AS GLOBAL competition is tough and investments in European manufacturing facilities are generally declining, maintenance is becoming increasingly important in keeping production assets efficient, sustainable and competitive. But how is maintenance actually performing? What are the challenges and opportunities? How can we deal with the shrinking and aging workforce? What opportunities do new technologies offer, and how can we ensure they reach the market as soon as possible?

These topics are shared across European countries, and across industries − and in many cases an international perspective is needed. What is the sector’s agenda? How can we best represent our interests in the EU? It should also be noted that most policies and financing for education, training and innovation in the maintenance domain, are also being developed in the EU. This further increases the importance of cooperation throughout Europe.

The different session at the Euromaintenance forum will give you the valuable opportunity to both learn, and share your ideas with others.

The keynote of the forum will be presented by Herman Baets, chairman of the EFNMS. During his 40 year career in the chemical industry he has developed a clear vision on the future of maintenance. He will give his ideas on how maintenance managers can get a better understanding of the need for maintenance. He will tell you how maintenance in Europe has to move away from technical professions and how you can position maintenance in your company. This is all based on experience gained during his working life.

Session 1: European Maintenance Skill Passport

Baby boom generation technicians are currently retiring and leaving the factory floor. In many European countries young people show little, or no interest in taking up a career as a maintenance technician. On top of that, SHEQ requirements, evolving technologies and organisational changes increase the required level of knowledge and skills of maintenance workers. These trends will force asset owners and maintenance service providers to manage the skills and competences of their maintenance employees more proactively.

A Learning Outcome (LO) is a statement that specifies what knowledge, skills and competence a person is required to have in order to execute a certain task. In the world of education LOs are used to describe what a leaner is able to do as a result of a learning activity. In the PileUp project (Lifelong Learning Programme) a set of 40 work tasks have been selected to describe the profession of Maintenance Technicians in the Chemical Industry on EQF level 4 using LOs.

These LOs can be assessed in different ways. Knowledge can be assessed using a theory test, an interview etc. Skills can be assessed through observation of a practical assignment. Competences can be assessed by observing the way the learner is executing the practical assignment (e.g. is able to work cooperatively in a small group).

During the presentation we will reflect on how LOs are used to describe maintenance competences and how they can be applied in the assessment of a maintenance worker and in designing a training programme.

The European Maintenance Skill Passport, owned by an individual person, is a document that gives information about the acquired skills in the field of maintenance described in LOs. An individual will be able to add skills to his/her passport through recognition of his/her diploma obtained through formal learning, through the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), through an accredited certificate, or through another accredited assessment testing his/her knowledge, skills and competences obtained through non-formal and informal learning. The owner of a skill passport will be able to give permission to his employer or third parties to view his set of acquired Learning Outcomes.

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Also summer schools work as a sound board for the future.

This means the maintenance skill passport can have several practical applications for an employer:

1. Verify if an employee or contracted maintenance worker has the required skills and competences (LOs) to execute a job.
2. Specify the exact training needs of a maintenance worker
3. Hire foreign maintenance workers with a clear insight on his/her capabilities, thanks to the transparency of well described and assessed LOs

The Skill passport will of course also benefit the individual worker:

1. Demonstrate in a transparent way the full value of his/her diploma and his/ her acquired skills and competences to employers all over Europe.
2. Continuously upgrade and evaluate his/her skills and competences acquired through experience
3. Reduce potential risks to his/her personal safety by avoiding being assigned to tasks he/she is not qualified and trained for.

During this session we will explain the European Maintenance Skill Passport and its benefits. We will tell you what a learning outcome is and how it can be used to describe the skills and competences of your maintenance technicians. Finally we will give you valued information on how you can assess the skills and competences of your technicians in a transparent way.

Session 2: Research & development:

towards Horizon2020 Over the coming 5 to 10 years, new technologies such as ICT and advanced manufacturing have the potential to significantly improve asset reliability, reduce maintenance costs and extend asset life. While attention for strategic investments and innovations is growing, there is still limited collaboration around R&D itself. The EFNMS is leading the development of the collaboration between industry, research institutes and European technology platforms to set priorities, develop new collaborations and improve access to funding. During this session a new strategic research agenda ´Maintenance 2020´ will be presented. By attending you will get an insight into upcoming programmes and activities for R&D in the process and manufacturing industries.

Session 3: Benchmark study

During this session, we will present the results of a maintenance and asset management benchmark study in North-West Europe. More than 300 asset owners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France participated in this international benchmarking exercise.

You will learn the current standards and best practices in maintenance and asset management in different industries. The project benchmarked amongst others following indicators: maintenance cost, preventive versus corrective maintenance, maintenance productivity, MRO inventory value, composition of maintenance staff, salary cost, remaining lifetime of asset base, outsourcing budget, etc.

The speaker will discuss these benchmark results and explain how these serve as a basis for a research project on the economic impact of maintenance in North-West Europe.

Do you want to compare the performance of your maintenance department with those in the benchmark study? If you register for the forum, you will be invited to bring along some of your maintenance data and discuss them in comparison with those of the benchmark sample. Also, two forum participants will be offered a free benchmark. After completing the questionnaire, they will receive a free individual benchmark report including a management summary.

These activities are carried out as part of the project MORE4CORE, collaboration between 5 national maintenance associations, funded by the European Commission. For more information: www.more4core.eu

About the writer:Herman Baets

• 40 years’ experience in the chemical industry
• Worked in operations, engineering, maintenance and strategy related to maintenance and engineering
• Chairman EFNMS

Herman Baets,

Chairman EFNMS,

herman.baets@telenet.be