The 2016 National Maintenance Engineering Conference takes place at the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton on 9/10 November so it seemed timely to take a look at the origins of the event and how it has developed over the years with Craig Carlyle.
The origins of the NMEC came about after a request by a national meat company, who had engineers all over New Zealand and recognised the regional differences and different engineering solutions and wished to bring engineers together in one spot. Up until that time there were existing engineering conferences but the problem was that all the conferences available were all ‘high-brow’ and really did not relate to the practical guy!
Carlyle says there was a tale about a foreman from provincial New Zealand turning up to a conference in his Swanndri only to find everyone else dressed in suits!
A practical maintenance management conference that the average guy could relate to was required – one with no airs and graces. A rule was immediately adopted – there were to be no ties worn. If you don’t think the rule will be enforced then be aware that when Peter Tennent, a former Mayor of New Plymouth, addressed the conference on one occasion his tie was cut off!
That ethos has remained since those beginnings in 2003. Put away your pretentiousness, sit down and start talking across the table. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from the conference is an opportunity to sit down and talk and discover common ground.
That, in a nutshell, is the essence of the success of the NMEC.
It has all grown from those original values. There had been other attempts to organise engineers in societal groups– some worked, some didn’t. The Maintenance Engineering Society of New Zealand had a low profile at that stage and Carlyle says he went to a MESNZ meeting to see what the organisation was doing and immediately saw a fit with his own personal goals of sharing his experience with engineers. Carlyle gifted the event to the society and agreed to stay on as Event Director.
Craig’s wife Judy Cranston, well known in music and entertainment circles, co-directed the event from day one, specialising in the social agenda and being mother to everyone. The event quickly generated a collegial feel with attendees making an annual pilgrimage.
The conference itself understands the pressures and responsibilities of an engineer in a workshop trying to solve problems of the world. “Not all problems were engineering problems they could be about line management or other issues. We take a holistic approach and tackle issues such as Health & Safety and Human Relations. One year we had a paper on how to pat employee on the back followed by one on how to fire their butt!”“For most engineers only a small percentage of their time is pure engineering. Our whole goal is to help the engineer with workplace issues. That stands MESNZ aside from others. VANZ for instance, who we have a wonderful relationship with, is focused on purely technical topics.”
In the early years the society ran the conference and other activities such as one day seminars but it was eventually decided to focus all the effort into the NMEC.
“We dropped the seminars but now a decade later we have Network Evenings.They fill that gap and we are totally committed to the Kaeser Compressors Network Evenings. They are fantastic and a secret to their success and also that of the conference is that we understand that the engineering world budgets are tight and engineers need approval to attend. We work hard to keep the costs low and make it easy timewise to attend.”
“There are a number of success stories. Engineers turn up at conference with a look on their face and you watch their faces change as they discover common problems and solutions by talking to each other. They can’t wait to get back to work after they chat and take their learnings back to the workplace.”
Examples of the society meeting the needs of the engineers are reflected in the initiatives introduced over the years. “Deputy dog” pricing where a second representative from the same organisation can attend at a lesser rate means engineers can bring their 2IC’s and share the inspiration. The society has also provides apprentice and student rates.
For many years the conference was held all over New Zealand, North Island, South Island, anywhere and everywhere, with varying results. “As the conference grew, the risk grew and it became a luxury we couldn’t afford. Now you know where you are going every year. We have always had the best response from Waikato, it is central, it suits most and there is a wealth of places for field trips.”
The committee are yet to exhaust entertainment ideas for the conference. “Our entertainment is always slightly different. We don’t like doing things conventionally. We like to test people, have fun, and find a way to mix everyone together. The entertainment is legendary. Every year we wonder how to top the last one. We have had paintball wars, karaoke, we’ve gone out on boats, had Fawlty Towers nights, raced trolleys and chased sheep. What we do is always kept a secret. We try to keep the atmosphere convivial, have a few drinks without going overboard so everyone enjoys the night and is ready to go again the next day. The whole evening is quite an art. The entertainment also helps reinforce new relationships.”
In recent years the attention has been on the move to make the conference bigger and increase the resources to manage that. “We had Chris Thomas on board in the first years and brought him back more recently, while Leanne Powley has been an immense help in recent years. The committee members too are on the front desk, relishing the opportunity to personally meet the attendees. The society takes a long term view of the conference. A good example of this is the conference papers which are now driven by Barry Robinson, Larry Wiechern and Kevin Ingle who are looking at the topics we need to cover. The speaking plans are planned up to 2 years out. The emphasis changed with SKF coming on board as a sponsor. That enabled us to engage international speakers but we don’t want only internationals as we value local input as well. Engineers want to see a common neighbour.”
Longer term goals include reaching out to touch more and more engineers. “A lot of local engineers don’t know we exist. We will also open doors to more international speakers.”
“This year we are budgeting on 60 exhibitors, up from 40. The Exhibition Hall is a big event but we do not want to let that override the conference part. There are one day options, student options, bring a friend options and a lot of interest in the free Public Trade Expo.”
Each year there is a pre-conference field trip (this year Stainless Design are opening their doors to the group). One of the innovations this year is the Conference Training Village running on the day before the conference. This will offer engineers the opportunity to access expert tuition and advice in multiple training rooms in the conference venue. This is an added value to the conference and that is one of the big drives of the Society, to always offer value.
The Conference Training Village is the biggest change this year while the Exhibition Hall is growing while there will be lots of refinements and a very strong speaking schedule.
There is always a lot of interest in the Stuart Tolhurst Apprentice Trophy and Bill Buckley Scholarship Award recipients as well.
The big drive this year is for more attendees so if you are looking for solutions or something you can do better and want to get a sympathetic ear then find a way to wangle your way to NMEC 2016 on 9/10 November. The conference is always a highlight whether you are meeting old friends or finding new ones!
A NMEC release - Monday 26 September 2016