< Previous20 Business Link www.blmforum.net MANUFACTURING SPOTLIGHT output price growth in the coming quarter remaining strong. Yet here in the present, shortages of inputs and delivery delays disrupting production schedules are leading to slower output growth and resulting in marked increases in input prices. Increasingly, manufacturers are moving towards the smart factory concept which involves the implementation of smart technologies to automate, augment and improve the manufacturing process. This won’t solve shortages of input, but it can help to streamline operations, reduce downtime with inventory replenishment and save money in the long run. Machine sensors, for example, allow factories to measure and reduce energy and water waste leading to lower operating costs and more environmentally sustainable operations. Using these sensors can also lead to better asset tracking, triggering orders when stock runs low so manufacturers can completely automate their inventory replenishment process. The same technology can also automatically identify potential equipment failures before they happen, saving on more expensive repairs and protracted periods of downtime. There will always be some resistance to new technologies, but most companies in the industrial manufacturing sector are exploring this concept or at least looking into smart technologies. The downside, however, is that the right infrastructure is needed before any Internet of Things (IoT) system can be installed. This obvious requires investment. Costs here can be steep – even prohibitive – but at a time when the economy is still in a fragile state and supply chain issues are rife, investing in technologies that will help to future-proof the factory floor can be an attractive prospect. But there’s more to the smart factory concept than just IoT. The so-called ‘lights out’ production concept – where manufacturing activities © Shutterstock /metamorworks 22 Á 18-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:02 Page 3ISO/IEC 17020 / ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 / OHSAS 18001 For all enquiries please TELEPHONE: 01469 575728 | Email: ukinfo@irisndt.com www.irisndt.co.uk CHATHAM | DERBY | ELLESMERE PORT | HULL | IMMINGHAM PEMBROKE DOCK | STOCKTON-ON-TEES ADVANCED NDT • Remote Robotic Inspections – Visual & UT • Drone Surveys – Internal and External • Laser Scanning • Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing • Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) • AUT & PAUT Corrosion Mapping • Tube Inspection (IRIS, ECT, RFT, NFA) • Guided Wave Testing – Long Range UT • QSR1 – Corrosion Under Pipe Supports • MFL – Tank Floors and Pipelines • HTHA Inspections (TOFD, TFM, PAUT & TULA) CONVENTIONAL NDT • X-Radiography & Gamma Radiography • Computed and Digital Radiography • Close Proximity Radiography • Ultrasonic Inspection • Magnetic Particle Inspection • Dye Penetrant Inspection • Eddy Current & Eddy Current Array • Positive Material Identification (PMI) • Hardness Testing • Ferrite Testing • ACFM Inspection • Vacuum Box Testing INSPECTION AND TESTING SERVICES IRISNDT is a leading provider of Asset Integrity Engineering, Non- Destructive Testing, Heat Treatment and Laboratory services. This is achieved through investment in training local personnel, continuous development of our facilities and refreshing our equipment to offer the latest in technology and innovations. This is supported by a strong commitment to safety, quality, and the environment. IRISNDT are closely supported by our colleagues in Canada, the USA and Australia. ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Rope Access • Heat Treatment • Pressure Testing • Welding Inspection • Materials Laboratory (ISO 17025) • Welder Training • Failure Investigations ASSET INTEGRITY ENGINEERING • Pressure System Inspections • Storage Tank Inspections • Pipeline Inspections • Out of Service and In-Service Inspections • Category 1, 2 & 3 Inspectors • Written Schemes of Examination (WSE’s) • Fitness for Service (FFS) Assessments • Engineering Calculations • Maxi-Trak Field Services (Customized Software) • Bund Surveys 18-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:02 Page 422 Business Link www.blmforum.net MANUFACTURING SPOTLIGHT and material flow are handled automatically – is becoming a hallmark of modern manufacturing. Obviously, this can’t be achieved by a traditional workforce and so robots have become much more commonplace on the factory floor. These systems help to improve product quality and uniformity and, crucially, cut manufacturing costs by replacing increasingly expensive human labour. As well as improving efficiency, lowering operation costs and boosting output, investing in robots makes sound financial sense. Over the last three decades, the average robot price has fallen by half in real terms whilst the cost of labour has continued to rise. Robotic systems also have the advantage over IoT as they’re comparatively easy to assemble, install and integrate thanks to overall advances in computing power, software development techniques and networking technologies. Whether working in tandem with robotic systems or as part of a wider IoT, augmented reality (AR) has a number of practical applications on the factory floor. Although the AR dates back to 1968, the technology is still in its infancy, but there’s a huge scope of what it can offer manufacturers. It can be used to train maintenance engineers on the specific environment they will encounter, making it a boon to hazardous environments such as food and drink and pharmaceutical manufacturing. For facilities managers and site operators, the technology allows off-site staff to experience the same view as a maintenance team on site. By projecting information on a heads-up display, augmented reality can also assist in complex assembly, something that’s already being used by companies like Boeing and will likely permeate the industry in the years to come. Yet this is only one side of the issue, with the other being staff. As we’ve already touched on, labour costs are rising and companies may be keen to automate more and more parts of their production line, but there will always be a place for human workers, especially in the manufacturing industry. Training is an ongoing process and should be regularly seen to, especially when adding ever more complex machinery and equipment to a production floor. As well as ensuring staff have the skills needed to ensure continuity and efficiency, it’s also an effective staff retention tactic and is often more efficient than taking on new employees. By tying staff training into the installation of new equipment, disruption can be kept to a minimum as there is always an expected period of downtime expected in these instances. © Shutterstock /Dmitry Kalinovsky 18-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:03 Page 5www.blmforum.net Business Link 23 Operating from our 46 acre site in Boston, Lincolnshire, we have over 100 years experience providing creosoted timber poles, railway sleepers, gates and fencing. View the range at www.caldersandgrandidge.com Email enquiries@caldersandgrandidge.com or call our experts on 01205 358866 Calders & Grandidge, 194 London Road, Boston, Lincs PE21 7HJ MANUFACTURING SPOTLIGHT © Shutterstock /zhu difeng 18-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:05 Page 624 Business Link www.blmforum.net MATERIALS HANDLING The realities of post-Brexit Britain and the promises and pledges given in the run-up to the 2016 referendum are incompatible. The rhetoric was about taking control, about seizing a bright shining future for the nation. Although the pandemic undoubtedly takes much of the blame, it’s fair to say that whatever new age of trading and economic prosperity Brexit was supposed to usher in has failed to materialise. Nowhere is the grim reality of post-Brexit Britain as obvious at present than in the materials handling industry. A survey undertaken by Road Haulage Association (RHA) of its members estimates that there is a shortage of more than 100,000 qualified drivers in the UK. This figure includes thousands of drivers from EU member states who were previously living and working in the UK. Not only does this present a very real risk of empty store shelves – especially as we enter the busy festive trading period – but has led to petrol stations across the UK literally running out. That’s not because we’re experiencing fuel shortages, but rather a shortage of qualified people to drive the trucks needed to deliver the fuel. To help combat this deficit, bolster fuel supply, and ensure store shelves remain stocked, the government is introducing temporary visas for 5,000 fuel tanker and food lorry drivers to work in the UK in the run-up to Christmas. If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that the key role that haulage drivers play has been made patently clear not only to government but to the public at large. Yet it isn’t only transport that has been hit by labour shortages, according to the CEO of the trade organisation United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA). Indeed, Clare Bottle claims that the ongoing media attention around the driver shortage fails to reflect the wider labour shortage across the logistics sector. Speaking on BBC News, she said: “We have fewer workers than we used to have and some of this is down to Brexit. Fifteen per cent of HGV drivers were EU nationals, but the proportion of forklift truck drivers is thirty-four per cent. If anything, warehousing has been hit harder than driving the by exodus of people from our workforce.” She added: “Warehouses cannot operate efficiently unless the receipt and despatch of goods is well controlled. Driver shortages are making transport operations more fragile and unreliable and this in turn reduces warehouse productivity – and profitability. Clearly, there is a responsibility upon both the industry and the government to ensure people are aware of the job opportunities in logistics and that there is a more coherent framework of training to address labour shortages and skills gaps. The interventions on visas and driving tests are welcome, but it is still not clear whether they will work in practice.” The pandemic has only increased the growth in ecommerce and, thus, precipitated the need for more drivers and forklift operators and more warehousing and fulfilment services. Figures from estate agency Knight Frank found that in 2020 online sales accounted for 27.9 per cent of total retail sales and, with non-essential shops closed during lockdown, ecommerce penetration rates reached a record 36.3 per cent in January 2021. In response, Future Labour shortages are wreaking havoc right across the materials handling industry at a time when the industry continues to grapple with its carbon emissions. However, new innovations may be able to solve both issues. proofing 24-26.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:12 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 25 MATERIALS HANDLING retailers and distribution firms have rapidly upscaled their operations by expanding delivery services. Against this backdrop, warehouse take-up exceeded fifty million square foot in 2020 compared to thirty-four million in 2019. The Knight Frank report, released in April 2021, revealed that forty million square foot of new warehouse space in developments larger than 50,000 square foot is scheduled for completion – compared to twenty million completed last year. However, even with the end of the third national lockdown in June, allowing shoppers to return to the high street, the internet will play a larger role in the retail market than it did before the pandemic. “Retailers need to embrace omni channel retail to remain competitive,” said Knight Frank. The company’s analysis shows that every billion pounds of online sales requires approximately 1.36 million square foot of warehouse space – given that UK customers collectively spent £19.5 billion at Amazon alone in 2020, the pressing need for more space is obvious. Moreover, online sales rose £34 billion year on year in 2020 and is expected to growth by a further £41 billion over the next four years. As can be expected, this massive growth is driving additional requirements for warehouse space and placing added pressure on the materials handling sector. Yet the beleaguered sector was already beset with environmental issues. Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) currently emit eighteen per cent of all road vehicle CO2 emissions, despite only representing 1.2 per cent of the total number of vehicles on the road and five per cent of the total miles driven. They are, however, essential to the health of the UK economy, transporting ninety-eight per cent of our food, consumer, and agricultural products across the country. Electric vehicles have emerged as the logical solution to keeping freight moving, whilst also reducing emissions. However, battery technology is still developing and, at a time when drivers are required to stick to strict delivery schedules, charge times aren’t rapid enough and charging infrastructure as it stands is no way near abundant enough to support the nation’s road haulage industry. But 26 Á © Shutterstock /EddieCloud 24-26.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:12 Page 226 Business Link www.blmforum.net MATERIALS HANDLING what if lorries and trucks could charge while in transit? The Department for Transport recently awarded funding through Innovate UK to a consortium spearheaded by tech-based construction and engineering company Costain to lead the UK’s first ever study on the electrification of long-range trucks with dynamic charging, using overhead wires on motorways. The study is part of the £20 million put aside for zero emission road freight trials under the Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) announced in July and was awarded based on the consortium’s expertise in sustainable transport. It includes Siemens Mobility, Scania, The Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (Cambridge University and Heriot-Watt University), ARUP, Milne Research, SPL Powerlines, CI Planning, BOX ENERGI and Possible. The consortium has proposed an ‘electric road system’ using the Siemens Mobility ‘eHighway’ technology, as the fastest, lowest carbon and most cost- effective route to decarbonising our road freight industry and delivering cleaner air. The nine-month study kicked off in August and is hoped to be the forerunner of a scheme that aims to see the UK’s major roads served by overhead lines by the 2030s. These eHighways allow specially adapted trucks to attach to the overhead wires and run using the electricity, like rail and trolley-bus systems. The trucks come equipped with a battery that charges while they are in motion so they can detach to both overtake vehicles and reach their destination with zero emissions from start to finish. Consortium members Siemens Mobility, Scania and SPL have previously trialled smaller electric road systems in Germany and Sweden, with this UK initiative being the first in the world to investigate deploying it at a much larger scale. The project will look at electrifying at least nineteen miles of the M180 as the pilot – linking Immingham Port with the logistics hubs of Doncaster and its airport. The partners plan to take the lessons learned from Europe, and provide technical, economic, and environmental recommendations for installing a proof-of-concept system with a bigger demonstration fleet. A fully operational electric road system across the UK would be expected to create tens of thousands of jobs across a range of green industries, with around 200,000 new electric trucks needing to be built over a ten-fifteen- year period. This will also provide an opportunity to completely revamp the UK truck manufacturing industry and its supply chains, futureproofing it by accelerating fleet digitalisation; a key lesson learned across the industry as it recovers from the 2020 pandemic’s disruption. There’s no silver bullet or single solution to solving the issues that currently plague the materials handling sector. But with a multi-pronged approach of boosting job opportunities, wages and training in the logistics industry, investing in more warehousing space, and continuing to electrify road transport, we can help to future proof the sector. © Shutterstock /Scharfsinn 24-26.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:12 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 27 WATER AND WASTE MANAGEMENT In the corporate world, the onus is on reducing water usage and making better use of what water is used. Even media, marketing and other non-water intensive industries still use water every single day. Toilets, sinks, water coolers, dishwashers, not to mention the water involved in the commercial cleaning of an office block or building – it all adds up. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to reduce consumption and use water more efficiently. There are simple and often inexpensive options to help reduce water usage in the workplace, such as fitting water aerators to taps. Also known as flow regulators, this small attachment controls the amount of water that flows through the tap without affecting water pressure as they mix the water with air. Then there are displacement devices which can be placed in toilet cisterns so that less water is used per flush. Alternatively, companies can install duel flush toilets. If an office or facility has a garden, a water butt can be installed to gather rainwater which can then be used to water the grounds. Even with solutions such as these, companies should still carry out regular water audits to determine where water inefficiencies are taking place. One of the biggest issues here is leaks, which not only waste water © Shutterstock /V aldis Skudre Closing the loop Water resources are under increasing pressure from climate change, population growth and the need to protect the environment. However, increasing ambition from government, water companies and businesses are together having a profound impact in the amount of water that’s being used and how wastewater is being treated and recycled. 28 Á 27-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:16 Page 128 Business Link www.blmforum.net WATER AND WASTE MANAGEMENT and cost money, but can lead to damage and costly repairs – especially as not all business insurance policies cover flooding of this kind. As part of this audit process, it’s also worth determining where wastewater is going and if it can be recycled into other areas of the business or sent to a more environmentally-friendly treatment plant. Becoming a more water efficient business means understanding exactly how water is being used and where. Although audits will provide actionable insight in this regard, a smart meter can be invaluable in reducing usage. Just like those used to monitor electricity usage, smart water meters provide detailed data on exactly how much water is being used, peak times of usage and so on. It’s a value tool not only for business operators, but also for water companies, helping to create an in-depth map of the nation’s water usage and demands. Reducing water isn’t only the duty of company bosses or facilities managers but should instead be the responsibility of an entire workforce. It can be difficult to motivate staff and, frankly, people are prone to forgetfulness. Compared to meeting deadlines or sealing a new deal, turning the tap off after you’ve washed your hands can seem insignificant. But it is important that an entire team works together, so putting up water efficiency posters around the workplace – particularly in the kitchen and bathroom – can help to keep staff informed and serve as reminders. Bosses can also appoint one staff member to serve as ‘water champion’ that will oversee a company’s initiatives and ensure staff are engaging with the water efficiency processes. This could be a shared role, in which one member of staff serves for a month before passing on the responsibility to another after their four- week tenure comes to an end. Even for businesses with only a handful of employees, this can really help to make a difference. Although office-based companies don’t use anything like the amount of water as the agriculture or construction sectors, there are hidden water usages everywhere. For example, it takes ten litres of water to produce just a single sheet of paper. In this example, 27-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:16 Page 2www.blmforum.net Business Link 29 WATER AND WASTE MANAGEMENT companies can reduce their overall water footprint by going paperless or, at the very least, taking steps to lessen the amount of the paper they use. Steps such as these are part of wider efforts to reduce water usage and, by extension, wastewater. That’s all well and good for less-intensive industries but, as we’ve already alluded to, there are several sectors which require huge amounts of water. Industries including manufacturing, construction, food production and farming produce torrents of wastewater and this is typically filled with contaminates including heavy metals, pathogens, faeces and other biological matter. It therefore needs to be processed, but rather than being wasted – as has historically been the case – it can be treated, purified and recycled. Treating and purifying water with ultraviolet (UV) light is a versatile and highly reliable method. In cities where ageing infrastructure is a concern, for example, contaminants can enter the water source and put the public at risk. Yet even at a domestic level, a UV water purification system can destroy 99.99 per cent of waterborne microorganisms in a single pass. Unlike some of the other technologies and solutions available, UV is environmentally-friendly and results in no disinfection by-products. Moreover, its electrical needs are low, meaning it can run indefinitely without racking up costly bills. Using the correct and consistent dosage, UV treatment has been scientifically proven to deactivate the entire assortment of microorganism attributed to spoilage – including viruses, bacteria and moulds. In a triumph for health and safety, the technology was also shown to switch-off microorganisms resistant to pasteurisation. This is critical in the food supply chain where waterborne organisms are responsible for adversely affecting the smell, taste and functionality of food and beverage products. Although a company might not reclaim its wastewater, leaving it untreated leaves their facilities and product offering vulnerable to contamination. The future of business is intrinsically tied to the future of water management, so it pays to get ahead of the curve. © Shutterstock / People Image Studio © Shutterstock /ESB Basic 27-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 09:16 Page 3Next >