Maintec, the longest standing event dedicated to maintenance and reliability in the UK returns to the NEC in October.
Maintec is something of an outlier in the world of engineering exhibitions in the UK. As the longest-standing event dedicated to the maintenance industry, this year celebrating 44 years, it has stood the test of time – evolving and adapting to the changing profession and becoming the only annual event of its kind.
When the event returns to the NEC, Birmingham on the 30-31 October, it will be third edition of Maintec under the auspices of Western Business Exhibitions, part of the Nineteen Group, which has invested significant time and resources in revolutionising the event to make sure it remains pertinent to maintenance and reliability engineering professionals operating in the UK today.
In 2018, Maintec adopted the theme The future of maintenance and reliability, and was described by event manager Jos Diamond as “a new direction”. The organisers moved the show to a new November date and reduced it to two more focused days. These changes were a success, with 65% of exhibitors confirming their participation for 2019 before the show doors had closed.
A breadth of new exhibitors are participating this year, including global manufacturer and automation solution specialist Emerson, which announced its headline event partnership in May.
Gary Ingram, reliability solution sales manager for the UK & Ireland at Emerson Automation Solutions said of the partnership: “We are delighted to be attending Maintec 2019 as event partner. The event will provide a fantastic forum to share our latest digital technologies with the industry.”
Platform to launch
The event’s seminar content and breadth of exhibitor base is designed to attract maintenance, reliability and asset professionals from across UK industry and the show is seen by many exhibitors as the best platform to launch new technology and equipment to the UK market.
Over a fifth of exhibitors used the event as a platform to launch new technologies and services for the first time in the UK in 2018. Though many exhibitors are keeping the details of their launches for this year close to their chest, they are promising to bring their latest products, equipment and software to the event, allowing visitors to experience cutting-edge technology live on the show floor.
Britain is open for business
As Britain continues to battle over its withdrawal from the European Union there is a feeling of uncertainty in the UK business community. Yet although Maintec falls on the current withdrawal deadline of 31 October, there has been significant growth in international manufacturers and solution providers signing up to exhibit.
Global businesses including Fluke, Petro-Canada Lubricants, Valuekeep Lda, MENZEL, SDT International and Mobility Work are just some of the organisations at the event this year.
In addition, this year’s event will also feature US-based Noria Corporation. For more than 20 years, Noria has built a reputation as a trusted adviser to the world’s leading organisations by providing world-class training, technical consulting, lubrication programme development, and oil analysis and failure investigation services which have changed the way many major companies manage and monitor lubricants for maintaining optimum reliability and safety.
Austin O’Kelley, Noria director of global operations, says: “Given that Noria Corp is focused on promoting reliability excellence worldwide, we see this as an excellent opportunity for developing client and partner relationships within the European market, as well as gaining a better understanding of the unique challenges they face so that we may assist accordingly.”
Digitalisation to the fore
Education has always been part of the format of Maintec. The new-look programme will feature a variety of different session formats including keynote presentations, in-depth case study reviews of active maintenance projects, technical sessions, and panel discussions.
Each day begins with a keynote presentation, each of which will emphasise the role of digitalisation in modern maintenance. Digitalisation offers wide-ranging potential for long-term and predictive maintenance.
A company’s digital transformation journey can start small to address a single issue, such as pump health or personnel safety, and build from there. Or it can explore company-wide programmes across a full impact area, such as reliability. On an even larger scale, it can mean an enterprise-wide strategy across all manufacturing and operations areas, with a view to enabling true business transformation.
IIoT uses network-enabled intelligent sensing devices and applications to collect, analyse and act on huge amounts of plant data. Companies in process and manufacturing have for many years been using connected sensors to feed data into computers to control their processes. The IIoT uses connectivity to extend this methodology, so that real-time data can be accessed and interpreted by experts anywhere in the world. They can then provide insights that can lead to significant improvements in core areas such as energy consumption and equipment reliability.
Companies that have invested in IIoT are achieving quantifiable business value through a significant reduction in maintenance costs.
But how do we make sure that the data needed for planning, processing and documenting maintenance measures is exchanged reliably? On day one Gary Ingram from Emerson Automation Solutions will speak on Accelerating the Digitalisation Journey with Operational Certainty. Emerson studies suggest that a company can save around £40m on its maintenance budget for every £1bn of capital that it has deployed in its plant.
On day two, Martin Walder, chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA) and Schneider UK vice-president for industry, will speak on Merging Information Technology and Operational Technology to Maximise the Potential of Digitalisation. Information Technology teams that are accustomed to working in spotless data centres now need to collaborate with Operations Technology colleagues who often work in industrial settings. What happens when OT and IT meet? If not managed well, the result could be a clash of cultures and a potential crisis.
One Schneider case study talks of an instance where IT and OT were not working well together, so the manufacturer sent both teams to “school” to learn about each other’s area of expertise.
Raising the standard
After a successful partnership in 2018, Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), the professional engineering membership organisation, has again confirmed that it will be partnering with Maintec for 2019.
SOE promotes efficient, safe and environmentally sustainable operations engineering for the betterment of the community at large, promoting public safety by supporting and encouraging high standards of competence..
All the Maintec seminar sessions will be CPD accredited and approved by the SOE, which will asses the educational quality of each session prior to the event.
Daniel Moir, SOE chief operating officer, says: “Maintec is a great opportunity for SOE to showcase our insight into the industry and, by approving a quality CPD programme, help improve the technical understanding of those present at the show. It reinforces to our members the SOE commitment to professional development. We are proud to be partnering with Maintec once more.”
Free visitor registration for Maintec is now open at www.maintec.co.uk.
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