Creator and CEO of Realibilityweb.com, core engine of the International Maintenance Conference, IMC, he shares his expectations for this new edition of the 2017 conference, which will have the sponsoring of IBM for the first time.

A new edition of the IMC - International Maintenance Conference – Congress is being prepared by Reliabilityweb.com, lead by Terrence O´Hanlon, CEO and creator of this Enterprise, and one of the most important references in the maintenance and asset management field worldwide. O´Hanlon, is the father of the Uptime Elements study system, Uptime Magazine and well-known speaker.

Already on its 32nd edition, we talked with O´Hanlon about this new conference, which adds up more participants every year around the world, becoming an important icon in the asset management field. This visionary has created a true emporium, through media, magazines and the web in order to spread this knowledge to every corner of the planet… and beyond!

Predictiva21: How is the organization of IMC 2017 going so far?

Terrence O´Hanlon: IMC-2017 is now in its 32nd year and is the longest running industrial maintenance conference in the world. It is organized by Reliabilityweb.com and curated by Terrence O'Hanlon who is known for having his finger on the pulse of the reliability and asset management communities.

IMC-2017 is focusing on a few key themes:

1) Reliability is a growth strategy – for organizations that are production constrained; reliability can find the “hidden plant” and deliver additional production – and replace capital project expansion.

2) IMC-2017 is where Reliability (Managing Assets) and Asset Management intersect. While many asset management conferences focus on Asset Management theory delivered by consultants, IMC-2017 focused on real world case studies delivered by practitioners.

3) The topic of the Industrial Internet of Things is getting a lot of hype in the trade press, so IMC-2017 focused on real world technology that is ready to advance reliability today.

P21: What can the maintenance community expect from this year’s event? Is there any difference in comparison to previous events?

TO: The first big difference is that MaximoWorld, which has been collocated with IMC, is now an independent stand-alone conference (seewww.maximoworld.com) so there will be less Maximo specific presentations. We are very fortunate to enjoy the support of IBM as a major sponsor and they will be hosting a hand’s-on Maximo, IIoT, Asset Health and Watson Learning Lab at IMC-2017.

So that means that IMC is a vendor - neutral event with several topical focus areas: Condition Monitoring, Reliability, Industrial Internet of Things, Asset Management, Maintenance and Lubrication.

We are thrilled to announce that the International Vibration Analysis Training Symposium has collocated with IM-2017 featuring workshops and short courses from the world’s leading vibration analysis training organizations, such as Vibration Institute, Technical Associates of Charlotte, Full Spectrum Diagnostics and independent trainer and author Alan Friedman.

There are 4 full days of Spanish Language presentations brought to you by La Red Confiabilidad including simultaneous translation of the RAP (Reliability and Asset Performance) Talks and Keynotes as well as short courses and case studies from the world - class practitioners from Latin America. A special Women in Reliability and Asset Management Dinner meeting with speakers is scheduled. Also, the Association of Asset Management Professionals is hosting a charity Golf Tournament to raise money for the Wounded Warriors.

The IMC-2017 Expo features some of the best Solution Providers with innovative technologies, training and services.

P21: You have displayed a great effort around the world to promote the importance of CRL certification within the maintenance community. How has this process been so far? What has been its advances and achievements? Why is it so important?

TO: Imagine the performance improvement inside organizations if everyone worked toward the four fundamentals of Reliability Leadership: Integrity (people doing what they said they would do), Authenticity (people acting consistently with the values that are most important to them), Responsibility (taking a stand for reliability), and Working on an Aim (the reason the company exists) bigger than one’s self.

Now picture that everyone in the company- regardless of function, speaks the language of Reliability and Asset Management that is available from Uptime Elements. Then, imagine empowering and engaging the Front Line workforce in defect elimination that focuses on putting assets back into service better than they came out! Don’t just fix it – Improve It!

Combine all that with traditional “maintenance” approaches to reliability and you create a new future from your reliability journey.

P21: What professional plans does Reliabilityweb have for 2018? How does your organization project itself in time?

TO: As you know Reliabilityweb.com has made heavy investments in establishing a vibrant reliability and asset management community in Latin America with La Red Confiabilidad. In 2018, we are focusing on bringing the Latin American community together through sharing knowledge and experience, once in Lima Peru in March 2018 and again in Mexico in September 2018.

Text: Alimey Díaz Martí

Translation: Richard J. Skinner