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Books not to miss this World Book Day 2021

Published: 2021-04-21 | Updated: 2022-10-14

In celebration of World Book Day, we asked our colleagues, what some of the most interesting books they had read were in relation to engineering. Whether for pleasure or business, we have managed to categorise them into 3 topics: Engineering, Business Improvements and Sustainable Futures. 

In 2020 the coronavirus pandemic affected all areas of the world, leading to countries shutting down their borders and economies, impacting many international and local businesses. With the opening up of economies in 2021, we know how important it is for businesses wanting to move forward and grow. 

The books mentioned below can hopefully provide information to help you understand the way the industry works or may empower you and provide ideas on how to improve the future of your business or career.

Engineering

With over 50 years working in assembly solutions and providing engineer supports, we understand that the management of time and resources are some of the biggest challenges facing our customers. Along with our blog post on application engineering support, hopefully, these books will also be able to provide you with some insights on how you can save time and money. 

From windmills to Wi-Fi, from touchscreens to 3D printers. David Macaulay explains how every complicated machine works in a simple way. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained. Ever page includes diagrams describing the operation of the relevant machine in an informative and playful way. It is an entertaining introduction to everyday machines which most impacts our lives.
The Way Things Work Now
David Macaulay
Faster and Faster, high efficiency becomes a must in the modern business world in every sector. This book illustrates the innovative principles of Quick Response Manufacturing, which have been proven with impressive results at many companies, big and small, in a variety of industries. Suri has developed a clear, concise and accessible method of presenting QRM strategy using four core concepts. In addition, it provides helpful pointers for QRM implementation, including accounting strategies, novel cost-justification approaches, and a stepwise process for implementation. By presenting new case studies on QRM implementation, it illustrates how QRM can not only reduce lead times but also improve quality, reduce operating costs, and enable companies to gain substantial market share.
It's About Time
Rajan Suri
Design is the very first step of many projects, and a good design should be cost-effective. This book provides an overview of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) techniques, which are used to minimize product cost through design and process improvements. Based on theory yet highly practical, their text defines the factors that influence the ease of assembly and manufacture of products for a wide range of the basic processes used in industry. It demonstrates how to develop competitive products that are simpler in configuration and easier to manufacture with reduced overall costs.
Product Desing for Manufacture and Assembly
Geoffrey Boothroyd, Peter Dewhurst, Winston A. Knight

Business improvements

At CELO we are dedicated to attention to detail: Small Things Matter. This is why we believe that growth and improvements to your business can be improved by developing your mindset to produce your best work within the construction and installation industries. Allowing you to make efficient and lasting changes to your business. Here are 3 of the books that have helped some of our colleagues: 

In Clockwork, Mike Michalowicz, draws on more than six years of research and real-life examples to explain his simple approach to making your business ultra-efficient. Among other powerful strategies, you will discover how to: Make your employees act like owners - Free yourself from micromanaging by using a simple technique to empower your people to make smart decisions without you. Pinpoint your business's most important function - Unleash incredible efficiency by identifying and focusing everyone on the one function that is most crucial to your business. Know what to fix next - Most entrepreneurs try to fix every inefficiency at once and end up fixing nothing. Use the "weakest link in the chain" method to find the one fix that will add the most value now.
Clockwork
Mike Michalowicz
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way. In DEEP WORK, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.
Deep Work: Rules for Focussed Success in a Distracted World
Cal Newport
“Mindsets” is a word that is used quite frequently, however, many of those who use it are unaware that mindsets are foundational to and dictate one’s success in life, work, and leadership. They are also unable to identify specific mindsets that are necessary for success. Ryan Gottfredson has created a comprehensive and research-based guide, Success Mindsets, that is designed to awaken readers to: The power of mindsets, The four mindsets they need to have to be successful, The mindsets they currently possess through personal mindset assessment.
Success Mindsets
Rayan Gottfredson

Sustainable futures

Sustainability is a hot topic for 2021 and many of our customers have been moving towards a more energy-efficient way of working and focusing on renewable energy. We are proud to be involved in many projects of sustainable products, such as LED lighting, electric car and e-mobility solutions, etc. We have many sustainability warriors working the CELO offices around the world and here are some of the books that have inspired them.

Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal.
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
Bill Gates
Written by a team of recognized experts and educators, this authoritative textbook offers comprehensive coverage of all major renewable energy sources. The book delves into the main renewable energy topics such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, tidal, and wave, as well as hydrogen and fuel cells. By stressing real-world relevancy and practical applications, Fundamentals and Applications of Renewable Energy helps prepare students for a successful career in renewable energy. The text contains detailed discussions on the thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics aspects of renewable energy systems in addition to technical and economic analyses. Numerous worked-out example problems and over 850 end-of-chapter review questions reinforce main concepts, formulations, design, and analysis.
Fundamentals and Applications of Renewable Energy
Mehmet Kanoglu, Yunus Çengel, Jhon Cimbala

We hope you were able to find something inspiring in our list of books for 2021. To keep up to date with more news and information then don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter down below. To discover what else we've been up to you can view more stories in our news section.