Maintenance, Repair and Operations Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

04/02/2025 Preventing downtime Why uptime does not need to be an uphill struggle. By Carlo Carlotta, global product manager, ABB Electrification Service » Read More

09/12/2024 Expert support as a service for plant facilities management Ongoing services bring dedicated expertise to engineering teams of all sizes, and facilities of all shapes. » Read More

02/07/2024 Managing obsolescence How can plants plan for and tackle obsolescence more efficiently? Louise Davis gets some expert insight on managing this inevitable threat that faces industrial operators and plant engineers all over the world » Read More

02/07/2024 MRO developments Maintenance, repair and overhaul is BIG business. The global aircraft component MRO market size alone is expected to hit US$25.7 billion by 2028. Given there are countless other revenue streams across industry, Brian Wall takes a closer ... » Read More

06/02/2024 Quantifying performance via OEE Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) can be a powerful way of looking at – and quantifying – the performance of any process or industry. Toby Clark explains how it works » Read More

08/01/2024 The importance of regular pump system maintenance Regular pump system maintenance is essential to prevent significant cost and reputational issues » Read More

02/11/2023 Making maintenance safer According to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, 6% of helicopter accidents between 2007 and 2015 were caused by error in maintenance operations (excluding military helicopters). As a result, Airbus Helicopters has carried out an ... » Read More

12/10/2023 Optimising maintenance Preventative plant maintenance is proven to reduce down time and whole life costs. But can it be made more efficient? Richard Warley, CEO of BigChange, explains how job management platforms can help » Read More

16/05/2023 Flown the coop One of the very few maintenance roles licenced in the UK relates to aircraft maintenance. Which is unfortunate, as Brexit has imposed additional cost and administrative burdens, finds Peter Shakespeare » Read More

29/03/2023 Profiting from PID data At pigments and dyes manufacturer Heubach Group, Festo AX artificial intelligence provided benefits for maintenance, engineering and productivity from PID data » Read More

09/01/2023 Heartbeat of a motor Electrical signature analysis (ESA) is an adaptable, powerful and non-invasive approach to condition monitoring in electro-mechanical equipment such as electric motors and generators. It can provide comparable diagnostic information to ... » Read More

19/12/2022 On the rise - lift maintenance developments Technologically-powered connectivity via Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and devices is driving time, cost, and environmental changes in the lift industry » Read More

27/10/2022 From the ground up The aerospace industry has developed one of the most mature models for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). We look at how the process works and what future changes are coming » Read More

18/07/2022 What's up with HAZOPs? A hazard and operability study (HAZOP) is a type of risk assessment used for chemical process systems at the design and planning stage. It was first created as part of ICI’s six-stage hazard study process in the 1960’s, and subsequently ... » Read More

19/04/2022 Auditing and standardising inventory The benefit of a spare parts strategy has as much to do with accurate and efficient records – clean data – as it does with the parts themselves. By David Thompson, MRO spares parts specialist, Ramsoft » Read More

14/03/2022 Tool and equipment preventive maintenance Reducing or eliminating the risk of unplanned downtime, manufacturing interruptions and missing repair stock is an issue for every manufacturing company. An effective way to achieve best practice is to focus on implementing a service ... » Read More

14/03/2022 Train wreck In January, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch released its report into the derailment and fire involving a tanker train at Llangennech, Carmarthenshire, 26 August 2020. The report, which blames the incident on inadequate maintenance, ... » Read More

19/01/2022 Profile: coming in to land Kelly Cole started her engineering career as an apprentice technician at GE Aviation, eventually progressing to a field service director. Earlier this year, she took a role as general manager of electric power for Caterpillar’s UK dealer ... » Read More

17/06/2021 Avoid forking out on costly repairs Every forklift requires care from both a safety and operational perspective, but failing to make the right calls can prove expensive » Read More

10/06/2021 Lift-off for no-logo diagnostics A greater number of third parties are now accessing data for lift diagnostics, ending reliance on OEM maintenance contracts. By Steed Webzell » Read More

11/03/2021 Small bore, big problem: a guide to prevent corrosion in tubing More delicate than pipework, small-bore tubing can still resist even highly corrosive offshore environments, if the right materials are specified and installed properly. If not, damage can lead to dangerous and costly leaks. By Deborah ... » Read More

03/12/2020 Augmented reality and engineering projects Augmented reality (AR) has been on the ‘emerging technology trend’ list for many years, but initially saw a slow adoption curve. However, a variety of real-world applications are beginning to emerge. Has the time come to take AR seriously? ... » Read More

27/10/2020 Master dashboard A collaborative, non-profit initiative to serve internet-of-things data across any number of devices and assets, is now gearing up for the next phase of rollout. According to its founders, its development is seen as the natural evolution ... » Read More

20/07/2020 Flowing smoothly in the field Operations Engineer explores what mobile workforce management software is and the benefits that it can bring to the field » Read More

07/10/2019 Maintec 2019 – it’s show time When? 30-31 October 2019 | Where? National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, UK, B40 1NT » Read More