Although I have learnt about a lot of different sports during our action-packed summer, I remain totally clueless when it comes to motor racing, in particular Formula 1…

It is, however, frequently discussed by colleagues in the office and the big gossip this week has surrounded a man by the name of Adrian Newey – a lot of gossip in fact for somebody who isn’t even an F1 driver! I now know of course that he is a very successful racing car designer who has recently agreed to join the Aston Martin team from Red Bull (I thought that was a drink…). To summarise briefly, Newey-designed cars have won 13 World Drivers’ championships, with his first coming in 1992 when he was just 33 and his most recent in 2023 at the age of 64. During that time the sport has seen a considerable amount of change, yet here is an individual who has demonstrated superbly an ability to adapt to changing technology, methods and regulations – a very useful skill to have I think we can all agree.

If you have been well tuned into your telecommunications news you may well know all about ‘The Big Switch-Off’, that is the switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network, which will be completely closed down by January 2027. This means telephone landlines for homes and businesses will no longer be able to run off the old copper wire network and will need to be switched to a fully digital network that uses Internet Protocol across a fibre based service. In a nutshell, BT says the current system is old and difficult to maintain, and that what is essentially a 20th century technology cannot keep up with the demands of 21st century communications.

Although a lot of us now use smartphones, or communicate remotely on platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom, many households and businesses still rely on landlines for their phone systems and will therefore need to be updated. If any readers are unaware of all of this and have started to panic, don’t worry. There is plenty of time to take the necessary action and there are plenty of signposts on the Internet to help, including the BT and Openreach websites.

Returning to my opening paragraph it is just another example of using new technology and adapting to the times. Smart technology, which is one of our special features this month, is playing a crucial part in adapting buildings, old and new, to modern demands. Smart technology can be used for an array of building functions and in this issue we have articles discussing, among other things, solar-compatible EV chargers and centrally controlled smart heating systems.

On a final note, I’d like to wish Carhartt a very happy anniversary. The workwear brand is celebrating an incredible 135 years in the business and you can read all about the company’s evolution on page 38. Enjoy the issue!

– Tracey Rushton-Thorpe

Catch up on previous ‘Editor’s Viewpoint’ here

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New research from Schneider Electric has revealed that almost half (45%) of industrial companies believe digitalisation will be the primary reason that new operational technology (OT) job roles will be created in the next three years.

The research, commissioned by Schneider Electric and carried out by global research leader Omdia, polled 407 industrial companies ranging from small and medium enterprises to large companies across western Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Sweden), the US, China, India, and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines). The study highlighted the scale of the global industrial skills crisis, with talent acquisition a key challenge for more than half of those surveyed (52%).

However, it also identified the cure for this problem. Alongside job creation, over two-thirds (70%) of those surveyed agree that digitalisation will help to tackle talent shortages, highlighting the potential of digital tools to deliver more than just productivity and efficiency.

While the skills crisis rages, the industrial workplace is undergoing rapid change. Sustainability goals and advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital twins, are becoming further integrated into the workforce. The research found that 45% and 47% respectively believe that the increasing requirements of industrial companies to meet environmental and social sustainability goals will require a significant extension of existing job roles in the plant.

“Digitalisation doesn’t just benefit productivity and overall efficiency. It’s vital for solving some of the people-centric challenges facing industrial businesses,” said Ali Haj Fraj, Senior Vice President, Digital Factory, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. “There’s a real opportunity for industrial enterprises to optimize and enhance OT roles. By reducing the time spent on administrative tasks and enabling people to better fulfil their potential, we can solve many of the key challenges facing these businesses and help build a more sustainable future.”

The survey found that over half of respondents (52%) consider talent acquisition and retention to be a challenge, but one that can be overcome, showing that a level of optimism is shared among industrial businesses around overcoming workforce challenges.

Three in five (60%) believe OT roles will change in the next three years, either moderately (41%) or significantly (19%). Furthermore, a large majority (73%) agree that digitalisation will substantially change the nature of work in the next three years. Three in ten (31%) consider quality-control roles to be most significantly augmented or enhanced by digitalisation.

“The changing nature of the industrial workforce is, and will increasingly, necessitate investment in digitalization to empower staff and improve productivity and efficiency,” said Alex West, Senior Principal Analyst, Industrial IoT and Sustainability at Omdia. “If they don’t, the broader and more serious longer-term impact will be on innovation and an inability to mitigate talent shortages.”

The full report, entitled The Future of Work in Industry, can be accessed here.  

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In a blink of an eye 2023 is nearly over and we are heading towards another new year. We’ve had highs and we’ve had lows but generally speaking the industry has had a pretty decent year.

So, what has 2023 given us? Here are some of the highlights from the PEW editorial office……. don’t shoot the messenger!

Top of the list for me was the Rugby World Cup although obviously it would have been better if England had won! I should probably also mention the FIFA Women’s World Cup just to keep things equal in the sporting stakes.

The next highlight was slightly controversial in that it was an equal split between Barbie and Oppenheimer…. Not wanting to engage in the ongoing office debate I’m going to give them both equal billing – I will leave you to decide if one is more worthy than the other!

For the space enthusiasts amongst you I am going to include the fact that India became the fourth nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon with the touchdown of its Chandrayaan-3 Moon Lander on the unexplored south pole.

Then we move to music – love him or hate him Harry Styles apparently lit up the music scene with his album ‘Harry’s House’ which earned him a Grammy Award for Album of the Year – I did say don’t shoot the messenger!

We can’t do a rundown of the highlights of 2023 without mentioning The Coronation of The King and the Queen Consort in May – the first coronation in the UK for almost 70 years which earned us all an extra Bank Holiday.

We also absolutely have to mention the hosting of Eurovision in Liverpool (didn’t Liverpool do us proud!) and Elton John – I mean what an absolute legend! If you missed his headline act at Glastonbury then you definitely need to add it to your ‘one to watch’ list.

I feel that I should end this with something that is actually related to the electrical industry, so I am going to go with the fact that the market for smart technology continues to grow. I appreciate this news isn’t up there with landing on the moon, but it is something which is very positive for our industry – long may it continue.

See you in 2024.

Tracey

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