Lubrication Excellence Conference Sets Records

The Lean, Reliable and Lubed 2008 conferences and exhibition, held May 20 through 22 in Nashville, Tenn. marked another record-setting event for Noria Corporation and the manufacturing sectors it serves. The international conference is the premier international event for plant management, maintenance and reliability professionals.

The conferences included three co-located trade shows: Lean Manufacturing 2008, Reliability World 2008 and Lubrication Excellence 2008. It was the ninth consecutive year of attendance and exhibit growth, reflecting the high quality of the content and the broad coverage of products and services delivered to attendees.

A Plentitude of Sessions
Technical experts presented more than 120 sessions at the combined conferences. Each session offered a case study or technical paper - solutions to take home and apply in your plant or work environment. The Lubrication Excellence conference, in its ninth year, covered the topics of lubricants and lubrication, oil analysis, contamination control, and sludge and varnish.

Reliability World, in its fourth year, addressed reliability basics, reliability management and reliability engineering. Lean Manufacturing, in its third year, presented tracks on the topics of pure lean and lean reliability.

Keynote Speakers
The Lean, Reliable and Lubed 2008 convention kicked off with a general session led by Mark Emkes, the chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. He highlighted Bridgestone's pursuit of innovation, reliability and lean manufacturing, and provided an in-depth look at the plant-floor initiatives that position this well-known manufacturer for continued success.

Noria's own Drew Troyer, presented a keynote session, titled "Diversify - Get the Entire Team on Board." In it, Drew discussed the roles various organization functional groups play in the solution equation for maximizing overall business effectiveness and return on net assets. He focused on strategies for engaging the entire team of functional players in the pursuit of a lean, reliable and lubed plant.

Other keynote speakers included Mark Calkins, site maintenance manager of The Boeing Company; Ross Robson, executive director of Shingo Prize; and Richard Schonberger, president of Schonberger and Associates. Among the many other valued presenters, published authors Terry Wireman, Ricky Smith and R.D. (Doc) Palmer contributed their in-depth knowledge of improving maintenance strategies.

A Comprehensive Exhibition
The Lean, Reliable and Lubed exhibition featured products and services from more than 150 companies. Suppliers were on hand to answer questions and demonstrate solutions to problems. Activities in the exhibit hall provided opportunities for attendees to see new products in action, network with peers, and have some fun while visiting the show.

Workshops
Pre-conference workshops were offered in half-day and full-day sessions. Workshops centered on topics such as lean plant reliability management, maintenance planning and scheduling, zero equipment stoppages, cultural change leadership, oil analysis alarms and limits, designing a lube room, and greasing electric motor bearings.

As a bonus, several industry-leading maintenance and reliability organizations offered certification exams during the conferences. Exams were offered by the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML), the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) and the Vibration Institute.

The 2009 Lean, Reliable and Lubed conferences and exhibition will take place April 28 through 30 in Columbus, Ohio. We look forward to seeing you there. To learn more about this and other events, visit www.machinerylubrication.com or www.noria.com.