Using Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) adds value at every stage of the design and build process, by identifying opportunities for standardisation of components and / or processes.

I am talking about ambition, scale and the courage to be at the front of the pack, not hanging back and waiting to see what might be popular, what others might do, it is about forging a way forward ahead of current thinking with ambitions and aspirations beyond those of the current trends.. “The ability of an individual or a group of people to influence organisations and society.“.How could every building be carbon neutral, how could we replace every coal and gas power station?

These ideas are part of leadership but I believe leadership needs to go further than influence.The ambition needs to link the influence with the capability and energy to deliver..When my son was in Junior school as part of a project, we did a historic walk around my hometown, Newbury.

I remember vividly reading about a workshop, just behind the Methodist Church, which during the Second World War was used to make components for the eponymous Spitfire.Just a small reminder of the scale and organisation required to help us defeat what seemed an unbeatable enemy.

The ingenuity, the leadership, the ambition, the delivery..

In our Design to Value approach, we have found that it is not enough to come up with a great conceptual design which in principle delivers great value.Although self-generated power looks like a silver bullet, bought utilities are significantly cheaper than those self-generated.

These pressing needs are making self-generation and nuclear a more likely option.. Fusion as well as fission is being discussed, but what is a realistic timescale?.The group felt that DCs need to be part of regional, city, utility, industrial and energy strategies.

Joined up thinking may improve the situation and help to find a path forward..Discussion in the room moved to nuclear self-generation for a while and how far we are away from viable small nuclear power self-generation.