The UK’s exhibition for the maintenance engineering and asset management community – Maintec – returns to the NEC, Birmingham, in November. With 100+ exhibitors and a focus on catering to maintenance engineers, the show offers visitors an opportunity to learn from a range of educational seminars and source the latest technology and suppliers available.
Kimberly-Clark looks to clean up
With the recent launch of its new ‘WypAll ForceMax’ industrial cloths, Kimberly-Clark Professional (stand #100) has challenged industry to reconsider what it uses to clean up, pitching the WypAll range of industrial cloths against traditional rags and laundered cloths used in plant and manufacturing settings.
To highlight how companies should be applying the same rigorous standards used in hiring an employee to ‘hiring’ a wiping solution, Kimberly-Clark created The ‘Who Would You Hire’ interview, which demonstrates the benefits of using a WypAll Cloth. Available on YouTube (https://is.gd/canini), Kimberly-Clark will re-enact this live at Maintec (Insights Theatre from 11:20–11:35 on 6 and 7 November).
WypAll ForceMax is thick, durable, and designed for removal of the toughest, most ingrained, dirt across all types of surfaces – absorbing two times faster, and two times more than rags. It’s made using ‘Hydroknit’ technology – developed by Kimberly-Clark Professional – which has been enhanced for this latest product development by blending recycled cotton fibres, cellulose and tear-resistant polypropylene. Kimberly-Clark will be offering a trial to save companies 20% in the first 60 days with WypAll Cloths or your money back.
SSG smart workplace solutions
Following a rebrand from the SoftSols Group to SSG Insight (stand #51), the smart workplace solutions provider has expanded its product offering alongside its ‘Agility 9’ asset management system.
The software as a service provider’s two major launches include the ‘Agility B.I’ tool, which facilitates the ability for businesses to analyse trends over time, tracking long-term KPIs to help achieve optimum performance and profitability across all areas of operation. The data suite includes the ability to build, configure and share customisable reports relating to business assets, resources, people and processes, in addition to providing a menu of instant-access analytics to support confident decision making.
In response to IT technologies becoming more consumer-focused and demand for a familiar and flexible operating system to allow mobile working, SSG Insight also has a new extension of its mobile solutions offering to provide customers with access to its Agility 9 asset management system via Apple mobile devices. Features include the ability to accept, suspend and complete work on the move, raise a job and capture information.
Keytracker helps firms keep on track
Keytracker (stand #125) supplies simple, low-cost systems to keep track of multiple sets of keys, padlocks and equipment. Its sister company, iLockerz, has recently worked with Siemens Rail, which was previously storing laptops that are used to provide maintenance and servicing to trains and signalling equipment in a cupboard. The management team wanted to improve how the devices were accessed and updated. This resulted in iLockerz installing intelligent lockers at the two main Thameslink depots – allowing authorised users to access laptops by swiping their ID badge over the card reader on the system.
The laptops are stored within secure locker compartments that have charging cables plumbed in. A category five cable can also be seen in the lockers to ensure devices can be updated using wake-over-LAN whilst they are not in use. A hardened software build was also created to ensure complete security and safety for the devices.
Siemens Rail now has an intelligent locker system that gives administrators complete control over who can access laptops kept onsite, whilst also being able to see transactions through an automatic audit report. Each staff member has a unique PIN, with the software working with the system to record who has accessed the system, what compartment they have accessed and what time it was opened.
SOE offers a helping hand
Society of Operations Engineers (SOE) is the membership organisation for operations engineers working within plant, engineering surveying and road transport, and parent of IPlantE and BES. It will use Maintec to talk about how it can help members’ careers in engineering, with professional recognition through the Engineering Council, technical guides, accreditation standards, CPD events and much more. It has also organised Engineering Council registration workshops, which are free to attend.
SOE works towards promoting best practice, technical knowledge and safety through its professional sectors. It will be helping to relaunch this title at Maintec, which it commissions: Plant Engineer magazine will be renamed Operations Engineer from November. The redesigned title has been given a new lease of life, whilst retaining its mix of regular and informative magazine sections.