Maintec is back
Published: 16 October, 2019
Maintec, the dedicated UK maintenance and reliability event returns to the NEC in October. PWE takes a closer look.
Maintec, the dedicated UK maintenance and reliability event returns to The NEC, Birmingham between the 30th - 31st October 2019. The event’s focused seminar content and breadth of exhibitor base attracts maintenance, reliability and asset professionals from across UK industry and as such is seen by many exhibitors as a key platform to launch their brand-new technology and equipment to the UK market.
Over a fifth of exhibitors used the event as a platform to launch their new technologies and services for the first time in the UK in 2018 and while many exhibitors are still keeping the details of their launches for this year close to their chest, they are promising to bring their very latest products, equipment and software to the event allowing visitors to see and experience the cutting-edge technology live and exclusively on the show floor.
Digitalisation
Education has always been part of the Maintec format. 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, both of which emphasise the role of digitalisation in modern maintenance. Today, 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 upon 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 actionable insights that can lead to significant improvements in core areas such as energy consumption and equipment reliability.
Companies that have invested in IIoT are now achieving quantifiable business value through a significant reduction in maintenance costs. The technology can warn that a piece of critical equipment is about to fail, enabling them to repair or replace it before it does so.
But how do we that ensure the data needed for planning, processing and documenting maintenance measures is exchanged reliably? On day one (30 October), Gary Ingram from Emerson Automation Solutions will talk on ‘Accelerating the Digitalisation Journey with Operational Certainty’. Emerson studies suggest that a company can save around £40 million on their on-going maintenance budget for every £1 billion of capital that they already have deployed in their plant.
On day two (31 October), Martin Walder, Chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA) and Vice President Industry, Schneider UK, will talk on ‘Merging IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) to Maximise the Potential of Digitalisation’. Information Technology (IT) teams that are accustomed to working in spotless data centres now need to collaborate with Operations Technology (OT) colleagues who often work in dangerous industrial settings. What happens when OT and IT collide? If not managed well, the result can 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 IT and OT to school to learn about each other’s area of expertise.
SOE
After the successful partnership in 2018, Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), the professional engineering membership organisation, has once 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, with the view of also promoting public safety by supporting and encouraging the standards of competence when contributing to the society.
All of the Maintec seminar sessions will be CPD accredited and approved by the Society of Operations Engineers, who review each session prior to the event to ensure the highest level of educational quality.
Free visitor registration please visit: www.maintec.co.uk
