E
arlier this year, as coronavirus tightened
its grip on the UK, fears grew that the
NHS would be overwhelmed by a lack of
personal protective equipment (PPE) for
workers and a shortfall in ventilators for the
severely ill. Britain’s engineering community
stepped into the breach. In just three months,
it designed and built almost 14,000 ventilators
and produced countless protective devices.
The urgency of the task forced engineers
to accelerate their learning cycle. The
community scaled up the production of three
types of ventilators and developed a new
model that it guided through regulatory
approval in 21 days. At the same time, the
community faced and overcame huge
procurement challenges while training
thousands of workers to produce the designs.
“The Ventilator Challenge has proven just
how much Britain can achieve when
confronted with a difficult problem - bringing
together the best minds in manufacturing,
innovation and design,” said Britain’s prime
minister Boris Johnson.
But the challenge is not yet over. As Britain
emerges from lockdown, a new world order
is developing with profound implications for
the way we live and work. At issue is how to
re-vitalise the economy with the same spirit
of innovation that emerged during the
Ventilator Challenge. At the same time, the
economic reboot offers a unique opportunity
to create a lower carbon society.
These challenges raise profound questions
for the engineering community. Earlier this
month, New Scientist, in association with
BAE Systems, organised an online debate
with a panel of experts to discuss the future
of engineering in this post-covid world.
The backdrop to the discussion makes grim
reading. By early August, the human toll had
reached 690,000 deaths worldwide, more
than 46,000 of them in the UK. The economic
toll was also dire. Between April and June,
the UK’s GDP fell by 20 per cent, the biggest
drop ever recorded in this country. In
response, the UK government spent billions
to secure the economy but questions remain
over how Britain will bounce back.
Certainly, the virus has changed the way
we work. Almost overnight, the UK became a
nation of remote workers, a change that looks
to be permanent. “We’re never going to go
back to the rigidity of what working hours and
days look like,” said Hayaatun Sillem, chief
executive of the Royal Academy of
Engineering and a member of the panel.
She points out that this improves flexibility
and accessibility for many people—working
parents and those who are disabled, for
example. “That’s a good thing from the
perspective of diversity and inclusion,” she
said. But she also warned of the toll this has
taken on mental health.Spirit of innovation
While some engineers worry about
gauging the mood of their team via video
calls, others have found it a boon. “I’ve found
it mar vellous to have 10 people up on a
screen. I can see who’s happy and who’s not
immediately - in fact it’s a lot easier than
when I’m sitting in a room,” said panel
member Alec Broers, a cross-bench member
of the House of Lords and chair of the All
Party Parliamentary Engineering Group.
But collaborating to come up with new
solutions – an essential part of engineering –
can be more difficult remotely, says DaveShort, technology director at BAE Systems
and a panel member. “I think actually that
natural human interaction does work better
in terms of problem solving when there is
emotional interaction around a table.”
Remote working also raises questions of
online security, as all companies need to
protect information, particularly those
involved in defence. The issues associated
with the Chinese company Huawei’s
involvement in the UK’s 5G network,
compound this problem.
Nevertheless, the panel agreed that core
engineering skills will play an important role
in any recovery. “We still have really strong
demand for engineering skills and new skills
c oming through, such as in A I and some
specialist types of mathematics,” said Short,
adding that his employer is recruiting
800 apprentices this year.
The pandemic required large companies,
like BAE Systems, to act with unprecedented
speed to support ventilator production and
turn their industrial 3D printers to the
production of PPE. Acting like a startup has
been a valuable lesson for Short. He says bigAdvertising feature
Engineering in
a post-pandemic
world
The challenge is to rebuild our battered economy.
New Scientist asked a panel of experts how the
engineering community should respond