DEMM Engineering and Manufacturing

Visitors to this year’s maintenance conference got to hear from global maintenance guru Joel Leonard.
He says the average age of maintenance people across the globe is 52. Members of the boomer generation have started to retire, leaving empty maintenance positions unfilled. Companies are facing a challenge in finding qualified workers to fill these vacancies.
With no one to fix broken pipes, frayed wires, aging equipment, and few who understand how to support modern automation technologies, nations are finding themselves in ‘The Maintenance Crisis’.
Joel Leonard is based in the US State of North Carolina but has travelled the globe to elevate workforce performance. Over the last several years, he has helped support the growth and expansion of the 11-county region surrounding Fort Bragg in the USA by coaching the eight local community college presidents.
Joel introduced numerous workshops, new industry certifications and technologies into that region. Most notably, Goodyear reports that by attending his classes, the company has saved more than US$2 million in reduced energy costs. He has also spearheaded new workforce development programmes to help under-employed workers land high paying skilled positions.
A former vice-president of the Association for Facilities Engineering, Joel is taking the lead internationally in identifying, explaining and helping to solve the problem. His creative strategies to build awareness have included holding job fairs specific to the maintenance industry.
As a result of his efforts, he was appointed to the United States Council on Competitiveness, a national think-tank whose purpose is to work with legislators and the White House to inform policy decisions that lead to effective strategies for economic development. Internationally, corporate and governmental leaders are seeking Joel’s advice, He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, CNBC and numerous affiliates around the globe.
In 2007, Joel founded SkillTV.net, the first on-line television network dedicated to helping build awareness of and offering solutions to the maintenance crisis. Programming includes interviews with congressional leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, educators, engineers and maintenance technicians in the US, Canada and abroad.
In 2008, Joel received the Gold Award for his column in Plant Services Magazine and has often presented at and been the keynote speaker at national and international conventions since 1998.
In 2008, he was the first American to deliver the opening address at the Euro Maintenance Conference in Belgium, a meeting attended by governmental and corporate leaders from 51 nations. He was the first American Chairman of the Middle East Maintenance Managers Conference in Dubai in 2008. His songs, “The Maintenance Crisis” and “Find Me a Maintenance Woman,” have been played on National Public Radio and downloaded more than 300,000 times.  In 2012 Leonard was appointed Chairman of the National Defence Manufacturing Workforce Committee.
Leonard will be keynoting the New Zealand National Maintenance Conference November 13th and 14th a conference that has been strongly supported and part sponsored by DEMM magazine for many years.
The New Zealand National Maintenance Engineering Conference is the jewel in the crown for the maintenance engineering and engineering supply community. With a history dating back to 2002, this conference is legendary for delivering beyond expectations for all quarters. The conference has a stable management history, demonstrating remarkable growth even in tough times.
The conferences success is no secret, created and managed by industry leading engineers who understand what drives real engineers in the real world, this event cuts no bones about losing ties and attitudes, breaking down barriers and getting real people talking to each other about their experiences and solutions. All attendees, speakers and exhibitors are regarded as valid components of the overall industry and are invited to attend and participate in the forum sessions.
Read Steve Hart’s interview with Joel Leonard here  http://demm.co.nz/articles/maintenance-man-song-his-heart