July-August 2021

NEWS The British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA) – the organisation that represents the business interests of UK and Irish suppliers of liquid pumps and pump related equipment – reports a positive reaction to its new pump repair training course. Created to address the key area of pump maintenance and repair, the first outing of this CPD accredited classroom- based learning was on 23 and 24 June. It was only the second face-to-face course to be held at the BPMA’s training centre in West Bromwich since March 2020 and was well-received by those involved. All social distancing measures were strictly observed throughout the two days, with face masks being worn outside the training room and the required ventilation being in play during each session. A combination of theoretical and practical elements make-up the course, with examples of many worn parts being supplied by BPMA members, to aid the hands-on approach. Lecturer Alex Yates comments: “This is a course which the BPMA identified as being needed by the industry and is aimed at helping individuals to evaluate the benefits of repair against replacement and the importance of preventative and planned maintenance programs across all pump systems.” Passion Gary Wilde, technical services officer at the BPMA, adds: “Alex and I have been passionate about offering this type of training for a long time, and the last 12 months has afforded us the time to put the course together and to ensure it dovetails nicely with our other classroom-based modules. And by all accounts, it has hit the mark.” Terrie Lamb, who attended the June course very much supports this assessment: “Having recently completed some e-learning and webinar training with the BPMA, I was excited to enrol onto the new Pump Repair course,” he says. “Alex has so much pump knowledge and was able to share this in a truly meaningful way. He was more than happy to go over anything we were not sure about, ensuring we all learnt a great deal and gained a good deal of confidence as a result.” Given the success of this first delivery, a further course will be scheduled for later in the year, details of which will be published in due course. For further information, and to book your place on this or any of the other BPMA training courses, contact Steve Smith on +44 (0)121 601 6691 or by email at s.smith@bpma.org.uk Pump repair training – A welcome addition 12 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS July/August 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk Gates, global provider of application- specific fluid power and power transmission solutions, has accepted an invitation to become a member of the Advisory Strategies Planning Group at the National Fluid Power Centre (NFPC). The representatives of member companies work closely with NFPC engineers to develop a clearer understanding of their product ranges, how to install and use them, as well as how to maintain them to increase overall levels of performance. Gates will be represented by hydraulic systems and field engineering manager, Kevin Follows. He will provide technical support in relation to Gates’ equipment and act as a mentor for NFPC training staff. The overall aim is to develop the kind of training programmes required to equip the next generation of the UK’s hydraulics engineering trainees with the specialist skills they need out in the field. Significant resource Between 1500 and 1800 UK hydraulics technicians, engineers and advanced apprentices benefit from NFPC training every year, which is delivered via a wide range of training programmes. NFPC director John Savage comments: “Gates has a considerable amount of expertise in the development of hydraulic solutions. Its equipment is used in a large number of industrial sectors throughout the world and the experience and knowhow will be a very significant resource for our trainees. As we emerge from what has been a difficult time for industries across the world, it’s vital that we are able to provide the best possible training opportunities and an enhanced involvement from Gates will help us to achieve that.” Examples from the Gates MEGASys MXT hydraulic systems range have already been fitted to a hydraulic system training rig in Technical Centre 3. As more products are added, learners will be able to increase their competence levels by receiving direct training from experts using the type of equipment they will be expected to be able to maintain when they are out in the field. Gates joins Advisory Strategies Planning Group at NFPC Gary Wilde: Hitting the mark.