Training Skills Feature Library
Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.
Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE
(the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under
the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the
many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.
08/04/2025
Comment: The importance of CPD
I hope that you enjoy reading this edition of Operations Engineer, and don’t forget to record any learnings gained in your Continued Professional Development (CPD) log. Recording CPD is a fundamental part of being a professionally ...
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09/01/2025
A journey of resilience and leadership
At the SOE Safety and Resilience in Engineering Awards 2024 in October, Babcock International Group’s Flavia Popescu picked up two awards. The achievements marked a remarkable career rise for Romanian-born Flavia. She speaks to Justin Burns
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08/01/2020
Comment: More of the same
As we enter a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on 2019. So many major events have taken place, from the political turmoil that has gripped the UK, to mass environmental protests and even severe flooding to parts of the nation. And ...
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01/11/2019
Steady on the tiller
The SOE’s new patron is Sir John Parker, a near 60-year veteran of industry. He sat down with OE to reflect on his career in shipbuilding and heavy industry and to state the importance of carrying on learning
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07/10/2019
Comment: Welcome
Welcome to Operations Engineer (OE) magazine issue #12. A strange introduction perhaps, but this is a number that I have been counting towards all year. Why? Because OE has now completed a whole one-year cycle since it was relaunched from ...
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03/06/2019
Comment: Engineering F.C.
Anyone that caught the second leg Liverpool-Barcelona game last month will know how special it was. Magic was in the air at Anfield as Liverpool, 3-0 down from its first leg, won 4-0 (4-3 on aggregate) and progressed to the Champions ...
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03/06/2019
Avoiding robo-flop
Make UK launched a course last year to retrain and up-skill employees, covering the knowledge and practical skills involved with robotic and automation engineering. Commercial manager Mark Farrant, and commercial maintenance tutor Gordon ...
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04/04/2019
Facing digital
Make UK (formerly EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation) held its National Manufacturing Conference in February. A panel of speakers in one workshop spoke about their own, very different digital journeys, and warned delegates not to get ...
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07/03/2019
Brainy benches
Intelligent assembly workbenches go beyond a printed manual to instruct operators on how to perform tasks step-by-step with context-based lighting, graphical displays and other cues. What benefits can this bring for operators and ...
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05/02/2019
Gas Train
The Industrial Gas Operations Accreditation Scheme, designed to provide an independent determination of competence for those working on large-scale gas installations, is two years old. How is it faring?
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02/11/2018
Comment: Welcome
Gardeners treat autumn as the start of the new growing season; a time for clearing out, cleaning up and digging the ground in preparation for spring. So it is for this magazine; while the leaves of Plant Engineer magazine have now gone, a ...
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01/07/2014
Court in the act
Attending court, whether as defendant, plaintive or expert witness, can be a chastening experience. Brian Tinham talks to INITA's
Jim Haire about a recent training event
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07/08/2013
The new broom
As the Society of Operations Engineers – home to BES, IPlantE and IRTE – welcomes its new chief executive, Brian Tinham finds out more about the man and his ambitions for this important professional engineering institution
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07/08/2013
Engineering the future on shoulders of giants
Should we have been surprised that the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering went to the founders of the world-wide web? Yes, their innovations rank right up there among the giants, changing the lives of billions globally... But ...
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30/04/2013
Aspiration nation or more of the same?
So how was it for you? Did last month's speech by the Chancellor strike you as a budget fit for an 'aspiration nation'? Or did it leave you worried that, at least as far as wealth-generating manufacturing industry is concerned, it was ...
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06/12/2012
Fiddling while Rome burns
As we rush headlong towards 2013, it is likely that, way ahead of Britain's obsession with industrial strategies, this year will be remembered for the ongoing Eurozone crisis, the West's struggle with recession, China's slowdown, president ...
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05/10/2012
Academics to engineers
Building up individuals' plant engineering skills is always rewarding, but for one training company that took on Nigeria, the experience has been mega. Brian Tinham reports
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05/10/2012
A UK strategy worth the fight?
So, at long last we have a cabinet minister – none other than Vince Cable – not only talking persuasively about a government-led industrial strategy for Britain, but one prepared to put substantial meat on the bones. It would appear there ...
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08/06/2012
Hard headed young engineers
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, they used to say. And so it is with interest that we observe a significant rise in the numbers of engineering, technology, science and maths students taking up 'The Year in Industry' scheme, ...
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