Gearing up for 4th Industrial Revolution

New to the co-location of DFA events for 2018, is the inaugural Smart Industry Expo, which, say the organisers will be one of the UK’s most comprehensive dedicated events focusing on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and transforming to a smart manufacturing era.

Drives & Controls Exhibition will once again bring together key suppliers of state-of-the-art equipment representing the multi-tasking culture of today’s design engineer, covering critical areas such as energy efficiency, machine safety, drives, motion control, robotics and automation plus much more, all under one roof. With the advent of the smart factory, Drives & Controls Exhibition is an essential source of technological and engineering information.

Other co-located events include: Plant & Asset Management 2018, the UK’s premier event for plant, asset, maintenance and works management engineers and directors; Fluid Power & Systems 2018, the UK’s only exhibition totally focused on hydraulics, pneumatics, systems and related equipment, which is supported by the British Fluid Power Association (BFPA); and Air-Tech 2018, supported by the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS), and is the UK’s only dedicated event for the compressed air and generators market.

Seminar programme

At a time when engineers are under increasing pressure, and time out of the office for attending exhibitions needs to be balanced against heavy workloads, one growing justification is attending a well-balanced and focused seminar programme where gaining further industry knowledge is at the core.

Located at the heart of the 2018 co-location is The Knowledge Hub, which will feature a free comprehensive programme of seminars and panel discussions, with speakers offering expert insight and practical advice on important and topical issues. As part of the ongoing global transformation to the smart manufacturing era, The Knowledge Hub’s theme for 2018 is Smart Factory - Concept to Reality, the journey to a smart future.

Global initiatives and the technological paradigm shift associated with the Industrial Internet of Things, shows that there is a growing opportunity for industry to take advantage of the creativity and entrepreneurial nature of UK companies. The uptake of smart technologies in the industrial sector will be central to our future, by improving our national productivity, creating higher value jobs, and arming our workforce with the digital skills required in the decades ahead.

The Knowledge Hub fully reflects this and will provide a fascinating insight into the potential plants of the future, with high profile panel discussions and seminars from leading figures in the industry, including: Lynne McGregor, Innovate UK; Chris Richards, EEF; Steve Brambley, GAMBICA; Dr Susan Scurlock, Primary Engineer; Chris Buxton, BFPA; Lina Huertas, HVM Catapult; Jeremy Hadall, MTC, Mike Wilson, BARA; and Chris Meluish, Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

Over the course of the three-day seminar programme, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a complete smart roadmap, with each day of the Knowledge Hub representing a different stage of the smart journey covering all aspects of the digital transformation.

The UK manufacturing sector has the potential to be a global leader in the industrial digital technology revolution. This year’s Knowledge Hub theme Smart Factory - Concept to Reality, the journey to a smart future, will help ensure visitors seize the opportunities that exist and promote the benefits of adopting emerging digital technologies.

The variety and scope of the seminar programme for 2018 is extremely exciting, adding real value. The combination of leading manufacturing events, with a highly focused seminar programme, will give visitors a genuine opportunity to keep abreast of the latest industry developments.

Maintenance seminar theatre

In addition to the Knowledge Hub, and complementing Plant & Asset Management 2018 will be a full programme of free technical seminars in a dedicated seminar theatre - The Maintenance Seminar Theatre - with speakers offering expert specific insight and practical advice on important and topical issues concerning today’s maintenance professionals.

The Plant & Asset Management 2018 free seminars will include a cross section of topics including; the economic benefits of condition-based maintenance; Maintenance 4.0; improving maintenance and managing plant availability & lifecycle costs; oil sampling and analysis; maintenance, repair and overhaul of rotating equipment, plus much more.