Daily Insight for July 12, 2012

Daily Insight: Searching for the ‘Real Men of Maintenance’

By Bob Vavra, Content Manager, Plant Engineering July 12, 2012

Real Men of Maintenance: Normally, these kind of promotional items go right into the Delete bin on my computer, but this one really caught my eye. Sprayon Products and Krylon International are taking nominations to find the Real Men of Maintenance. Think of it as American Idol for wrench-turners.

“Today’s Industrial Maintenance Professionals are the people everyone counts on to keep the facility running at peak performance. They do all the jobs that many people take for granted (the jobs many people don’t even notice). Well, we want to make sure everyone takes notice of all the Real Men of Maintenance and the work that they do!” the promotional release breathlessly states.

Until Sept. 30, you can go to the Real Men of Maintenance Website and put in a nomination. The top three winners will receive a $2,500 gift card, plus a year’s supply of Sprayon and Krylon products.

We’ll keep an eye on the process and let you know who won – especially if one of those real men happens to be a woman.

ARC’s view on distribution automation: ARC Advisory Groups’ new report on electrical distribution systems says that the emphasis is now on improving electrical control and distribution.

“In recent years, advanced metering infrastructure and demand response were the darlings of the industry, but now the utilities are turning their attention to improving efficiency and control in the distribution segment of the grid that lies between the substation and the meter,” said a press release from ARC. 

“The Electric Power Distribution Automation System market is being driven by the world’s continued demand for more energy as utilities are faced with the challenges of realizing a good ROI while providing a higher level of service to their customers.  These challenges drive the need to conserve energy (specifically the energy lost in the distribution network), defer the building of additional generation facilities, and improve customer service,” according to Steve Clouther the author of ARC’s “Electric Power Distribution Automation Systems Worldwide Outlook.”

Developing an engaged workforce: If you can manage to be in Newport News, Va. in August – which is not always the coolest of weeks there – The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME) will have a workshop to show how to effect a cultural change that will sustain a Lean journey. The seminar’s organizers said the event will “provide steps to maximize engagement and organizational/team stability through goal alignment, leader development, team engagement, overhead reduction and improved employee performance. It will cover methodologies for analyzing return on investment for human capital management programs and assessing internal cost drivers associated with implementation.” To register, click here.  

BRIEF INSIGHTS:

Deadlines are on the horizon: After 38 years of being on deadline, I have a pretty good idea how important they are – and how you don’t want to miss them.

Here are four very important deadlines on the horizon:

 Leaders Under 40: Our annual recognition of some of the top young talent in manufacturing is taking nominations through August 15. To nominate yourself or someone from your plant, click on this link. 

Top Plant: Nominations for the 2012 Top Plant award will continue through Sept. 14. Click here for a link to the new Top Plant nomination form. 

Product of the Year: The 25th annual Product of the Year award nominations close on Sept. 14. To nominate your outstanding new product in one of 14 categories, click here.

And we’re just 60 days away from the premier North American Manufacturing trade show, the 2012 IMTS Show. You’ll be reading a lot about Plant Engineering’s presence at this event, Sept. 10-15 in Chicago. For now, it’s important to be there, and the only way to be there is to register. To register for IMTS, click here.