Chairman’s Report

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Membership

The Manufacturing Industries Division enrolled membership currently stands at 12,550 as on 3 August 2007 and remains one of the largest of all the Divisions within the Institution. This is made up of 7446 members, 1202 fellow, 3900 associate and affiliate members and 2 companions. The Division has continued to produce a technical programme of events, which reflect topics, and areas of interest to the industry. These have focused on a programme of workshops which cover Lean Design, Lean Constraints, TRIZ and Product Development. A series of debates are planned on the Engineering Skills Base, Outsourcing and Lean Processes as is a workshop on environmental issues.

The overall objective of the Division is to allow engineers to be updated on technological and management advances and to facilitate the exchange of meaningful information. The Division supports a number of major activities including the Manufacturing Excellence Awards, the Imagineering Fair, the Microsystems Manufacturing Association (MMA), the Rapid Prototyping Manufacturing Association (RPMA) and the Midlands Manufacturing Centre.

Supported Projects
 
The Division continues to raise the profile of the Institution and professional engineers through a variety of initiatives; these include supporting the Manufacturing Excellence Awards, promoting best practice to manufacturing industry through visits and the benchmark reports compiled using the knowledge gained when evaluating companies entering the event. These Awards are recognised by the Government as the premier manufacturing event and are supported by RSM Robson Rhodes, Kellysearch, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, Renishaw, Sandvik Coromant UK, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Professional Engineering, Barclays, IBM, BP, The National Business to Business Centre and the UK Resource Centre for Women. The Manufacturing Excellence Awards have also been launched in Germany, organised by The Technical University of Berlin and supported by leading industrialists. The self assessment audit and assessment process is the same as the UK event, thus allowing the future transfer of benchmarking data between the two countries. There are currently plans to form an MX Winners Club to facilitate networking and the sharing of best practice among finalists and winners of these awards.

Promotional Activity
 
The division promotes its activities to both members and non-members via its events, and in various publications which include Professional Engineering and Agenda.

The Division also acts as a champion and a home for emerging technology projects such as the Microsystems Manufacturing Association (MMA) and the Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Association (RPMA). This involvement has undoubtedly contributed to raising the profile of the Division and the Institution.

Contribution to Position Statements and Consultation Responses

The Division is currently working on position statements through a series strategy sessions (meetings developed during 2006) and has also endeavoured to highlight manufacturing nation-wide through its promotion of the Manufacturing Excellence Awards and Imagineering.

A position paper was prepared by a member of the Board, Peter Flinn, date published and distribution and will be presented as the Division’s AGM lecture in September 2007.

Improvements have been made to the IMechE website which has increased its usability. This improved website should enable the Division to put into effect some of the ideas that were generated in the communication strategy group formed in 2006.

Interaction with other Professional Bodies or Organisations

The desire for closer association with our manufacturing colleagues at the newly formed IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) was high on the agenda for 2006 and to that end a representative from the IET’s parallel manufacturing group was invited to joint eh Board. Support for the Division’s many events is also forthcoming from other IMechE divisions and groups, fellow institutions and other companies; the Division in turn supports other events which it believes to be of interest to its members.
The division hosted The Hugh Ford Management Lecture once again in collaboration with the Institution of Civil Engineers in February 2007 which attracted over 180 attendees. Peter Head, Director, Arup spoke on the topic ‘Responding to Climate Change by Rethinking Urban Infrastructure’. The lecture was attended by Sir Hugh Ford.

Prizes and Awards
 
Twelve issues of Proceedings Part B (Engineering Manufacture) were published in 2006 with high calibre papers on a wide range of subjects of interest to manufacturing engineers. In 2006 the Division’s Prizes & Awards Adjudicators considered five of the papers exceptional and awarded them prizes:

• Provide opportunities for Members of all grades to develop professionally through a high quality, geographically accessible programme of lectures, workshops, debates and technical visits. 
• Enable communication, networking and peer support amongst our Members both nationally and internationally creating mutual benefit, through a range of physical and virtual mechanisms. 
• Represent the views and interests of Division Members within the IMechE, and also in external forums, relevant opinion forming bodies, influential organisations, National Government and Devolved Authorities, thus contributing to the continued development and maintenance of a thriving manufacturing sector in the UK. 
• Raise awareness and increase the profile of Manufacturing Industries through the celebration of excellence in manufacturing, design practice and research (MX, prizes and awards), and amongst young people, their schools and teachers (Imagineering); 
• Offer informed direction, appropriate guidance and support to UK universities providing first and higher degree programmes in manufacturing engineering.
• Finally to work closely with sister Institutions and other bodies, at national and regional level in the UK, and abroad, to maximise benefit to Members in pursuing the Division’s Mission and objectives.

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