Developing Engineers

During my final few months at Kingston University, just like everyone else wanting to graduate, a 15,000 word dissertation on a project of choice was required. Mine was the design of a Fire-fighting Aircraft, in which I proposed that the modification of an existing aircraft will be the ideal way of going about this.

RAF Voyager, the Aircraft to replace the VC-10 just like my theoretical Fire-fighting aircraft is a modified Aircraft – an Airbus A330-200. With such a proven track record, it is no surprise that similar decisions have been made by the Governments of India, USA, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, France.

However, the peculiar aspect of the Voyager is the means by which the project is being funded – PFI (Public Finance Initiative).

Under this arrangement, the private sector takes on the risk of designing, building, maintaining and operating the 14 MRTT Aircrafts (Multi Role Transport Tanker), to the output specifications set by the MOD which includes Aerial Refuelling Capabilities. As a result the Airtanker Consortium (Shareholder breakdown below) was formed and awarded the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) contract in 2008.

At a RAeS lecture on the 23rd of February 2011, James Scott - Director of Flight Operations at Airtanker, said this route allows for healthy collaboration between the public and private sector that gets the best of both worlds.

Several Individuals though, disagree that PFI is the best available finance option, including the National Audit Office who published a report detailing the deficiencies of the PFI deal, some of which are costs that are likely to spiral beyond the published estimated values.

The following is a quote from the NAO report published 30 march 2010.

The contract for FSTA is likely to cost arround £10.5 billion over its duration, although this is a forecast based on expected usage rates and the actual cost could vary. The department [MOD] has estimated the full project cost at £12.3 billion, once its own ongoing costs are included. FSTA will cost the department [MOD[ an average annual payment of around £390 million to Airtanker, but the department [MOD] will not start paying for the contract until FSTA is introduced to service. In addition, the department [MOD] will pay £60 million per annum on personnel, fuel and other related costs. Between the start of the formal assessment phase and contract signature, the department spent £48 million managing the project, including £27 million on advisers, £10 million on supporting the bidders and £11 million on internal costs.

A series of reports have also been published by the House of Commons‘ Treasury commitee, that concluded that PFI deals are too costly, inflexible and opaque.

In a BBC radio 4 programme broadcast in June last year, one of the issues raised with PFI deals is that Equity holders (See Chart above for Airtanker shareholders) are known to sell on their shares for as much as 30% profit. Even If equities are not sold, it is difficult to determine whether excessive profits are not being made on the deals due to a lack of access to cost breakdown of projects. Some of the more technical flaws of the project, are discussed in a very long blog post here.

Personally, I conclude that although these public-private partnerships are an excellent idea, the execution so far have been very dissapointing.

The Spring Project in association with Nuclear graduates & STEP are running an employability day solely for Engineers graduates.

This Information came through my mail box 3 days ago and figured it just might be of help to someone. There are 100 places available and takes place on the 20th of November @ Vauxhall, London.

Click here for more details.

This post was birthed out a a trip from Bristol (Parkway) to Reading that had me trying out my new Alpha A290 DSLR Camera, on a First Great Western Railway train. This line was known as GWR in its early years and is the brainchild of our oft discussed Engineer – I.K Brunel.

Two museums, housing the legacy of I.K.B and GWR (a.k.a Great Way Round) are STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway & Didcot Railway Centre.

Steam

This grade 2 listed building can be seen just before the train pulls into Swindon Station, and promises to give visitors the railway worker experience – including the foundry heat and grime.

Tickets cost – £6.40 (Adult), £4.25 (Senior citizens & Students), £3.10 – £9.90 (School Trips).

There is a 20% discount available with a Train Ticket purchased on the day.

Didcot Railway Center

Houses a unique collection of GWR’s for budding trainspotters and offers a chance to fulfill any early childhood steam train driving ambitions for £260. Normal ticket prices range from £5 -£10 pp.

Also of interest is Work experience offered to Schools and colleges.

Back in the months that my full-time job was looking for a Job, not necessarily full-time, just any job. This once seemingly fruitless mission led to a location just outside Angel tube station, the event, London Graduate Fair @ Business Design Centre, London.

I found out from an email update sent to me by one the recruiters I registered for in 2009 that the fair is again on this year, checking the exhibitor list though, I was disappointed to find only Fidessa, Royal Air Force & Parker Hannifin, the only companies remotely of interest to Engineering graduates.

Over 90 Employers and only 1 – Parker Hannifin, is an Engineering Company, the rest just happen to employ engineers. This company deals with the manufacture of control/motion technologies and it might be worth checking them out, but to say they should be your sole reason for attending this event, frankly I’d have to say your afternoon could be better spent.

… But , the earlier mentioned exhibitors list contains a peculiar, note-worthy mention, Contact Singapore, Waiting to convince you that coming to their country for work could be a brilliant decision.

Yes, I’m suggesting you consider moving to Singapore, not just because the ban on chewing gum has been lifted, but the country is part of the thriving tiger economies and current reports say the country have more Jobs chasing job-seekers.

If you’re a graduate going to this fair, make sure you check their stand out, If you’re staying at home, start pondering on a move to Singapore and you needn’t have to learn a language neither, English is already the language of business in Singapore.

On the issue of Engineers being an unappreciated breed within society because the title can be used by any, I have made known my stance. Demanding exclusivity in the use of the title ‘Engineer’ is not something I find comfortable doing.

There is a chance, that I, just like the rest of us, throughout our career (whatever the length) will not work on anything revolutionary though the aim and wish of most is disparate from this. The BLOODHOUND team are in the process of fulfilling every Engineer’s aspiration for their work to be a worthy subject of public discourse. On the contrary, no one has heard about the contraption I designed last week and frankly no one cares.

We are all proud to have this JOB, we feel privileged to be part of an intellectual bunch, sharing the passion for how things work, an obsession with solving problems and a drive for achieving the seemingly impossible. But should we throw tantrums when we do not get the attention and acclaim we crave?

I do however, empathize with those that want the gate narrower and the name only made available to the elect. Why allow another to tarnish our image, use our name to appear more credible than they are. It is a misuse of what ‘Engineer’ originally entailed, this problem Canada has tried to solve.

The ‘Engineers Act‘ recognises only the works listed below as ENGINEERING:-

But as Canada is soon only learning, making a law is one thing, enforcing it is another especially when I.T consultants also stake their claim to the name.

The U.K Government, however does not share our sentiments, in a facebook campaign that led to a petition being sent to No 10, available here

Petition and reply below: -

Can we now please leave the narcissism behind and just concentrate solely on our Jobs, so we can leave a legacy that others may follow after.

I wish I could tell you more about this contraption, but you’d have known just much as I do now when you’re done looking at the pictures.

Or maybe you know more ? If so, do tell !

Partly shaped like a bullet, unreal looking, stuff video games are made of, you’ve probably seen it in a sci-fi movie, but there it was sitting right in front me and a number of people on the night of 19th February.  Imitating a Bullet in shape and aerodynamics, yet it outdoes bullets in terms of speed. This unique one-off car, that cannot be obtained from your local dealer, primarily aims to steer the interest of children of school age towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. It makes this impressive statement to them: -

“STUDY SCIENCE OR MATHS AND YOU TOO COULD BE INVOLVED IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS”

Sporting a handle bar moustache and acting as the superhero/mascot for the cause in my opinion is Daniel “the rocket man” Jubb. What is profoundly striking about this character is his profile entry on the project’s website. On the qualifications line, it simply says ‘I don’t have any‘,  seeming to be a living, breathing, proof of my earlier statement that: -

“ENGINEERING PIONEERS ARE SIMPLY MEN WHO DARED TO DO”

Here is an engineer with no qualifications who built his first rocket, age five, from a “McDonald’s straw, a light bulb holder and some household ingredients”

But, since this was an event with just adults, Daniel Jubb was not around, in attendance was James Painter and Dan Johns. James Painter in his presentation made what I suspect to be a well rehearsed, often used joke about the complications of a Taylor Series equation.

Besides the failed attempt at injecting humour, the whole presentation was informative, attention grabbing & effective.

The 1000 mph achieving team work tirelessly to achieve it’s STEM catalyst mission through several of such presentations to schools and their efforts I highly commend and applaud.

CAD files of Bloodhound are now available on the project’s website here

Hanging on the wall of our beloved ship, a titanic of its time, in the engine room is a peculiar set of tools; not because they are obscure, archaic or ancient. We do not have to turn them on their sides, at an angle or make an archaeological analysis of these tools to find their purpose(s). These are tools we are so familiar with, you will not even be mistaken to call them modern, yet here they were hanging on the walls of a 1800s ship, 168 years old and still relevant.

Some have tried to re-invent these tools (Including Homer Simpson), but since you do not know about this, we can conclude that they failed. You do not re-invent the wheel and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, these designs have stood the test of time and they are not about to change anytime soon.

Please comment on any other designs that have remained the same through the ages.

Although not specifically geared towards Engineers, by virtue of it being a tool for exchanging technological ideas, Knowledge Transfer Network is a vital networking tool for those that work in or with the industry. Whether you’re looking to keep track of ongoing developments in your Sector, information on conferences  & events, navigating the FP7 minefield or alerts for Technology Strategy Board (TSB) competitions, signing up for KTN could certainly be of help in numerous ways.

The current head count of users stands at 7436 – a drop in the ocean compared to Facebook’s 500 million and counting. You can only expect it to get better with more users signing up and actively participating.

Once you’ve signep up, you can take a pick of any network (sub-divided into groups) to join related to your field of interest, including:-

Aerospace, Aviation and Defence

Electronics, sensors & photonics

Energy generation & supply

Environmental sustainability

FP7 UK

HealthTech & medicines

Biotechnology

Industrial Mathematics

Materials

Nanotechnology

Space

The site looks and feels like a Facebook, except for the lack of sheep throwing, poking, farmville and ultimately a waste of your precious time. However, there is a danger of it becoming a place for a lot of talking but not much being done but this all depends on how (well) you use it.

So go ahead, sign up and feel free to add me as a contact.

19th February 2011, Bristol