Dear Member,
Once again, as chair of the BGA, I am proud, to present this annual review to the AGM.
Although, 2022 provided new and different political and economic challenges, thanks to the efforts of our staff, colleagues and yourselves our members, I am happy to report that our organisation rose to the challenges and completed another successful year.
It is now over six years since our organisation was renewed and refreshed from its move to partner with the Design Unit at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, one the world’s leading gear research centres. During 2022 we relocated to new facilities at The Advanced Engineering Research Hub at the University. The resultant reduced cost basis of this arrangement continues to deliver positive financial performances giving additional tangible benefits and opportunities for all our members.
Our organisation was moved further forward in January by the updating of our Articles of Association and we thank you all for your efforts and support in achieving this necessary modernisation.
We are delighted at the continuing success of our 2020 Training Model that has enhanced CPD, Continuing Professional Development, possibilities for our members and all UK Gear Engineers. These training courses attracted a massive 763 attendees during 2022 and critically when our chargeable in-person training was relaunched in September it was also a great success, all courses were fully booked and extra courses added to meet demand. This thirst for specialist gear technology training has continued in 2023 and we are proud to support the UK Gear Industry in this way.
It is not only our training programme that encourages and supports the growth of the next generation of UK engineers, but this is also enhanced by our, BGA primary gears workshop, the joint BGA IMechE student prize and the BGA sponsorship of Formula Student.
We have reviewed and updated our funded standards portfolio to ensure all our members have free, 24/7 on-line access to the latest versions of 25 critical ISO BSI standards. This unique benefit alone is worth over £6000 to our members and we are open to any suggestions to include additional standards.
GEARS 2022 our annual gear conference was again successfully run in a virtual format. Free to members we offered fifteen papers and attracted attendees from home and around the Globe. Again, we recognise that virtual events are not perfect, and people miss networking opportunities and the interaction with others. We are therefore very pleased with the attendance and success of our recent Technical Awareness Day at the Machinery Technology Centre at Coventry. This confirmed that people have, at last, overcome the restrictions of COVID and are more willing to attend such events. We are therefore very confident that anyone offering to host a future event will have the attendance that they deserve.
All of our successes are the result of the efforts, resilience and attitude of our members and staff, not least Kirsty McGregor our Senior Administrator who was on her own for the last two years. We were therefore pleased to welcome Lynne Gough to further support and fully staff our organisation. Kirsty and Lynne have created and will drive our new Strategic Directive Initiative (SDI) in 2023 that aims to increase membership and networking opportunities, obtain benefits from funding opportunities, and initiate new research projects. They will welcome any suggestions for additional topics, remembering that thanks to our combined efforts over the last few years the BGA has secured funds that are solely for the advantage of yourselves our members, so we are able to provide funding for any approved initiatives.
In conclusion I am happy to report that last year we maintained and increased our membership numbers and achieved another sound financial year. Thank you for your efforts and support that helped to achieve this and makes our organisation so buoyant and successful.
Yours sincerely
Graham Penning OBE
Chairman of the Executive Council of the BGA
Go to the publications section of the BGA Website to download the report.
