This week’s Sector Spotlight focuses on events by the Roads and Transport society, Northern region, Mechanical and Manufacturing division and MEETA Asset Management society.

The Sustainability Grand Tour: Optimising Sustainability through reallocation of road space - Part 2

This session of the Sustainability Grand Tour, hosted by the Roads and Transport society, examined the reallocation of road space for pedestrians and cyclists during 2020 in Kildare. The webinar highlighted recent projects rolled out in Kildare in 2020 to provide a better re-allocation of road space for pedestrians, and cyclists. Sharon O’Gara (Kildare County Council) presented on a number of schemes undertaken as part of the covid-19 tactical response in urban areas in Kildare. The initiative is hoped to encourage sustainable modes, both during and post-Covid restrictions, and to ensure meaningful investment of the €360m pledged annually for Walking and Cycling projects, in a sustainable manner, while encouraging small to medium sized investment projects to be undertaken nationally, to aid recovery.

The Impact of Brexit on Cross Border Procurement and Supply Chains

This event, hosted by the Northern Region, explored the impact of Brexit on cross-border procurement and supply chains. Speakers included Stephen Kelly, CEO of Manufacturing NI, Frank Given of Close Focus (Consultancy), and David Fry from the Construction Employers Federation. The panel discussion was chaired by Denise McMahon, the current chair of Northern Ireland Construction Group. the Brexit Lecture Series examines the impact of Brexit on engineering, business and trade in Ireland and the UK. An excellent line-up of speakers from manufacturing, construction, education and consultancy will address four evening events between March and May. These insights are relevant not only to engineers and business leaders on both sides of the Irish Sea, but also to members with an interest in Brexit and the new trade reality.

The Sustainability Grand Tour: Fast Tracking the Race to Zero Emissions in the Maritime Sector

The Northern Region hosted Prof Mark Gillan, COO Artemis Technologies and BMC SIP Programme Director, on the Race to Zero Emissions in the Maritime Sector. Belfast Maritime Consortium (BMC) Partners, led by Artemis Technologies, was formed to develop transformative zero emissions commercial vessels. This £53m programme recently secured £33m UKRI Strength in Places funding.

Utilising Belfast's advanced manufacturing clusters, the BMC, working with the local supply chain, will produce the world's first autonomously controlled 'fully submerged' electric hydrofoiling vessel, and develop the technical and operational requirements for a maritime Transport System of the Future.

System Engineering for the Railway

The Mechanical and Manufacturing division hosted Prof. Felix Schmid, Chair of the Railway Division of the IMechE for 2020-2021. Drawing on examples from his extensive career, both as a professional & academic engineer, Prof. Schmid introduced the concept of “Systems Engineering” and its application to railways, focusing on the need to manage the complicated and complex nature of the railway. His talk also included a brief exploration of Ireland’s railway history.

CIM and the Power of Data Analytics in delivering Asset Optimisation

The industrial sector is responsible for 25% of the world's carbon emissions yet reducing the CO2 from large industrial sites has typically been very difficult and expensive, until now. Good data analytics technology is changing the game, helping site operations teams optimise their HVAC assets for peak operational performance to achieve sustainability and OPEX reduction targets, without compromising on thermal compliance or equipment uptime. In this webinar by MEETA Asset Management society, Paul Walsh, General Manager EMEA at CIM discussed the issues that data analytics can help resolve for large industrial sites and how several Tier 1 manufacturing sites in Ireland are using data to drive transformative change.

Coming up in Sector events this week:

  • Tuesday, 11 May at 18:30: ‘The Future of Hydrogen and Electric Transportation’ by the Mechanical and Manufacturing division, register here.
  • Tuesday, 11 May at 19:00: AGM of the North East region, register here.
  • Wednesday, 12 May at 13:00: ‘Safetibase’ by the GB region, register here.
  • Wednesday, 12 May at 17:00: AGM of the South East region, register here.
  • Thursday, 13 May at 13:00: ‘Engineering sustainability into public policy: Sustainability Grand Tour closing event’ by the Energy, Environment and Climate Action division, register here.
  • Thursday, 13 May at 15:00: AGM of the Northern region, register here.
  • Thursday, 13 May at 19:00: ‘Brexit Lecture Series: Post Brexit construction in Ireland and the UK’ by the GB region, register here.

The Sector Spotlight series showcases and celebrates the events of our Regions, Divisions and Societies. This community facilitates networking and connectivity, encourages continuing professional development and the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and informs public policy. You can join these communities and groups by logging into your member dashboard here.