We have been contacted by CBI to extend an appeal to our wider network to ask if you, or a company you know can help with this urgent requirement to support ventilator manufacture next week.
Rotary Pot – Contelec or Megatron
We are struggling to find 5,000 units for next week of the two below options (5,000 of either spec or a combination even would be considered)
If you find an alternative we are open to investigating if it will work with our design.
DC Power Supply
Limited stock available and lead times require 3 weeks for this particular model.
We’d like to share the positive news that our 2020 Annual Awards dinner has been rebooked for 1st October 2020. We were thrilled to have secured an excellent alternate date this year, and we wanted to share the good news to give us all something to look forward to!
Please join us for an unforgettable night celebrating inspiring individuals, outstanding organisations and the resilience that our industry continues to show – this year more than ever.
Save the date, Thursday 1st October 2020 at the Glasgow Marriott Hotel in your diary, with our early bird price offer now held all the way until the event date this year. Join us for a night which promises to be full of laughs, recognition for excellence and the opportunity to catch up with friends old and new.
Tickets include pre-dinner drinks, a 3-course meal and table wine
Dress Code: Black Tie / Occasion Wear
Time: 18:30 for 19:15 (until 23:00)
Seating: Tables of 10/12 can be reserved Smaller numbers are also welcome
The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow Award 2020
In line with our new Annual Awards Dinner date and location, some changes have been made to the submission closing date for The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow Award. Click here for full information.
Many of you may be aware of the ongoing generosity of Scottish businesses in the donation of PPE equipment to the NHS, and a member in Central Scotland has been in touch to share how their offer to donate available PPE has been warmly received by the NHS Board they contacted. Wider supply chain efforts to ensure frontline NHS staff have enough safety equipment to see them through the coronavirus outbreak are being led by Scottish Enterprise, but in this case every offer of equipment available now may help.
If you have FFP3 or FFP2 type face masks or something similar to the masks below, these would be ideal. Our member company had donated Alpha Solway 3030V, 3M 8833 type masks and we know that Type 2R surgical masks like the far right image would also be welcomed.
Below is the link to the 14 regional NHS Boards across Scotland. Each region has their website and contact details linked to give you a better idea of where you could donate. https://www.scot.nhs.uk/organisations
Your local NHS Board may have specific other PPE requirements that you could help with by contacting them.
With many of the workforce now working from home, as an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other workers.
HSE have put together some helpful guidance to aid and improve the way we’re working from home. Click here for full info.
The Working Time (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020
The government has announced it will permit workers to carry over up to four weeks annual leave into the next two leave years (EU leave). The additional 1.6 weeks statutory leave are not covered by these Regulations although this can be carried over for up to a year by agreement under existing legislation. This has been achieved by amending Regulation 13 of the existing Working Time Regulations, and allows workers to carry over the EU leave where it is not practicable for them to take some or all of the holiday they are entitled to, due to coronavirus.
This will allow employers under particular pressure from the impact of coronavirus some flexibility to better manage their workforce but still protecting workers right to paid holiday. There is a link to the government announcement below. The Amendment Regulations are still to be published. Scottish Engineering will update members when more information becomes available.
The UK Government has published further guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: this has now been published here.
You may have seen yesterday the Chancellor announced a further package of Coronavirus support, focussed on supporting the self-employed. Details of the SEISS can be found here. Details on all UKG Coronavirus business support measures can be found here, and Scotland specific information is here.
We’re very excited to announce that our latest training programme is now open for bookings. Don’t miss out on our early bird discounted rate – valid until the 30th March 2020.
Your leaders can be your companies biggest asset. Invest in them today with this specially designed programme to give them the skills they need to positively impact your business.
We have partnered with The Leadership Factory, one of the leading providers of leadership training in Scotland. They have a proven track record with many of our member companies and we are thrilled to offer all our members this best in class training.
For full information and details on how to book, click here.
The Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition, which is being held at the SEC Glasgow on the 15th October 2020, will serve as a national forum for manufacturers and operators involved throughout the associated supply chains from across Scotland to gather to discuss pressing issues facing the industry.
The event is being organised in order to successfully connect key stakeholders across the full manufacturing spectrum in Scotland, including the food and drink, energy, renewables, electronics, aerospace, biopharma, medtech, healthcare, construction, textiles, procurement, and precision engineering sectors. With over 3,000 visitors, 200 exhibitors and 150 speakers expected, do not miss the opportunity to showcase your company in front of industry leaders. Expect an impressive line-up of manufacturing leaders, academics and government agencies who will engage in a stimulating blend of key note addresses and debates at the Glasgow event.
We have teamed up with the Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition as a Gold Sponsor and are offering our Members a 30% discount to exhibit on the Scottish Engineering Pavilion.
The cost including our 30% discount per square meter to exhibit is £283 + VAT. Your exhibition stand includes display shell, carpet, light, power, nameboard and Wi-Fi as well as a listing with logo and bio on the event website and event guide. Please note, our 30% discount is only valid until 26th June 2020. Any bookings made after this time will be charged at full price £405 + VAT. If you are interested in exhibiting at this discounted rate, contact Rachel Howard rachel@prempubevents.com for more info on how to book.
In our final 2019 review of Scotland’s Engineering Manufacturing sector we delicately described results as “chastening”, with confidence matching orders in steep decline, and we feared that the resilience shown in our sector had reached the bottom of its reserve. This week I opened the results of our newest survey with extra interest, as I hoped to see some hard evidence that the positive reports I have heard from member companies since the beginning of January would be reflected in the numbers returned. At this point the words of a former boss as I celebrated a month of positive results after many months negative rang in my ears: “One swallow does not a summer make”.
So even with that note of caution, it’s highly encouraging to see indices that match the conversations. Export and UK orders down in the last three months certainly reflects the mood and feedback in the final months of last year, but it’s the twenty-twopoint swing in business confidence from negative to positive since last quarter that really grabs the eye. We can see the probable driver of that in orders for the next three months – UK up by 35% and Export by 27% compared to last quarter – and output gets the pickup you would expect. These are very welcome signs of recovery indeed, and whilst Brexit has a long way to go before being anywhere near “done”, its encouraging to see that the world in the meantime continues to turn, and many manufacturers feel the welcome pressure of a return to busier schedules.
An unwelcome point of clarity on Brexit this week was the UK Government’s confirmed plan to overhaul the immigration system, ending the EU freedom of movement from 31 December 2020. This is disturbing news for our sector where the salary caps remain above ordinary operator level and many companies are already struggling to recruit semi-skilled staff. Given Scotland’s forecast population shrinkage, a more flexible immigration system which reflects the needs of our labour market is still required. To different busy schedules, and although the Global Climate Conference COP26 will be based in Glasgow this November, the likelihood is that wider Scotland will feel the effects of the sheer numbers of visitors. With almost 200 world leaders visiting and an estimated 30,000 delegates, this should keep the hotel sector in central Scotland fairly busy – but what about the expected Climate Protesters? The recently held COP25 in Madrid had an estimated 500,000 Climate protesters, and that Conference did not have the World leaders in attendance, so it’s reasonable to expect the same or even more. Whilst the impact of this volume of visitors would be significant, the key purpose of the conference remains to set agreement on meaningful action to reduce the impact of human activity on climate change. Recognising that this talking point will never be far away this year, we added questions to our survey this quarter to understand industry’s views on the topic, with the following key results:
A strong majority of respondents (92%) reported that their organisations recognise that the declared climate emergency is real and requires an urgent response
Close to two thirds (64%) say their organisation is actively pursuing operational changes that will support reduced climate impact, with more than half (53%) stating they are actively pursuing product/service design changes or diversification to support reduced climate impact.
When asked to describe the organisation’s view of the threat or opportunity that the business faces from this, 43% stated they were concerned, 3% deeply concerned, 36% neutral, and 16% and 2% saw opportunity and strong opportunity respectively
These responses demonstrate an honest and pragmatic approach to the issue, with comments underlining that while business understands their responsibility to be a part of the solution, our governments also need to ensure that the support mechanisms and policy levers are there to help that transition in a clear, simple and easily accessible way.
We’ll close with a reminder that as we publish this report, Scottish Apprenticeship Week will be with us from the 2nd to the 6th of March, and we urge members to take time to celebrate the benefits that apprentices bring to business, individuals and our economy, and in turn encourage wider uptake on this crucial talent pipeline. If our busy quarter becomes a busy year, and leads to a busy decade, more than ever we need to create tomorrow’s resource, starting now.
If you find an alternative we are open to investigating if it will work with our design.
