In recent months much has been written about Bristol being an exciting hub of innovation that rivals London and other cities. The technology and manufacturing sector has not only seen increase in funding being made available to business, but also academic institutions further supporting valuable research.

Buildings like Bristol and Bath Science Park have been developed allowing new business the opportunity to grow through collaboration and learning. With a city full of people and businesses at the top of their game, Bristol also benefits from great networking events.

Cubik Innovation was recently invited by Spider Group to speak at their annual Tech Talks event, at The Engine Shed in Temple Meads.

Tech Talks are aimed at connecting people and technology and host three speakers from within the sector to speak about their specialist areas.

Presenting alongside Paul Mullen was Matt Watts from NetApp talking about the potential marketing opportunities within big data and Luke Briner of Pixel Pin to discuss internet security. Paul spoke passionately about the advantages of manufacturing in the UK.

It has been widely reported in the media and specifically the EEF: The Manufacturing Organisation that 40% of businesses have brought their manufacturing capabilities back to the UK.

This is fantastic news but there are many things that businesses like Cubik can do to help secure the longevity of the UK manufacturing industry by taking firm action themselves.

Outlining Cubik Innovation's capabilities as electronics manufacture, Paul delivered two threads on how securing this longevity is possible when comparing to low-cost countries. 

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‍Touch time

‍‍When looking to manufacture an electronics product, a bill of materials (BoM) is generated at the end of the design development, listing individual component costs. What the BoM does not list is the touch time – the required intervention of an individual to complete the work resulting in increased costs.

Paul outlines how we should consider touch time in the BoM to reduce overall costs.

Using an example of a PCB design from China and the UK, Paul demonstrated how clever design thinking allows us to consider a different mindset and take a different approach to reducing costs by factoring in components, as opposed to removing them.

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Supply chain

‍A crucial area that is often forgotten is the supply chain cost implications. The benefits of using a UK supplier in terms of lower stock holdings, better management costs, the ability to tailor your stock requirements and manufacturing in smaller quantities, often outweighs low-cost country manufacture.

Weighing up the benefits of these areas, designing for manufacture in the UK can help secure the UK’s economy for the long term. With a panel session at the end of the talk, there were some thought provoking questions posed by the audience which made for an interesting comparison between the talks.

We look forward to the next opportunity to speak with local members of the technology and manufacturing community in Bristol.