The first day of MainTrain St. John's (Apirl 7 and 8) kicked off as a resounding success, filling the conference hall at the local Delta St. John’s Hotel and Conference Centre April 7 and bringing to the Martimes the first event of its kind.

As Canada's largest physical asset and maintenance management industry association, the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada's (PEMAC) Newfoundland chapter had an active hand in selecting and shaping the content for this year's event to ensure it met the needs of local industry.

Following opening remarks by PEMAC president Brian Malloch and moderator John Lambert, from Benchmark Maintenance Services Inc., conference attendees were treated to a full day of technical training seminars, which focused primarily on predictive maintenance tools like thermography, oil analysis programs, ultrasound and laser alignment systems. The theme of achieving a return on investment (ROI) was prevalent throughout.

First up, Fluke Electronics Canada industrial product manager Colin Plastow delivered a session on thermography. For a complete rundown on the information covered in his talk, check out our coverage and video of his talk last week in Toronto. Plastow delved into the theory of infrared light and, most importantly, material “emissivity” — the relative ability of its surface to emit infrared radiation. Different materials emit different levels of infrared waves even if they are the same temperature, an important distinction for a beginner, so they reviewed ways to work with those limitations.

Darren German, Bosch Rexroth Canada hydraulics business unit service manager, brought to everyone's attention the important of a well-run oil analysis program — which is more than filling a sample bottle with oil and sending it to a laboratory. Considering the cost versus benefit, he says, oil analysis is one of the best return on investment PdM practices available when executed in a accurate, timely and consistent manner.

After lunch, the energetic Sean Miller, a certified Level I ultrasound inspector with UE Systems Inc., taught the audience about the latest in ultrasonic testing and tools. To help highlight the technology's benefits, he presented "good" and "bad" sounds measured from bearings, steam traps, pumps and other common plant resources. Through various case studies, he presented ways it can help save energy and, possibly more importantly, costs.

To cap off the full day of talks, Lambert discussed the importance of proper up-front machinery installation, which is critical for all maintenance departments. Unfortunately, he says, it isn't always done, and the result is that machinery tends to fail prematurely. He reviewed the ways to avoid incorrect alignment and the importance of employees to be provided the correct tools and training to do their jobs right.