Address by Tony Killeen, T.D., Minister for Labour Affairs at the MEETA (Irish Maintenance Society) Awards

24 November 2005

I thank you for inviting me to present the Maintenance Project Awards 2005, which has become a very important event in the engineering calendar in the very important area of maintenance management

Irish industry is changing. We are now engaged in direct competition in a global market, so the quality of our products and services must far exceed what we previously considered acceptable. We have to move up the value chain to maintain employment. In this context, manufacturing is as important as marketing and finance.

The key to success in today's competitive manufacturing environment is to maximise our asset potential - both workforce and capital - to improve a company's performance. As with any activity, there is always room for improvement. But those who learn to master the core skills will enjoy superior performance and have a distinct competitive advantage.

We are witnessing an increasing new role for maintenance as an integral part of the productivity, quality, health, safety and environment equation. It is clear that the maintenance of machines and systems that support these areas is more important than ever. This is particularly evident in the areas of improving health and safety in the work place, as well as on environmental protection.

Best practices will have to be identified and adopted, and new ways of measuring maintenance effectiveness will need to be developed. The Irish Maintenance Society-MEETA plays a major role here. Its programme of events and membership serves to bring people of like interests together and keep up to date with the latest developments.

Engineers Ireland is committed to best practice in industry through its Continuing Professional Development Scheme. Maintaining a pro-active policy of CPD, in line with best international practice, means that we can ensure maintenance and development of professional standards among our members.

The CPD Programme is being supported by my Department through significant financial assistance from the National Training Fund, and is a very good example of an innovative and purposeful investment being supported through that Fund.

The need to implement additional programmes of support for continuing professional development, and for enhancing the qualification levels of engineers and technicians, is one of the key recommendations in the recent report - Engineering - Knowledge Island 2020 - that was advanced by Engineers Ireland and the Irish Academy of Engineers. It has been presented to Government Departments and will inform public policy on education, life-long learning, qualifications development and catering for the skill needs of the future.

Over the years the awards have matured. The standards are rigorous and the competition is instructive. Each of the entrant companies has learned from the process and improved as a result of participation. The awards are testament to the dedication, creativity and work ethic of all entrant companies and their employees – managerial and maintenance staff – and to the contribution that excellence in maintenance management and engineering makes to company profitability.

Best practice companies follow a disciplined top down approach, they invest in training and awareness at all levels and they explicitly integrate their maintenance philosophy into their manufacturing strategy. In these companies maintenance professionals form part of the decision-making senior management team and are no longer consigned to the back room.

This evening we are here to honour companies and individuals who have clearly demonstrated they are leaders in Maintenance Management. These are the winners of the Maintenance Project Awards. But before we pay tribute to the winners I would like to congratulate companies that have developed “best practice” in this area.

I would like to wish success to all maintenance practitioners who are demanding continuous and rapid improvements in the execution of their maintenance and engineering function. It is one of the essential components of any complete business strategy.

I would like to say thanks to the panel of judges for their difficult task in selecting the winners of the National Maintenance Project Awards in 2005.

I would like to acknowledge the continuing sponsorship of PMI Software Ltd for the national Maintenance Awards, and their dedication to promoting the role and standards of the maintenance professional in the manufacturing and services industries in Ireland.

I would like to congratulate Engineers Ireland and their MEETA Society for coordinating these awards each year, and wish success to all maintenance practitioners who are demanding continuous and rapid improvements in the execution of their maintenance and engineering function.

ENDS

LA 154