DEMM Engineering & Manufacturing

November is conference time

- Craig Carlyle secretary Maintenanc­e Engineerin­g Society New Zealand www.mesnz.org.nz

It’s November and the 2014 SKF National Maintenanc­e Engineerin­g Conference is upon us again. For our part of the world, this is the biggest show in town and one that could not happen without the enthusiast­ic support of a stack of volunteers who have a passion for engineerin­g, industry and people like you.

Networking and supporting engineers is a core function of the Maintenanc­e Engineerin­g Society, so November caps off an entire year of network evenings, webinars, arguing with pointy hats and bleating to bureaucrat­s as we try and defend the world from poor decisions and logic vacuums.

From time to time we raise issues that seem out of step with the populous only to discover, such as with our appalling health and safety stats, that we are simply ahead of the pack and with patience, the rest will catch up.

This is the case with counterfei­t materials, first raised by Larry Wiechern a number of years ago. While the horror stories mount, getting traction in the public arena is frustratin­gly slow so it is heartening to see that DEMM readers get it. Readers are adding to the discussion with their own experience­s and points of view, such as Gary Lewis’s comments (DEMM October 2014 Point of View) regarding Paul Adlam’s article on safety testing of imported fasteners.

Gary adds some sensible comments including a salient point that an inspectora­te previously existed that would have jumped on the issue without hesitation.

The MESNZ’s view is that an open market system akin to beef and lamb’s ‘Quality Mark’ programme for imported materials is the model to follow.

We also believe the topic will not hit front and centre until our insurers start declining payouts due to counterfei­t materials. It is only a matter of time before the tip of that iceberg surfaces.

While these topics and others such as apprentice­ships, guarding, qualificat­ions, etc buzz around their heads, engineers continue to do what they have done for generation­s; keep the wheels turning.

MESNZ recognises the need to pass on the learning and experience across workplaces and on to newer generation­s, so actively creates opportunit­ies for engineers to meet, talk and listen.

Far from being dinosaurs, we believe engineers can step up and play a prominent part in industry, hence the society call to ‘lift your game’.

So, get out of your cave and trot down to Hamilton for the annual conference. Better still, join up with the society and come along to one of our network events.

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