Maintec, the UK’s exhibition dedicated to the maintenance, reliability and asset management industry, returns to Birmingham in October. With more than 60 exhibitors and a focus on all things maintenance, the show offers visitors an opportunity to learn from a range of seminars and source the latest products, technologies, suppliers and services. Below is a roundup of show news, organised alphabetically by exhibitor. Register for free at www.is.gd/afomiz.
AVT DIGITAL INNOVATIONS
Intelligent condition-based maintenance expertise is on the cards for AVT Reliability (stand #56), with a showcase of its Machine Sentry suite of products. Machine Sentry offers multiple web connectivity options and can collate a diverse range of data on one platform, consolidating condition monitoring data, asset management, failure detection and troubleshooting into one maintenance system.
On day one of the conference, technical director Lee McFarlane will speak about the company’s latest advancement – the Automated Diagnostic Assistant (ADA), a feature of Machine Sentry. ADA can predict stage two, three and four bearing failure, and detect a wide range of other common fault conditions related to rotating equipment, the company says. Powered by hours of vibration data and in-the-field expertise of vibration analysts, it can identify potential problems and provide pre-emptive actions with clear executable detail.
On day two, attendees can join the AVT Reliability team at a networking event in the local Highline Bar and Restaurant, where its latest reliability focused products will be demonstrated. More information will also be available on the company’s stand, where visitors can also test their driving prowess on a Formula 1 racing car simulator – with a Machine Sentry MSF-1 sensor and software demo going to the driver with the fastest time on each day.
PRESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS CAPABILITY
Global manufacturer and automation solution specialist Emerson (stand #22) is releasing PeakVue Plus, a technology enhancement that brings prescriptive analytics to the field to help users improve the availability of rotating machinery. The firmware streamlines the path from data collection to action and enables users to make timely, corrective decisions when analysing machinery vibration.
By embedding expertise into analysis algorithms, PeakVue Plus enables AMS 2140 Machinery Health Analyzer users to see at a glance whether a machine is in good working condition, as well as the severity of an issue and whether it is related to a bearing defect or lubrication. This helps field technicians determine root causes and quickly resolve equipment problems before failures occur and cause unplanned downtime.
“PeakVue Plus prescribes to the user the necessary corrective actions to preserve bearing life and ensure long-term availability of their assets,” says Robert Skeirik, director of machinery health product management at Emerson. “It’s like having an expert available at the touch of a button.”
PeakVue Plus builds on PeakVue technology that filters vibration signals to focus on impacting, a leading indicator of overall asset health on any type of rolling element bearing machine. New AMS 2140 analysers will include PeakVue Plus.
Current AMS 2140 users will also be able to upgrade their units to add PeakVue Plus, if they have an active Guardian Support subscription (a service that helps optimise the reliability and performance of systems).
Emerson plans include adding PeakVue Plus to other Emerson machinery health products, allowing analytics to report into the Plantweb Optics asset performance platform so users can better manage asset health across the enterprise.
MAKING EFFICIENCY STICK
Preventing production loss is essential in the management of any modern factory. Henkel (stand #98) will not only highlight its engineering adhesives, repair compounds and lubricants range at Maintec, but also the support it provides to customers.
One example is its Loctite Pump Reliability Workshops. Some industrial centrifugal pumps carry a significant capital equipment value. By applying product solutions/techniques from a workshop, personnel have the tools and knowledge to ensure pumps run at their most efficient.
The specific maintenance needs of fluid processing devices will also be a focus for Henkel. The Loctite product programme for this sector includes thread sealants and thread lockers for leak-proofing threaded connections; liquid gaskets to seal and reinforce flanged joints and pump casings; and polymer composites for wear and corrosion protection of casings, welded joints and impellers, as well as Loctite flexible and structural adhesives and anti-seize lubricants.
Patented hybrid technology is another development offering similar benefits. These general-purpose structural adhesives combine the qualities of various adhesive technologies to achieve bond strength, fast fixture speed and durability. They provide improved performance on a variety of substrates and the versatility to solve maintenance and repair challenges.
MOBILE DATA ACCESS
A new and improved Workshop Mobile solution for workshop engineers on the road comes from asset management software specialist MCS Software (stand #43). Aimed at providing workers with the information they need while out on site, the solution aims to ensure that equipment is fixed with minimal disruption to customers, while helping mobile engineers carry out jobs more efficiently, leading to better repair response times.
MCS Workshop Mobile is said to remove the need for physical printouts of technical documentation, routes or customer forms, significantly reducing costs and championing an environmentally friendly business. Engineers can also obtain electronic signatures for work carried out on site, which are automatically filed against the correct customer contract, reducing the paper trail and removing lengthy processes of getting signed-for paperwork back into the management system manually.
Without mobile solutions in place, it can be difficult to keep track of workshop engineers due to restricted visibility and manual paper processes, MCS explains. With Workshop Mobile, engineers can feed information and documentation instantly back into the system from wherever they are. This means workshop managers can see the live status of repair jobs and monitor the engineer’s progress and location, so that they can assign ad hoc tasks to engineers on the move and analyse the overall efficiency of the workshop process.
Nick Thomson, sales director at MCS, says: “The Workshop Mobile apps play a key part in speeding up the time spent on site servicing or repairing equipment. With all the right documents a touch of a button away, paperwork is reduced, repair tasks are efficient, and your equipment is never sat idle due to insufficient information to hand.”
MAINTENANCE COMMUNITY
Mobility Work (stand #38), the next-gen maintenance management platform, will participate at Maintec for the first time this year, with the aim of presenting its CMMS and networking platform to the British market.
The start-up’s Next-Gen CMMS is a community-based maintenance management platform that allows any company to easily and quickly improve the management of its interventions, maintenance budget, and productivity, it says. Mobility Work also allows users to connect anonymously to other network members so that they can share the same issues, and exchange expertise and spare parts.
Mobility Work Hub, meanwhile, connects industrial suppliers and users of Mobility Work CMMS. Suppliers and manufacturers can promote their products and collect users feedback in order to fight against product obsolescence and misinformation.
ONE PACKAGE TO TRACK THEM ALL
Maintenance management and health and safety software provider PEMAC (stand #124) has recently launched its sixth generation CMMS – PEMAC Assets – a web-based system that works across multiple sites in multiple languages.
Core to the system is tracking all equipment and stock, maintenance tasks and routines, plus contractor and permit management.
Added to these basic product attributes, PEMAC Assets also supports on-site validations, enables calibrations and has a paperless approval system that can be used across an entire organisation and backed up with live reporting supporting LEAN and AMIS (asset maintenance improvement system) operations.
With more than 200 features, the customisable solution enables predictive maintenance planning using IOT technology, according to PEMAC. The company adds that customers can select, combine and integrate multiple PEMAC Assets modules into one platform – meaning that there is no need to look to separate products on different platforms to address maintenance management and planning needs, protect the health and safety of staff and contractors, or manage change approval in a 100% paperless environment.
PEMAC Assets is available as SaaS (software as a service) or as an on-premise solution.
QUANTUM CONTROLS STANDING BY
Engineers, the emergency services and the RAF were called in to help deal with an emergency reservoir situation near the town of Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire during August, which saw local residents evacuated from their homes. Quantum Controls (stand #47) received a call from one of its partners, Xylem Water Solutions, requesting the company’s Rental Variable Speed Drives to help pump the water out of the reservoir (www.is.gd/podoku).
The concrete slabs on the overflow spillway had become dislodged and the water levels needed to be lowered immediately. Engineers from Quantum were on site within four hours of the call with five weatherproof VSDS.
Visitors to Maintec can see first-hand Quantum’s rental and on-site services, which give round-the-clock access to over 1,500 drives (up to 2MW power rating). Engineers are said to be able to deliver and install a suitable temporary drive, in weatherproof enclosures, to a site anywhere in UK within hours.
FIRST LOOK AT AVEVA
Industrial IT solutions provider SolutionsPT (stand #10) has announced it will be showcasing its new portfolio of Aveva asset management products at this year’s Maintec exhibition.
The company will offer visitors a ‘first look’ at its Aveva software, which encapsulates data capture, cloud, augmented reality and analysis, allowing companies to monitor equipment in real time, identify underperforming assets and impending problems, and take informed, pre-emptive action.
Ian Bailey, asset performance management team leader at SolutionsPT, says: “The availability of low-cost sensors connected via the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has enabled the cost-efficient gathering of asset condition and performance data – putting true predictive maintenance firmly within reach.
“One of the clearest trends we are seeing is a desire to consolidate the operational and asset data within control room environments to a single view. As a result, we believe the Maintec show is the perfect forum for us to unveil Aveva’s new Visual Asset Management solution.”
SOE CPD APPROVAL
After a successful partnership in 2018, the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), which commissions this title, will be partnering with Maintec again.
Last year, SOE (stand #107) provided official CPD approval for the seminar programme and, this year, it promises to be even better.
SOE CEO Bruce McGill says: “As there are many shows in the calendar throughout the year, it is reassuring to know that this one is the only one dedicated to the maintenance engineering community. The quality on offer at Maintec is why we approved this CPD programme last year and will do so again.”
Among the seminar speakers are Gary Ingram, sales manager UK&I at Emerson Automation Solutions, and Martin Walder, chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance and VP Industry at Schneider UK. Ingram will talk ‘Accelerating the digitalisation journey with operational certainty’, while the session from Walder is entitled ‘Merging IT and OT to maximise the potential of digitalisation’.
The full conference programme can be viewed on the Maintec website or by visiting www.is.gd/wejoxa.