Members’ News
30 Jan 2019
Shell Lubricants found that UK power companies are incurring avoidable costs and shutdowns
A report by BFPA member Shell Lubricants has found that UK power companies are incurring avoidable costs and shutdowns due to ineffective equipment maintenance and lubrication practices. 78% of companies report incurring costs because of issues with equipment reliability1. However, with maintenance teams under-resourced, they are not set up for success, reveals Shell Lubricants.
In an industry where cost-efficient, reliable operations are critical, companies in the UK are well aware of the importance of equipment maintenance. However, they are not necessarily succeeding in its implementation; 86% of those surveyed believe that effective equipment maintenance can lead to cost savings1, but 40% still feel that maintenance is often deprioritised until there is a breakdown.1 An absence of senior management engagement in the importance of maintenance has come to light as one barrier to effective preventative action.
Klaas Thielemann, EU Power and General Manufacturing Sector Marketing Manager said: “It is clear that in-house maintenance teams are under strain; facing a lack of time, budget and expertise. As such, third-party expert advice and support can play an important role in helping bridge the knowledge gap. Equipment lubrication is one area where expertise is currently lacking, and 82% of UK Power companies1 said their maintenance staff would benefit from additional lubrication training.”
Klaas Thielemann continued: “31% of companies surveyed reported often experiencing breakdowns due to ineffective lubrication.1 By working together with customers, Shell Lubricants’ experts can help upgrade equipment lubrication practices. High quality lubricants are designed to keep equipment clean to guard against the build-up of efficiency robbing deposits to better the yield on the return of investment in equipment; and protect components against wear meaning less unplanned equipment downtime and ultimately, savings on avoidable maintenance costs, which can help to enhance their competitive advantage.”
A summary of Shell’s main UK findings are presented in an infographic click here
NFPC receives approval from IAgrE
Following a recent IAgrE visit to look at BFPA Education and Training member NFPC’s training provision and associated resources in 2018, the Membership Committee have now ratified approval of the NFPC’s training provision as meeting the educational requirements of IAgrE.
Approval means that the NFPC’s training provision with regard to course content, human and physical resources, course structure, and the level of teaching are judged to be at a sufficient standard for the Institution to approve it as providing sufficient evidence of educational attainment should an individual be looking to join IAgrE and subsequently apply for Engineering Council registration such as Engineering Technician (EngTech).
Approval lasts for a five year period and means that the NFPC is now added to the IAgrE approved Engineering Council database as being a programme approved by IAgrE as meeting the educational needs associated with professional registration.
BFPA congratulates John Savage and his team at the NFPC on receiving IAgrE Approval for course provision.
Camozzi unveils ‘best in class’ €9M european logistics hub
Camozzi Automation’s UK customer base is set to benefit from a €9 million investment in efficiency, sustainability and innovation in the form of the company’s newly opened Italian distribution hub.
With a pneumatic product stock holding that is already amongst the largest in the UK, Camozzi will now have the added advantage of being able to dispatch additional product from Italy, when required, faster than ever before. Says Camozzi Automation managing director Adrian Farnham: “The new distribution hub complements our multi-million pound UK stock holding and means we can now be even more flexible when it comes to responding to modern buying trends.”
The first plant in Italy to have installed SSI Schaefer’s Cuby Multishuttle cutting edge automatic warehouse handling management system, the 5,000 m² facility has 40,000 locations containing 160,000 items, with the capacity to process 25,000 order lines per day.
The heart of the system is the WMS warehouse management software, integrated with the company’s ERP SAP system. The final solution has been developed both for the purpose of raising the efficiency of the typical processes of a logistics hub and to develop workflows that guide operators in the timely execution of orders according to the specifications of each customer; reducing the risk of error to nearly zero.
The impressive new facility will dramatically increase the storage capacity of finished products, with a single shift now capable of handling the same amount of goods as were previously handled over three shifts. The site has been strategically situated in Palazzolo sull’Oglio, a provincial district of Brescia, giving it close proximity to the main freight forwarders, the A4 motorway and Orio al Serio airport. Centralizing logistics and distribution operations in a single hub also enables shipments to be fully optimized, facilitating daily instead of weekly shipments.
Webtec Recognises Young Talented Engineer with Roy Cuthbert Scholarship Award
Photo: l to r : Mark Ward, Webtec, presenting the Roy Cuthbert Scholarship award to George Cheeld
BFPA member Webtec, have announced sixth-former George Cheeld as this year’s recipient of the Roy Cuthbert Scholarship. This award, part of the wider UK Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Scheme, was named after Webtec’s founder, a passionate engineer and entrepreneur who passed away in 2013.
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships act as a beacon to the most talented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students in the UK schools and help to ensure that high-potential young people stay engaged in the engineering careers pipeline, in the critical 16 to 18 age range.
The Scholarships are supported by more than 200 different sponsoring organisations including commercial and industrial companies, Universities, Government and trade organisations. The successful scholars receive their awards at the annual ceremony which take place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Webtec recognises the importance of encouraging young talent in engineering and in addition to the Arkwright Scholarships the company also actively supports other programmes inlcuding the Secondary Engineer® Fluid Power Challenge and the Engineering Education Scheme (EES).
“It is so important to nurture the engineering talent that our young people have and schemes such as the Arkwright scholarships help to recognise this home grown talent which is so crucial to the future of our industry”, commented Webtec’s Managing Director, Martin Cuthbert. “We are looking forward to welcoming George to Webtec and to encourage the passion that he has for a future in engineering,” he added.
Norton Hydraulics Ltd have moved
BFPDA and Approved Hose Assembly Scheme member Norton Hydraulics Ltd have relocated their Edmonton factory to St Albans. The new facility officially opened for business on Monday 7th January 2019 at:
Unit 27
North Orbital Commercial Park
Napsbury Lane
St. Albans
Hertfordshire AL1 1XB
Just 5 Minutes from J22 M25
Tel: 0208 807 4295
Do you have a company news story we could feature?
BFPA would like to help publicise our BFPA and BFPDA members’ company news (free of charge to members) in our newsletter and / or on our website news page and want to feature more news stories from our BFPA and BFPDA members. Each news item will be set alongside a photo / logo / image (which you would ideally supply) and archived by date. We may also be able to publish on our news pages or send out to a wider media list as well on your behalf.
We would love to hear from you if you have any suitable UK fluid power industry news stories such as:
- Senior staff appointments
- New buildings being opened
- Awards being won / presented
- New industry sales partners announced
- New acquisitions / alliances etc.
- Innovative or unusual projects or case studies
Please send any news items to Sarah Gardner sarah@bfpa.co.uk – we look forward to hearing from you soon!