Does maintenance need a face?

No doubt you will agree that a good maintenance manager is important for the efficiency and effectiveness of the technical department.  And of course, it is only through the combined efforts of the entire maintenance team that great results are achieved. But unfortunately, maintenance gets far too little of the recognition it deserves. All too often it is the INvisible force behind the success of a (production) company. 

That is why BEMAS considers it important to be able to give a face to meritorious achievements in maintenance, and why we chose to put a maintenance manager of the year in the spotlight every year.  This year, for the first time, there is a duo winner and I would like to congratulate Mr Azzin and Mr Corin of GSK.  We are convinced that they will be excellent ambassadors for the maintenance profession.

After all, a good maintenance manager not only plays an important role within his team, he or she is also the signpost of the maintenance department at a higher level within the company. The results of our recent survey for the Maintenance HR Award show that the visibility and 'weight' of a maintenance manager plays an important role as a 'magnet factor' for attracting and retaining technical talent. In other words, technicians are more motivated if their manager succeeds in demonstrating the importance of maintenance in the boardroom. 

Together we are strong

Giving maintenance a face is not only important within the company. There are also many important stakeholders in the outside world who do not (yet) understand the impact of maintenance. By becoming a member of BEMAS, you make it clear that technical maintenance is important to you and your company, and you give us the opportunity to spread the message of the Belgian maintenance community.  Thanks to the support of the almost 500 member companies of BEMAS, we work together towards more recognition, more professionalism and a better image for our profession. ....

In addition, BEMAS remains a source of inspiration and knowledge about innovations, new insights and best practices in the field of maintenance and Asset Management.  Did you know that in 2014 BEMAS organised more than 80 activities and training courses with a total of more than 2,000 participants? 

A successful future

Cautious economic optimism for the (near) future again shows the strengths and weaknesses of our region. We can only compensate for wage, energy and other cost disadvantages by sustainably increasing productivity and flexibility.  Under the aforementioned difficult conditions, industrial companies can only succeed in continuing to export from Belgium in a cost-competitive global market if they continue to invest in innovation and a sophisticated asset management and maintenance strategy.

To achieve this, competent people are of course needed. The outflow of the baby boom generation poses a serious challenge to our industrial companies. Soon, we will need thousands of young, motivated maintenance technicians. If we want to convince today's Internet generation to take the step towards a professional career in maintenance, we will have to provide them with the necessary innovative tools and ICT platforms. If only to gain access in a workable way to the knowledge and experience that their predecessors have built up over the years. This is another challenge in which BEMAS supports you, for example with the iLearnReliability platform and initiatives on competences and labour mobility.

So my message is clear: become a member of BEMAS and let's work together as a maintenance community towards a successful industrial future! You can find all the information on www.bemas.org. 

Wim Vancauwenberghe
Director BEMAS and Maintenance Evangelist

wvc@bemas.org