scotland areas increasingly critical to regional growth and levelling up the economy. As well as investing in high-value skills the Defence, Aerospace, Shipping & Rail sectors are also major investors in Research and Development (R&D), accounting for over a fifth (21%) of all manufacturing R&D. The UK also has the 2nd highest Government budget allocation for defence R&D amongst NATO countries, worth over $2bn. The sectors are not just important domestically but are also substantial contributors to the UK’s export performance with the UK being the second largest global defence exporter after the US, while the UK accounts for almost one fifth (16%) of the global defence export market. The UK has the third highest sales of equipment, a figure set to rise as Governments around the world increase spending in areas such as cyber security and wider defence. Looking forward as technology accelerates and, the need for clean transport grows, the defence, aerospace, shipbuilding and rail industries will form the cornerstone of advanced, high-value manufacturing in the UK. Competing in some of the most highly skilled technologies and market around the world, together with their supply chains they will be critical to the future success of our economy as we recover. In addition, the sheer complexity and length of development for major defence equipment programmes and their longevity in service can literally span generations of engineers and are set to continue proving high-value high-skill jobs for decades to come. By MAKE UK chief executive, Stephen Phipson MAKE uk - the manufacturers’ organisation monthly news comment Chris Foxall, financial director at Riversimple