Relatively few manufacturers have adopted a policy of Design for Sustainability, but engineers often feel they have an obligation to take environmental issues into account when developing products. Alastair Fuad-Luke tells Jon Severn how design engineers can make a bigger difference. Hannover Messe 2007 will be feature 13 international flagship fairs for industrial technology at the same time and place at the exhibition grounds in Hannover, Germany. They call it the third stage. First, design moved from the drawing board to the desktop PC where drafting was automated using AutoCAD or similar software. Then, 2D design became 3D solid modelling. The phrase ‘engineers make a difference’ is used in virtually every branch of engineering, and no doubt the structural, civil, chemical and other engineers would all argue that they make the biggest difference of all. Solving problems is not something that is unique to engineers; legislation, for example, can be viewed as seeking a solution to a problem. Designing for space is very different from designing for terrestrial applications. Maarten Meerman – also known as Max (Fig.1) – perhaps knows as much about this as anyone else in Europe, being the director of research for Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL). European engineering companies may be aware of the potential savings of moving production abroad, but not many are considering outsourcing their engineering. Jon Severn spoke with Ajit Prabhu, whose company partners with engineering firms to provide engineering resources based in India and China. People who are not engineers often ask what engineering is. The answer, of course, is that engineering is what engineers do. And what are engineers? People who do engineering -- or perhaps engineers are better described as problem solvers. Solving problems is not the exclusive domain of engineers, but it is a crucial aspect of engineering -- and the key to Dr Glynne Bowsher's enjoyment of the profession. Why do the words adata management' often strike such fear and trembling in the minds of design and CAD managers? Imagine your dream job. It might include being given all the thinking time that you need, with plenty of fired-up, like-minded people around to discuss new ideas and challenges, state-of-the-art software tools at your disposal when you need them, the chance to travel to clients and suppliers around the world, and opportunities to deliver papers at international conferences. There is a strong case for contract manufacturing (CM) to be recognised as an industrial sector in its own right. It has quite different needs from the dedicated manufacturing function in companies that produce for their own markets. But it is currently lumped in with all manufacturing in terms of national statistics and planning. The whole process of invention, research, design and development is tough. It is a sad fact that the UK engineering and manufacturing businesses simply are not as productive as their competitors from the USA and mainland Europe. The whole process of invention, research, design and development is tough. next