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.
03/06/2019
Inside job
Manually-operated inspection vehicles are used to inspect pipelines and pipework. But the days of these vehicles may be numbered, as researchers look at truly autonomous inspection and repairs
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04/04/2019
A measure of success
Developments among industrial system and component suppliers are changing the rules of inspection of fixed industrial assets: goodbye clipboard, hello tablet. OE offers an overview of how these systems work, their benefits and drawbacks, ...
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04/04/2019
Interview: AI for industrial inspection
Artificial Intelligence for Industrial Inspection was the title, and subject, of a January conference organised by the Bristol Robotics Lab and the Centre for Modelling & Simulation. The latter’s AI domain specialist, Kiran Krishnamurthy, ...
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04/01/2019
Brammer signals service focus with Midlands opening
Operating 47 branches around the UK, industrial supply house Brammer, Buck and Hickman (BBH) supplies 500,000 parts a year from a catalogue amounting to 5.5 million items. It has opened the first of three new service centres launching over ...
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04/01/2019
Sonic boom
Ultrasound detectors empower users to track down and repair compressed air leaks. They also deliver the means to predict failures, control energy costs and improve product quality
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05/12/2018
Immersed in technology
Augmented and virtual reality are not new to industry, but a recent report from Capgemini has highlighted that repair and maintenance are the most popular focus of implementation efforts. In what ways can this technology aid workers in ...
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02/11/2018
Making obsolescence obsolete
3D printing offers the opportunity to make parts when they are needed – anywhere in the world – provided a digital model is available. Might this provide a way to duplicate parts that are no longer available to buy?
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21/08/2018
Getting smart
Mark Venables speaks to Conal Brown, technical consultant at ABB, about how being smart allows maintenance of machinery to be carried out in a cheaper, faster and more effective way to enhance the bottom line
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02/07/2018
End game for maintenance
Disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics are pushing maintenance into a digital future, as Mark Venables explains
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02/07/2018
The maintenance dilemma
For manufacturers, there are tough decisions to make about how much effort is required to maintain a plant of product at a level where breakdowns will be rare enough to ensure volume targets are met, as Mark Venables discovers
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28/02/2018
Spring cleaning
Keeping machinery and work areas clean and tidy can often be seen as a chore by already busy workers. However, as Chris Beck discovers, the benefits of a good cleaning regime are wide-reaching
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23/10/2014
Age concern
A sharp focus on maintenance can result in significant improvements in factory operations, but too many managers struggle to take seriously the upkeep of their plant and equipment, says Ian Vallely
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09/07/2014
Changing maintenance safety for the better
It may come as a surprise to many to learn that some 25–30% of work-based fatalities in manufacturing industry (which for the last five years has recorded around 30 deaths annually) are related to maintenance activity.
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24/04/2013
In or out?
Can outsourcing give you anything more than you can get from your own maintenance department?
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11/02/2013
Maintenance expo
With Maintec 2013 just a few short weeks away, Brian Tinham previews this show, specifically designed for maintenance technicians and engineering managers
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16/01/2013
Joined-up thinking
Why waste the skills and first-hand knowledge of operators? Annie Gregory explores simpler strategies for involving them in asset care
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06/12/2012
Making MRO matter
Surprising as it may seem, some plants and factories may be expending too much of their maintenance effort in the wrong direction. Brian Wall reports
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06/02/2012
Plant & Asset Management 2012
Does the industrial maintenance sector need another exhibition? The organisers of MACH, Drives & Controls, Air-Tech and IFPEX clearly think so. Brian Tinham looks at the line-up
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07/12/2011
Adding value
Talk to Lean specialists and, surprisingly, they'll tell you the real deal in equipment service is not planned, nor even preventive maintenance. Brian Tinham talks to Dennis McCarthy about how transform engineering
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06/10/2011
Tip top condition?
Predictive maintenance is an important route to cutting costs and improving plant performance. And, says Brian Tinham, the condition monitoring technologies upon which it relies are ripe for the picking
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07/04/2011
Managing maintenance
Computerised maintenance management systems – CMMS – are helping to breathe new life into enlightened plant operations, as Brian Wall reports
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