Why engineering is key to Kenya’s manufacturing fortunes
Added: (Sun Sep 03 2023)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Engineering has never been more essential in Kenya's economy than it is today, thanks to Kenya's industrialisation policy based on manufacturing.
Kenya's Vision 2030 program aims to increase manufacturing's contribution to the country's GDP to 20%. Kenya's relatively sizable manufacturing sector has seen its share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expand just little over the last two decades. Despite its promise, the sector has not been dynamic enough to serve as a growth engine for the Kenyan economy, as it did in the case of newly emerging economies.
Part of this is due to the sector's inward focus and minimal technological growth. Ironically, this is despite the sector being one of the most labor-intensive and playing a critical role in reducing unemployment, including hiring aspiring engineers.
Further, the manufacturing scene has altered considerably during the previous two decades as a result of technological advancement. Automation has become a critical aspect in gaining a competitive edge in today's local and global production environments, thanks to the rise of smart technology and computers, robots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
These advancements are ushering in a new automated era in manufacturing, with an impact on improved production processes and efficiency, greater output, and a boost in product quality and distribution of goods and services. Importantly, the industrial business considers quality and precision to be critical success elements, which automated assembly processes are prone to offering.
While it is not visible to the naked eye, engineering plays a significant part in the efficiency of the industrial supply chain, from product development to manufacturing and distribution to consumer satisfaction via price, quality, and alternatives.
Consider the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) industry in Kenya. This industry has thrived on the back of 2.28% annual population growth and rising urbanization, according to Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KNBS), which has ensured robust demand for food, beverages, and personal care items. The FMCG industry is invested in Industry 4.0—also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4IR—the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by disruptive trends such as the rise of data and connectivity, analytics, human-machine interaction, and improvements in robotics—in order to create value and be competitive in terms of flexibility, adaptability, production, agility, price, quality, and revenues.
Behind the scenes of these FMCG achievements are various industrial engineers running the show. An industrial mechanic might troubleshoot mechanical issues, calibrate equipment, and replace existing machinery, an industrial engineer might recalibrate manufacturing equipment, monitor production assembly procedures, and implement new equipment to improve efficiency, or a manufacturing engineer might ensure efficient manufacturing processes at factories and plants.
Kenya, on the other hand, has to strengthen its manufacturing automation capabilities by investing in the technical upskilling of its engineers and awareness of the function of 4IR in manufacturing. Engineering practitioners can also help to provide unique potential for the manufacturing sector and, by extension, the Kenyan economy by enhancing worker productivity in manufacturing industries. As a key player, our mechanical, instrumentation, civil, and electrical infrastructure journey across African communities is driven by partnering with the manufacturing sector, among others, to design, build, and maintain high-quality infrastructure for FMCGs and help drive their processes and, ultimately, our economy.
Engineers are becoming increasingly important to Kenya's industrial sector in attaining its economic contribution as envisioned in Vision 2030. Their adoption and innovation in the manufacturing value chain could help reawaken the economy's sleeping behemoth.
Media Contact
Company Name : Burhani Engineers Ltd.
Company Address : Chania Ave, Nairobi, Kenya
Company Phone Number : 254720634503
Email : info@burhaniengineers.com
For more visit: https://burhaniengineers.com/