Engineering Matters

The infrastructure sector is adopting AI with enthusiasm. A new whitepaper from Bentley Systems, Pinsent Masons, Turner & Townsend, and Mott Macdonald, The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment, surveyed the sector, and found the 48% of the infrastructure companies they spoke to were trialling AI, or had already implemented it. But only one fifth had a comprehensive AI policy, more than a third had no organisational policy, and 37% had only limited project controls, or none at all. As part of Bentley Systems Year In Infrastructure series of events, Mark Coates hosted a panel discussion on the white paper. Bringing together key members of the infrastructure sector—engineers, contractors, and lawyers—the panel discussed how infrastructure businesses can implement a project management approach to AI implementation. In this episode, Mark Coates joins us to examine some of the risks associated with AI adoption, and particularly of ‘stealth adoption’, happening outside of organisational guardrails. The panel discussion members bring their own perspectives, explaining how AI can be used successfully now, and the organisational, data management, and contractual steps needed to ensure its safe, ethical, and efficient use across complex supply chains. Guests Mark Coates, vice president of infrastructure policy alignment, Bentley Systems Yeunjin (YJ) Kim, AI technical lead, group AI, Mott MacDonald Anne-Marie Friel, partner, infrastructure, Pinsent Masons Guy Beaumont, director, digital lead, Turner & TownsendResources The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment, PartnerInfrastructure is too big to fail, so you need AI you can trust. Bentley Systems is delivering infrastructure-ready AI across design, construction, and operations. As the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner-operators worldwide, Bentley’s software and digital twin solutions span engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle, unlocking the value of data to transform project delivery and asset performance.The post #354 AI in Infrastructure: Adoption and Guardrails first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This week, the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, or EAC, released a report on environmental sustainability and housing growth. The UK government is striving to meet a target of building one and a half million new homes, and has raised concerns about the risk that environmental objections could delay their construction. But, the EAC says, the UK must balance these needs. One tool to do this is the Whole Life Carbon Assessment guidelines, produced by the RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In the absence of a national programme for measuring the carbon impact of construction, the EAC recommends that this tool should be adopted into the planning process. In this episode, first aired in 2023, we talked to Simon Sturgis, lead author of the guidance, as he and his colleagues worked to produce its second edition.  Guests Simon Sturgis, founder, Targeting Zero LLP Matthew Collins, senior specialist, construction and infrastructure management, RICS Resources Simon Sturgis’s paper Redefining Zero, which helped spur debate on the carbon costs of buildings. An earlier UK House of Commons environmental audit select committee report Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction. The Bath University Inventory of Carbon and Energy (Bath ICE) database. The post #353 Carbon Assessment in a Time of Housebuilding first appeared on Engineering Matters.

From blood pressure monitors and smart watches, to MRIs and step counters, many of us make tracking health metrics part of our daily routine. Armed with data, we can take steps to extend our lives. And this approach can also be used to extend the life of key components of our energy infrastructure. The offshore wind industry is entering a period of transformation. The first stages of development are over—now wind farm owners must focus on efficiently extending the lives of their assets. In other offshore industries, this could be achieved by inspecting assets on a fixed schedule. But with thousands of turbines being built, and tens of thousands of kilometres of cables laid, the energy transition will require a transformation in maintenance and practice. The industry must move from a reactive approach to a more efficient and proactive approach to inspection and monitoring. Fugro is steering a new course through emerging wind farms, with a fleet of low-emissions uncrewed surface vessels and remote operations vehicles. With a wealth of sensors, these can collect data on the health of every component of a wind farm. This data can be tracked over time, enabling tailored schedules of checks and interventions to be developed for each asset, reducing costs and extending their life. Guests Joel Ferreira, Global Solution Director for Inspection and Monitoring, Fugro  Joe McCabe, Global Solution Manager – Offshore Wind Inspection & Monitoring, Fugro Nick Simmons, Regional Director, Uncrewed Surface Vessels and Remote Working, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #352 Health Monitoring for Offshore Wind  first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Around the world, climate change and shifting alliances are opening up new theatres of geopolitical competition. In the Arctic, Canada must be ready to patrol a new coastline; in the Pacific, Australia faces increased tension with China.  Naval defence will be a key component of these nations’ security planning. But the so-called ‘exquisite’ capabilities of modern navies—such as submarines and frigates—are often beyond the technological and supply chain capacities of any single nation. They require new global partnerships between friendly nations. And these require careful synchronisation of major engineering projects, spanning the globe.In this episode, we consider the engineering challenges of these partnerships.  In Australia, engineers are contributing to the development of a new nuclear regulator, ahead of the construction of new shipyard facilities able to safely handle nuclear powered submarines, delivered under the AUKUS deal. In Britain, we see the challenges of building new infrastructure, and recruiting new skilled workers, for the construction of these submarines and the reactors that power them. And in Canada, we learn about the challenges of building new naval bases to support patrols of newly accessible Arctic seaways. Guests David Eyles, defence market lead, Australia, AtkinsRéalis David Clark, global head of defence, AtkinsRéalis Antonella Tomaro, VP, defence, Canada, AtkinsRéalis Samira Braund, defence lead, ADS Group Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #351 Rough Seas and Reliable Defence Partnerships first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Dr Meganne Christian is a scientist and adventurer. In her research, she has studied the performance of novel materials including the use of nanoscale metals for hydrogen storage, and the use of graphene across a diverse range of applications. But her career has taken her far from the traditional university lab. In 2018-2019, Meganne was a member of the over-winter research team at Concordia Base in Antarctica. Here, she managed experiments in one of Earth’s most extreme environments. The view of the stars she experienced during the weeks of polar night, inspired a new goal: to work in space. After an 18 month selection process, in which she was one of 22,500 applicants, Meganne was chosen to take part in European Space Agency’s training programme, as reserve astronaut representing the UK Space Agency.In this episode, Meganne shares her story, explains the many reasons why we should continue to build our presence in space, and the diverse roles that will need to be filled for this new era of space exploration. At the end of the episode, Meganne answers questions posed by a group of schoolchildren, a generation who will one day see many more of us living in space. Guest Dr Meganne Christian, reserve astronaut in training, UKSA/ESAThe post #350 Living in Space: The Next Generation of Astronauts first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in west London demanded new ways of thinking about professionalism and ethics in the engineering sector. However, since that awful night in 2017, which saw the loss of 72 lives, fatal incidents and near misses have continued to happen: in Genoa, in Toddbrook, in Miami, and on many more buildings and structures around the world, we have seen regular reminders of the way risks can accumulate dangerously on engineered projects. The ICE first reviewed safety in the sector in 2018, with the release of the report In Plain Sight. This emphasised the importance of understanding the ‘Swiss Cheese Model’ of risk, and established a need for a change in the culture of engineering. In 2019, Sir Martin Moore-Bick released Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s report, looking at the events of the night of the fire. This was followed in 2024 by Phase 2 of the report, considering how the tower had reached a condition where such a loss of life could occur. The UK government released its response to the inquiry’s recommendations. At the same time, the Institution of Civil Engineers began work on its second report on the steps the sector should take to build a culture of safety, Building Safeguards. The authors, led by Paul Sheffield, described three key changes the sector should make: a new way of considering competence; an emphasis on sharing and learning from near misses; and a new approach to ethics and professionalism. The report’s recommendations are now being put into effect by a group of engineering professionals, led by Ohis Ilalokhoin.  In this episode, Paul and Ohis join Engineering Matters to explain the recommendations in Building Safeguards, and to explain how the sector will take them forward. Next month, Engineering Matters will turn its attention to further efforts the sector is taking to ensure that those working on higher risk buildings are suitably qualified and experienced. Guests Ohis Ilalokhoin, trustee, ICE; engineering director, Cardinal Engineering Paul Sheffield, lead author, Building Safeguards; past-president, ICEThe post #349 Never Again: Embedding Safety in Engineering first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In Europe, and around the world, renewable electricity generation is being built at pace. However, these sources of energy create a new challenge: they are intermittent, and will not generate power on dark, windless days. One solution to the challenge is to install grid scale storage. If you’re building an offshore wind farm, with a view to serving distant industrial centres, megawatt- and gigawatt-scale storage may be the answer.  But much of our energy use happens in the home, or in smaller businesses. Often, with the growth of domestic solar, the power we use in our kitchens is balanced by that generated on our rooftops. As energy supply and demand is increasingly distributed, wouldn’t it make sense to also make use distributed storage? That’s the question that Mattia Secchi of the Technical University of Denmark is trying to answer. Many of us already have plenty of battery storage available in our electric cars. But these will require the adoption of standardised bidirectional charging, and new metering and grid technology. His work, and that of his colleagues, models community-based V2G, establishing how distributed storage can bring benefits across the economy. Guest Mattia Secchi, Department of Wind and Energy Systems, DTU References Secchi, M., Macii, D., Barchi, G., & Marinelli, M. (2025). Centralised vehicle-to-grid smart charging supported by PV generation for power variance minimisation at the transformer: A user’s perspective analysis. eTransportation, 24, 100394. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ETRAN.2025.100394 Secchi, M., Zepter, J. M., & Marinelli, M. (2025). Centralised Smart EV Charging in PV-Powered Parking Lots: A Techno-Economic Analysis. Smart Cities 2025, Vol. 8, Page 112, 8(4), 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/SMARTCITIES8040112The post #348 Modelling Distributed Energy Storage first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Last week, at the end of September 2025, a study by Regen, commissioned by the MCS Foundation, found that biomethane had a limited capacity to replace natural gas in the UK’s domestic heating. The study emphasised the importance of focusing on electricity and heat pumps to keep our homes warm. This means that much of the UK’s gas pipeline networks may not be viable in the coming decades. However, the backbone of the network and some local distribution infrastructure does have a future. In this episode, first aired in April 2024, we look at the development of hydrogen generation and captured carbon storage, with a focus on Teesside, in England’s industrial north east. Here, existing pipeline infrastructure is being used for a new generation of gas transport projects. These will carry carbon dioxide and hydrogen, along with ammonia and biogas. They will enable carbon capture, local hydrogen for fuel intensive industry and transport, and for export. Governments around the world have struggled to develop these networks. The UK’s strategy is to create clusters of carbon emitters to make use of offshore carbon storage. These can take advantage of legacy pipeline infrastructure in historic industrial regions, and bring new opportunities to struggling economies. In this episode, we speak to pipeline and energy experts about the technical and project management challenges of building these new networks. Guests Laure Hughes, energy sector director, Costain Sean Gleeson, project manager, PX  Niku Nobakhti, project manager, Costain Ewan Brodie, consultancy and advisory manager, CostainThe post #347 Revisited: The Pipeline to Net Zero first appeared on Engineering Matters.

It’s a simple fact of chemistry that cement cannot be produced, without also producing carbon dioxide. But this does not mean that the sector—and its clients in the construction industry—cannot decarbonise. The equally simple solution is just to capture and store the carbon dioxide, before it can enter the atmosphere. The challenge is how to deliver those carbon capture systems. To fully decarbonise the sector, new chemical processing facilities will need to be installed at every cement plant in the world. In Brevik, Norway, Heidelberg Materials’ first cement plant with carbon capture attached is now operational, and carbon dioxide is being loaded onto ships for storage.The next plant to be built will be Padeswood, in Wales. Here, Heidelberg Materials UK will be capturing carbon dioxide, and piping it directly into the HyNet storage hub. This hub is one of a series of carbon storage clusters around the UK, each bringing together a number of tough-to-decarbonise industries. This work will take considerable investment, in equipment, in construction and logistics, and in people. To fund this work, Heidelberg Materials needed to find a way to sell carbon-free cement around the world. It is doing this with a new product, evoZero, that matches locally-produced cement with reliably tracked carbon credits.It’s an approach that is winning the support of major public sector clients, including the UK’s National Highways. The agency aims to reduce the carbon emissions from one of its largest new projects, the Lower Thames Crossing, by as much as 70%. The lessons learned from this project, and from Heidelberg Materials construction of these first carbon capture plants, will be spread throughout the supply chain, establishing a scalable part to carbon free cement. Guests Iain Walpole, Head of Process and Sustainability – Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage, Heidelberg Materials Nina Cardinal, Technical Strategy Director, Heidelberg Materials Andrew Kidd, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Lower Thames Crossing, National Highways Partner Heidelberg Materials is a leading supplier of heavy building materials to the construction industry, producing aggregates (crushed rock, sand and gravel), ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, cement and cement related products, and recycled materials. Through ground-breaking innovation, Heidelberg Materials pioneering carbon capture and storage, and transforming the construction industry. By introducing the world’s first carbon captured net zero cement, evoZero, construction partners have the opportunity to build a better tomorrow.The post #346 Scaling Carbon-Free Cement first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When launching a satellite into orbit, getting the positioning right is of paramount importance. As humanity sends more satellites into space, the vast space above our heads has become hazardously busy. State-of-the-art positioning technology has helped to counter this problem, with existing systems able to track the location of satellites to an accuracy of metres. Now, a new approach, Fugro’s SpaceStar technology, works with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) to enhance that accuracy to a matter of centimetres. The technology optimises safety and minimises risk in space by improving collision avoidance. But it also goes way beyond that, enhancing earth observation applications and enabling faster and more accurate positioning of satellites. It helps detect GPS spoofing, a problem that has been seen with increasing frequency over recent months. And SpaceStar has the potential to open up whole new business opportunities for companies willing to invest and innovate. One such possibility is to establish a permanent and stable platform in orbit, where satellites can—thanks to the ability of SpaceStar to pinpoint locations—be docked to receive automated maintenance. Guests Simon Baksh, VP Product Development, Javad GNSS David Barnhart, CEO and Founder, Arkisys James Bartle, Business Development Manager, SpaceStar®, Fugro Cyril Botteron, CEO and Founder, SpacePNT  Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #345 Pinpoint Precision in Space Positioning first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When flooding happens, damage and disruption ripples out across assets and infrastructure. Private businesses and homeowners can insure themselves against direct damages to buildings. But the impacts on the local economy go much further: debris can block transport networks, causing businesses to fail and reducing tax revenues, at a time when increased local government spending is needed to finance recovery. New approaches to public sector insurance can provide cash for debris removal and infrastructure repairs. Parametric insurance pays out within days when specific conditions—flooding depth, rainfall—are met, without the need for damage assessment. To purchase adequate cover, and to build resilience ahead of incidents, local governments need to have a clear understanding of the risks they face. In New Jersey this spring, Fathom provided catastrophe modelling tools to Grid Advisors, who employed them within a systems engineering analysis, to understand the risk to assets owned by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. In this episode, Grid Advisors’ Rallis Kourkoulis joins Fathom’s Peter Slater and Olivia Sloan, to explain how this analysis is developed and used. Jackie Higgins, head of public sector solutions for Fathom’s parent company, Swiss:Re, in the US, describes the challenges facing local authorities, and how the insurance industry can support their resilience planning and risk assessment. Guests Peter Slater, account manager, engineering and the public sector, Fathom Jackie Higgins, head of public sector solutions, North America, Swiss:ReRallis Kourkoulis, managing partner, Grid Advisors Olivia Sloan, catastrophe model product manager, Fathom Partner Fathom gives risk management professionals the most scientifically robust intelligence to understand the climate’s effects on water risk. By publishing cutting-edge peer-reviewed academic research and applying it to real-world challenges, Fathom enables stronger decision-making for (re)insurance, civil engineering, corporate risk, financial services, disaster response and government.The post #344 Networks Under Water: Transport, Flooding and Resilience first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented the punch card as a means of inputting control data to one of the earliest automated technologies, the weavers’ loom. A generation later, Charles Babbage used this innovation as part of his design for an ‘analytical engine’, and Ada Lovelace demonstrated how sets of instructions could be written for the engine to enable any computing task.  Almost two centuries on from Babbage and Lovelace’s invention of computing hardware and software, IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) have evolved into parallel threads. On the production line, automation engineers use visual languages, based on electrical relays, on rugged computers, or PLCs, that lack connections to the wider internet. In the office, software developers write code using text-based languages, with sophisticated systems for deploying updates, and the ability to connect over the internet to AI powered services. Now, the warp of IT and the weft of OT are being woven together. Software-defined automation links machinery on the production floor to IT systems, and the wider Internet. Control code can be written in text-based languages using object-oriented programming, and deployed to factories around the world at a click. Automations, human-machine interfaces, and all other aspects of control systems can be developed and tested on simulated equipment, rather than waiting for prototypes to be built.  Easy data exchange fuels efficiency and value. In this episode, we learn how automation engineers like Loupe are using a software-defined approach to speed the development of cutting edge industrial systems. We discover how a new organisation, SASE, or the Society of Automation Software Engineers, is helping define this new interwoven specialism. And we explore how one industrial automation specialist, MTS, is openly sharing open source frameworks they use to engineer their machines, allowing for industry to be transformed by the same community development approach that has driven the success of the tech sector. Guests David Nichols, CEO, Loupe; founder, SASE, the Society of Automation Software Engineers Jan Bajorat, head of business line, efficient engineering, Siemens Peter Kurhajec, CTO, MTS Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realisation and optimisation of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #343 Weaving Software into Automation first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The metaverse is often thought of as an alternative virtual space, a world separate from reality where we can hang out with avatars of our friends and families, or shop at virtual stores. But the industrial metaverse ties the physical and the virtual much more closely together, with a focus that is less on photorealism, and more on using connected data to solve real world problems.  Velia Janetzky is project lead for the industrial metaverse at Siemens Electronics Factory Erlangen. Here, her team has been developing processes that marry the real and the virtual, to achieve ambitious efficiency and sustainability goals. Rather than relying on resource intensive physical methods to train robots, for example, they can now use virtual environments for the same training, cutting implementation times for automation projects. In this episode, Velia is joined by Jon Heidorn, head of analyst relations at Siemens, and Ryan Martin, research director at ABI Research, to explain the innovations being made at the cutting edge of the industrial metaverse. We learn how factory owners can develop their own industrial metaverse strategy, by focusing on productivity gains in the real world. We discover how entire supply chains will soon be viewable through a ‘single pane of glass’, allowing improvements to be made within factories, and informed by data collected from suppliers and customers. Guests Velia Janetzky, project lead Industrial Metaverse, Siemens Electronics Factory Erlangen Ryan Martin, senior research director, digital transformation and AI, ABI Research  Jon Heidorn, VP, analyst relations, Siemens Digital Industries Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realisation and optimisation of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #342 Real Solutions and the Industrial Metaverse first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Alan Lusty founded adi Group, a multidisciplinary engineering business supporting major manufacturers. He is part of a group that offers engineering services in 23 sectors, with over 750 employees. But he left school at 16 without qualifications, instead pursuing an apprenticeship. At adi Group, more than 10% of employees are apprentices: double the rate set as a target by The 5% Club apprenticeship advocacy scheme. As a Platinum member of the scheme, adi Group has a clear track record of supporting apprentices. In 2018, prime minister Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond visited adi Group and met some of the apprentices. In the Commons, May noted that this demonstrated the opportunities offered by apprenticeships. But despite these successes, recruiting apprentices was a challenge. Alan’s solution was to establish a pre-apprenticeship scheme, targeting 13- and 14-year olds. As part of the scheme, children would be brought into adi each week, and introduced to engineering. After COVID, the scheme was taken up by the King’s Norton Boys’ School. At the school, deputy headmaster Jonathan Butcher took the lead in organising entry to the scheme. He explains that it has opened up new choices and career path ways for pupils. It has also opened the eyes of parents and teachers to the real world of engineering, showing that this is a sector with real opportunities, that inspires young people’s problem solving skills. Guests Alan Lusty, founder and chairman, adi Group Jon Butcher, deputy head, King’s Norton School for BoysThe post #341 Opening the Door to Engineering – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Electrification of construction equipment is an ongoing and necessary part of the global effort to reduce carbon emissions and restrict global warming. Sixty years ago, Fugro developed the first commercial cone penetration testing equipment to run on electrical power, and today it is continuing on that journey by electrifying the machine that carries it. What is more, it is employing this battery technology onto a new state of the art machine that goes deeper than ever before to get more data about the ground beneath our feet. This journey of innovation is not one that it has undertaken alone. Working in partnership with Dutch heavy lifting specialist Mammoet, the project benefitted from Dutch government investment to support their investigation into electrification of the CPT equipment. In this episode, we explore this new product and look ahead to how remote operations and innovations in battery technology could be incorporated in future machines. Guests Niek Bezuijen, global sustainability advisor, Mammoet  Femke De Jager, innovation director, Europe, Fugro Peter Salome, engineering manager, Fugro David Tindall, product manager for geotechnical equipment land, Fugro References NEN 9140 Veilig werken aan e-voertuige (Safe working on e-vehicles) Innovation realised with Schoon en Emissieloos Bouwmaterieel (SSEB) subsidy provided by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management Engineering Matters 276: A deep understanding of the ground beneath our feet Partner Fugro is the world’s leading geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #340 Diving Deep into Electric Machinery first appeared on Engineering Matters.

On two major road projects in the UK work was completed on time and under budget. But not every project can claim such success. Defects, delays and cost overruns plague projects around the world. Projects such as those at Junction 10 on the M25 London orbital motorway, and on a stretch of the A19 near Teesside in England’s north east, are inherently complex. Every change will cause ripples throughout the supply chain, and potentially impact schedules and costs. But this, AtkinsRéalis’s Kelly Burdall argues, isn’t the root cause of the problem. Instead, she explains, we should look at the contract structures used on major projects. Traditionally, each party to a contract—designers, lead contractors, other members of the supply chain—are paid on a time and materials basis. That means that every time a clash creates more work, or a change requires more materials, the parties are paid more. This disincentivises collaboration, and can be seen as rewarding failure and discouraging investment in more efficient ways of working. A new type of contract encourages collaboration and innovation. Integrated contracts, like those developed under National Highways delivery integrated partnership model, set goals based on outcomes: all parties to the contract are rewarded for delivering on time, without defects, and within budget. This aligns incentives, encourages investment in innovation, and can even be adopted before a project is tendered. Guests Joe Chastney, head of digital transformation, Balfour Beatty Scott Shaw, client director, AtkinsRéalis James Butler, managing director of project & programme services (PPS), AtkinsRéalis Kelly Burdall, Programme Lead, Consulting, Strategy and Advisory, AtkinsRéalis References ISO 44001 Collaborative business relationship management systems  Project13 An enterprise model for infrastructure delivery NUAR UK National Underground Asset Register UK National Infrastructure Pipeline Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #339 Integrated Contracts and Innovative Delivery first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Nature has long served as a blueprint for engineering breakthroughs from the kingfisher-inspired design of Japan’s Bullet Train to termite mounds that inform energy-efficient buildings. Siemens Digital Industries is taking this concept further by combining biomimicry with digital technology to tackle sustainability challenges across entire industries. Eryn Devola, Head of Sustainability at Siemens, explains how looking beyond individual components to view entire systems can reveal powerful opportunities to reduce waste, optimise processes, and rethink how we measure success. One powerful example is Ekonoke, a company growing hops in fully controlled indoor environments. With Siemens’ support, Ekonoke scaled their production by using digital tools to simulate and refine every element of their process before building physical systems. By designing their operations to be co-located with breweries, they’re able to recycle CO₂ and wastewater, turning industrial by-products into valuable resources. Their approach demonstrates how digitalisation, circular design, and proximity-based supply chains can dramatically lower environmental footprints while improving reliability and yield. Finland-based Spinnova shows similar potential in the textile sector, producing sustainable fibre from wood pulp and agricultural waste without harmful chemicals. Inspired by spider silk and supported by Siemens, Spinnova used digital twins to perfect both product design and factory layout. Their commitment to full traceability and renewable energy sets a high bar for transparency in manufacturing. Both Ekonoke and Spinnova prove that when companies think holistically across the full lifecycle and supply chain sustainability becomes not just an add-on, but a foundation for smarter, more resilient business. Guests Eryn Devola, Head of Sustainability, Siemens Digital Industries Ines Sagrario, CEO and Co-founder, Ekonoke Juha Salmela, CTO and Co-founder, Spinnova Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realization and optimization of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #338 Bio-Inspired Innovation & Systemic Sustainability first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this episode, we spotlight the remarkable work of the Lightyear Foundation, the winner of the Engineering Matters Awards 2025 Gold Champion for Diversity and Inclusion. The foundation is the only UK charity dedicated to engaging disabled and neurodivergent young people with STEM.Chief Executive Jeff Banks and Senior Programme Manager Emma Zeale explain how the charity uses immersive sensory science, STEM workplace trips, and specially designed Lightyear Labs to ignite curiosity and boost confidence in children who are often excluded from traditional STEM education. With 75% of their staff and trustees identifying as disabled or neurodivergent, Lightyear leads by example and is working to ensure all young people see a place for themselves in STEM. We also hear from Hannah Ford Tomlinson, who developed the Engineering Lightyear Lab. Drawing on their background in science communication and personal experience as an autistic person, they share how each lab session is tailored for accessibility. The labs promote agency and exploration, allowing students to take control of their learning. A standout moment includes an impromptu adaptation when wet play-doh caused sensory issues for some students, highlighting the importance of flexibility and co-creation in the classroom. Lightyear’s impact doesn’t stop at the lab door. Through initiatives like the F1 Engineering Project, youth forums, and even plans for apprentice trusteeships, the foundation is building pathways into the broader STEM ecosystem. Students are not only learning and experimenting, but shaping how STEM outreach is designed and delivered. By listening to young people’s voices and ensuring they have authentic leadership roles, Lightyear Foundation is creating a future where disability is not a barrier to participation, but a vital perspective in the world of science and engineering. Guests Jeff Banks, Chief Executive, Lightyear Foundation Emma Zeale, Senior Programme Manager, Lightyear Foundation Hannah Ford Tomlinson, Communities and Partnerships Program Manager, Lightyear Foundation Links Lightyear FoundationThe post #337 Breaking Barriers to STEM with Lightyear Foundation – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

At a quarry in Turkey, heavy haul trucks are carrying hundreds of tonnes of materials, with no external power. It’s not quite perpetual motion, but it is removing the need for diesel or cables on a hard working site. NUH Cement commissioned ABB to repower a 30-year-old Euclid haul truck. The truck collects loads from a hill top quarry, carries them downhill, and then returns uphill empty. That gave the team at ABB an idea: rather than losing the gravity energy of the load to braking, why not capture it and use it to power the truck back uphill? The job took careful modelling, to ensure the trucks could be relied on, whatever the circumstances on site. With the batteries being constantly charged and discharged, the impact of this on their lifespan and health also had to be considered. The scope of this work is far wider than might be expected. There are more than 70,000 trucks like this worldwide, and many are working in similar conditions. And the approach ABB took to the project, of careful study of a client’s site condition, offers a method for decarbonising across industry, one win at a time. Guests Thomas Huggenberger, Head of Technical Project Management, ABB Ece Akyalçın Turhan, Service and Project Manager, ABB Traction Fabiana Cavalcante, Global Head of Mobile E-Power, ABBThe post #336 Gravity-Powered Heavy Haul – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

LongPath Technologies has taken Nobel-winning discoveries, and applied them to a key cause of climate change: methane leaks from oil and gas facilities. The sector now turns to LongPath to establish monitoring across facilities. But as LongPath sought to scale from innovation to commercialization, it turned to Red Pitaya for a vital component. In this episode we tell the story of LongPath, and how their laser-based methane monitoring has been developed over the past decade. We learn how this work was enabled by a cheap and highly configurable processing board from Red Pitaya. And we discover why Red Pitaya was chosen as a Gold Champion at the Engineering Matters Awards. This highly configurable board, much like a Raspberry Pi for scientists and engineers, is cheap enough that it can be used by start-ups and school students alike. In an Awards shortlist episode we saw how school students have used it in experiments at CERN. And it is flexible and powerful enough that it can meet the needs of innovators like those at LongPath. Guests Črt Valentinčič, co-founder, CTO, Red Pitaya Robbie Wright, co-founder, Chief Engineer, LongPath TechnologiesThe post #335 Monitoring Methane: The Tech Behind the Tech – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.