7 Key Findings from Plant Engineering’s 2016 Maintenance Study

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect, Sonnhalter

Every year Plant Engineering conducts their Maintenance Study. The objective of this research is to better understand maintenance practices and strategies currently in place in North American manufacturing facilities and the effects of maintenance on productivity and profitability.

The 2016 study identified seven important high-level findings impacting the manufacturing industry:

• Maintenance Strategies – facilities utilize multiple maintenance strategies on the plant floor, with preventive maintenance (76%), “run-to-failure” (61%) and computerized maintenance management system (60%) being the top three
• Shutdown Schedule – on average, all systems are shutdown three times each year
• Maintenance Support – 6 in 10 facilities dedicate a significant amount of maintenance support to their rotating equipment
• Unscheduled Downtime – aging equipment (50%) and operator errors (15%) remain the leading causes
• Training – more than half of respondents’ maintenance personnel receives training in safety; basic mechanical skills; basic electrical skills; motors, gearboxes, bearings; and lubrication
• Technologies – 62% of respondents’ facilities use a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)
• Outsourcing – the average facility outsources 22% of their maintenance operations, up from 17% in 2015

Diving deeper into the research findings, I was surprised at some of antiquated and simplistic practices still used for maintenance, especially given this age of technology and the Industrial-Internet-of-Things (IIoT). For example the second highest maintenance strategy was Reactive Maintenance also known as “run-to-failure.” And the leading cause for unscheduled downtime is Aging Equipment at 50%, while Lack of Time to Perform Maintenance or Lack of Maintenance make up 25%. And even though 83% of maintenance personnel receive training in safety, only 3 in 5 respondents indicate that their maintenance teams receive basic mechanical and electrical skills. How can we expect these people to maintain equipment if they are not properly trained? And the ultimate technology dichotomy, “clipboards and paper records” at 39% was ranked third highest for the technology used to monitor and manage maintenance!

See the 7 key findings here.

Download the full report here.

Go Hands-On for Quality Trade Show Interactions

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect, Sonnhalter

One of the most underutilized components implemented by exhibitors at trade shows is the “hands on” demonstration of their product/solution. Professional tradespeople make their living working with their hands, so it should not be a surprise “hands on” product demonstrations are a favorite for this audience.

Typically trade shows like to talk about the quantitative stats…number of attendees, number of exhibitors and number of speakers. But instead of focusing on the number of people walking up and down the aisles and attending these shows, maybe we should be focusing more on the quality of the interactions between trade show attendees and the exhibitors. One of the more effective quality interactions would be the “hands on” product demonstrations and skills competitions at trade shows. In general, booths that have some sort of demonstration/activity for their product tend to have more traffic and activity.

The first quarter of the year tends to be a busy time for trade shows targeting the professional tradesperson. I recently attended the World of Concrete Show and was amazed at the number of hands on areas. The parking lots of the Las Vegas Convention Center were packed with manufacturer tents highlighting “hands on” demos with everything from cutting and drilling, to polishing and breaking up concrete.

In another parking lot across from the convention there were as many as 4,000 spectators in attendance to watch a number of masonry skills contests, including the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500, SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER, MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge and the MCAA Fastest Trowel on the Block.

It was amazing to see the passion, enthusiasm and support shown by the attendees watching these tradespeople showcase their skills! All of these areas outside the convention center consistently had more active traffic compared to the normal booths inside the exhibition hall.

Now there are a number of factors that go into making a successfully trade show, but hopefully when you are planning your next show a hands on demo will be part of it.

 

The Modern Press Release

Join Matt Sonnhalter for a Marketing Minute and learn about the modern press release and how key elements make it a strong, effective communication tool.

To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here and let us know if there’s a B2T marketing topic you’d like us to cover.

Is Print Dead?

We’ve been hearing for years that print is “dead” and digital media reigns. However for B2T, print is still and important medium.

Join Matt Sonnhalter in the next installment of our Marketing Minute series to find out more about why you shouldn’t call time of death of print advertising.

To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here and let us know if there’s a B2T marketing topic you’d like us to cover.

Comprehensive List of Nation’s Vocational Education Programs now Available

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect at Sonnhalter

Photo courtesy of Viega LLC.

One issue that concerns all of us who are selling to the professional tradesman is that there is and will be a shortage of qualified tradesman in the future as the 50-plus segment of the market is on the verge of retirement.

We represent lots of manufacturers who realize this and want to do something to spur interest in and obviously get their brands in the hands of future users.

Sonnhalter, a marketing communications firm to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, released a database which includes virtually every Vocational education and technical program in the United States. The database, which includes more than 2,000 programs, contains useful and easy-to-read information about each program, including addresses, phone numbers, websites and more.

The database serves as a tool for companies in the trade markets who wish to implement more grassroots campaigns to recruit the next generation of professional tradesmen. With details about each individual program within a technical center, marketing toward students within a specific skill set is easy and convenient. The database is available for download and is designed to be sortable and searchable for a variety of fields, including program type, degree type and other important information.

You can sign up to download a copy here.

What is a QR Code?

Quick Response (QR) codes seem to be everywhere. They can be a great tool in mobile marketing if you use them correctly.

In the latest video in Sonnhalter’s Marketing Minute series, Matt shares some ways to use QR codes effectively to reach a mobile audience.

To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here.

What is a creative brief?

Do you use a creative brief to guide your marketing plan?

In the most recent Marketing Minute video from Sonnhalter, Matt explains what this useful marketing tool is and the 11 elements that Sonnhalter’s creative briefs include.

To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here.

ISH 2015: The Biggest Tradeshow I’ve Ever Attended

Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

I recently attended the ISH Show, a biennial show, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany in March. This was the first time I was able to attend this show and it sure did not disappoint. I guess the one word I would use to describe this show would be overwhelming!

Here are some of the amazing statistics from the show:

• Over 850,000 square feet of exhibit space – sprawled out over 11 buildings, most with multiple levels
• Almost 2,500 exhibitors – representing over 50 countries; and this number is not nearly as impressive as the individual sizes of their booths; 61% of these exhibitors came from outside of Germany
• Nearly 200,000 visitors – from plumbing and HVAC professional tradesman (accounting for around a third of the total), architects and engineers, to distributors, service providers, public authorities and more; 37% of these visitors came from outside Germany

Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

This is by far the world’s leading show for the combination of water and energy topics. Everything one could possibly imagine for these industries was covered under the following five product groups:

1. The Bathroom Experience – think of KBIS on steroids…Grohe and Hans Grohe even had their own buildings
2. Building and Energy Technology – everything from boiler and burners, to heat pumps and components for heating equipment
3. Efficient Systems and Renewable Energies – all the alternative energies were represented from solar, rain water, biomass and geothermal, plus there was even an entire floor dedicated to stoves, pellet burners and fireplaces
4. Air-Conditioning, Cooling and Ventilation Technology – this section was comparable to the entire AHR Expo in U.S.
5. World of Installation Technology – covering plumbing techniques, tools and systems for surface mounting, pipes, fittings and fasteners

Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jens Liebchen

The overall theme for ISH 2015 was “Comfort meets Technology” where the world’s leading companies covered future-oriented issues such as resource conservation and renewable energies. Here are some of the other broad themes covered during the show:

• ISH Water: Interior + Technology – Design and Function in Harmony. Topics covered included: the multi-generational bathroom; bathroom architecture in the light of demographic change; hygiene requirements for drinking water and efficient use of water as a resource
• ISH Energy: Energy Efficiency Plus. Topics covered included: energy efficiency in the heating market; hybrid systems; using a single room fireplace to provide comfortable warmth and holistic sustainability
• Future Buildings: Topics covered included technology, comfort and energy efficiency in harmony; integrating automation of interior spaces and energy efficiency and smart living – the networked home becomes an everyday reality

Amazingly, this show is really equivalent in size to 4 or 5 of our major U.S. professional tradesman shows. The show was five days in length and you needed almost all of it to walk the entire show. And the booth traffic was tremendous, and not just on the first day of the show like most U.S. trade shows, seeming to build each and every day.

If you’ve never been to the ISH Show and you are involved in any part of the Water and Energy fields, it’s definitely worth attending. Just make sure to book your travel accommodations early and wear comfortable walking shoes!

Want to keep reading about ISH? Check out these links:

Holy cow! ISH Show continues to amaze

6 plumbing trends from ISH

The show that is del-ISH

ISH Frankfurt 2015 Recap from Eric Aune

ISH 2015 — Day 1

ISH 2015 — Day 2

ISH 2015 — Day 3

What is a USP?

Do you have a USP? Do you know what a USP is?

USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition and it is an important part of developing a marketing program.

In the first video of Sonnhalter’s Marketing Minute series, Matt explains how to develop a good USP for your next marketing program.

Big Data, Mobile and Social Media Dominate the Conversations at the 2014 BMA Global Conference

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

I recently attended the Business Marketing Association (BMA) global conference which was held in Chicago May 28-30, 2014. The largest B2B marketing conference in the world, BMA14 was attended by a record 950 B2B marketers from 450 firms, 33 states and 12 nations.

The 2014 BMA conference also deployed two digital platforms—Livecube and ISEBOX—to enable speakers to take polls and attendees to ask questions, follow tweets, share photos and access conference content. If you are in charge of planning live events/conferences, I would suggest checking out these two resources.

The 3-day conference was jam packed with content – featuring 79 speakers and presenters leading 41 sessions—three pre-conference programs, nine panels, 12 keynotes and 17 firestarters. These sessions covered a wide array of topics and trends of critical interest and importance to B2B marketers today. Someone at the conference referenced the amount of information presented was like drinking from a fire hydrant!

Here are a few themes I saw throughout the entire conference:

Big Data

It’s becoming more and more difficult for marketers in today’s environment and I thought one illustration that did a great job of representing our challenge was the Marketing Technology Landscape graphic by ChiefMartec.com. We are surrounded by data, but starved for insights; that is, data does not automatically equal insight. Today’s marketers need to solve both analytical and creative issues as we continue to trend toward extreme personalization…segments of one.

Mobile

Since mobile devices are the predominant way people globally access the web and information, mobile is a critical factor when planning future marketing efforts. Here are a few stats from the conference that help reinforce the importance of mobile:

• Mobile data usage doubled in 2013
• In the US, 1 of every 5 minutes spent on mobile are on either Facebook or Instagram
• More Facebook users globally now engage the site via their mobile device compared to their desktop
• 78% access Twitter via a mobile device

Social Media

Social media continues to be a key component of the B2B marketing mix, with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube still being the main ones utilized by B2B marketers. There was a great session by Tim Washer from CISCO on “How to bring humor to B2B storytelling.” Just because you work in B2B marketing does not mean you need to be devoid of humor…check out some of these examples shared by Tim:

• Mainframe: The Art of the Sale, Lesson One (CISCO) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSqXKp-00hM
• CDC Zombie Pandemic http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies_novella.htm
• A Special Valentine’s Day Gift…from Cisco! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8MWl9UGwQo

You can view/download videos and documents from the entire conference here: http://bma.isebox.net/.