Editorial

Recent changes in global trade tariffs have sent ripples through manufacturing sectors worldwide. From industry giants to niche producers, manufacturers must re-evaluate operational efficiency and cost management to absorb these economic pressures. Tariffs, which are taxes imposed on imported goods, often result in importers passing increased costs onto customers through higher prices. Such cost increases significantly impact complex global supply chains, prompting manufacturers to seek ways to mitigate these pressures. 

Increased tariffs mean higher costs for imported raw materials, spare parts, and equipment, forcing companies to reconsider sourcing strategies and operational practices. This often results in longer lead times, reduced production flexibility, and heightened risk of downtime, necessitating proactive measures to sustain operational effectiveness and competitive pricing. 

How Can CMMS Software Mitigate Tariff Impacts and provide Competitive Advantage? 

CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) software, like PEMAC ASSETS, plays a pivotal role by shifting maintenance management from reactive firefighting to a proactive, predictive, and strategic approach. This structured, data-driven approach optimises asset availability and reliability, directly mitigating tariff impacts. Here’s how a CMMS can help manufacturers achieve this. 

Asset Reliability and Downtime Reduction  

Unexpected equipment failures are always costly, but with tariff-inflated prices for spare parts and longer delivery times, unplanned downtime becomes even more damaging. A CMMS enables preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, using real-time and historical data to anticipate issues before they lead to breakdowns.  

CMMS users can experience up to 30% reduction in unplanned downtime through preventive and predictive maintenance based on real-time and historical data, maximising asset uptime and keeping production running smoothly, despite supply chain challenges. 

Inventory Management Optimisation  

Rising tariffs inflate material costs, making efficient inventory control essential. CMMS software can provide real-time inventory insights, enabling manufacturers to optimise stock levels. Businesses using CMMS software have achieved significant reductions of around 20% in spare parts inventory, lowering capital expenditure and storage costs despite tariff pressures. 

Engineer Productivity Gains  

A CMMS streamlines maintenance scheduling, task management, and reporting, often with mobile capabilities that allow engineers to access and update information on the go. This reduces administrative burdens, increases hands-on maintenance time, and drives labour efficiencies. In turn, manufacturers can better absorb rising operational costs without compromising service levels or passing excessive increases onto customers. 

Cost Transparency and Maintenance Savings  

The detailed financial tracking and reporting within CMMS software empowers managers to identify high-cost equipment and make informed replacement decisions. Companies implementing CMMS software report maintenance cost savings of up to 25%, achieved through efficient scheduling, fewer emergency repairs, and predictable expenditure, effectively offsetting tariff-induced financial strain. 

Compliance and Safety Improvements

Tariff-related disruptions can shift focus away from regulatory compliance and safety, but neglecting these areas risks fines and operational shutdowns. A CMMS helps maintain rigorous compliance records, manage audits, and ensure safety protocols are followed, protecting businesses from additional, avoidable costs. 

Enhanced Strategic Decision-Making

In an environment marked by fluctuating trade conditions, manufacturers must be agile and responsive. CMMS systems such as PEMAC ASSETS include comprehensive analytics and reporting features that facilitate better strategic decision-making. By analysing data trends over time, managers can proactively adjust operational and procurement strategies, optimising resources and supply chain relationships to mitigate tariff impacts effectively. This strategic agility helps companies anticipate market shifts, enhancing their competitiveness and resilience. 

Supplier Relationship Management  

As tariffs disrupt traditional sourcing patterns, managing supplier relationships becomes vital. A CMMS supports enhanced supplier management by tracking vendor performance and providing insights into delivery reliability, pricing trends, and quality issues. This information allows manufacturers to nurture robust supplier partnerships, negotiate better terms, and diversify supply sources, perhaps highlighting where those suppliers are based and if they would be subject to tariffs, or to reduce dependency on any single vendor, thereby cushioning against tariff-induced disruptions. 

By leveraging CMMS software, manufacturers not only mitigate immediate tariff-related operational challenges but strategically position themselves for continued resilience and long-term success. 

Looking Ahead: Preparing for Future Economic Uncertainties 

Manufacturers must acknowledge that global trade uncertainties are likely to persist. Economic disruptions due to tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain complexities demand that organisations prepare proactively. Implementing a robust CMMS, such as PEMAC ASSETS, , provides organisations with the capability to refine maintenance operations continually, manage costs effectively, and stay adaptable in the face of economic fluctuations. 

Conclusion 

Tariff changes present ongoing challenges for manufacturers, but proactive maintenance and operational management through CMMS platforms offer a powerful way to respond. Currently software itself is not subject to trade tariffs, so now is a great time to consider investing in a solution. By reducing downtime, optimising inventory, improving productivity, and supporting strategic agility, CMMS solutions help businesses maintain competitiveness and safeguard profitability in a complex global market. 

A CMMS such as PEMAC ASSETS, allows you to embrace a data-driven, proactive maintenance strategy, a key step towards mitigating tariff impacts and preparing for whatever economic challenges lie ahead. 

Discover How PEMAC Can Help You Stay Ahead

Don’t let tariff pressures dictate your operational efficiency. Embrace a data-driven maintenance approach to maintain competitive pricing and ensure production continuity.​

Contact Us to discover how PEMAC ASSETS can fortify your operations against tariff-induced challenges.

Implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is one of the most impactful steps an organization can take to improve asset reliability, reduce downtime, and align maintenance with production. But without a thoughtful approach, CMMS implementations often fall short of their potential—or fail altogether.

Here are some common mistakes I have made and seen made, and how to avoid them:

1. Lack of Clear Goals

One of the biggest oversights is launching a CMMS without defining what success looks like. Are you aiming to reduce downtime, improve PM compliance, or track maintenance costs? Without clear KPIs, it’s difficult to measure ROI or sustain engagement.  My recommendation is to agree as a team on just one, choose the biggest driver of organizational success and routinely review it.

2. Bad Data In, Bad Results Out

Poor data migration—whether from spreadsheets or legacy systems—can doom a CMMS from day one. Inaccurate asset lists, incomplete PM inspections, poor parts data can create confusion, slow down transactional processing and erode trust in the system.  Spend the time upfront and collect solid data.

3. Not Fully Investing in User Training

Assuming your team will “figure it out” is a recipe for frustration. A successful CMMS isn’t just about software—it’s about people using it effectively. Hands-on training, SOPs, and ongoing support are essential.  Ensure your trainers are intimately familiar with the software and its configuration because having an expert in the room will help build your team’s confidence in the CMMS.

4. Ignoring Frontline Input

A top-down implementation that excludes technicians or production staff often misses the mark. Involve end users early and often. Their insight ensures the system reflects real workflows and allowing them to weigh will increase their buy-in.

5. Overcomplicating the Launch

Trying to configure every feature right away can bog down implementation. Start simple. Build core functionality first—then expand as your team gains confidence and the organization matures.  Think of your rollout in terms of crawl, walk, learn.  Implement the 

most value-add areas first and overtime increase their scope to match larger organizational goals.

6. Poor Change Management

Even the best system will struggle if users aren’t aligned with the “why.” Communicate clearly, address resistance, and treat the implementation as a cultural shift—not just a software install.  If not done properly, users will just assume it is a flavor of the month which will hurt adoption.

7. No Preventive Maintenance Strategy

If your CMMS is only used for reactive work orders, you’re just organizing the chaos. Build out preventive and predictive maintenance plans to get long-term value from the system.

8. Forgetting Continuous Improvement

Implementation isn’t the finish line. Regularly review your data, gather feedback, and optimize workflows. A CMMS should evolve as your business does.

Final Thoughts

A CMMS can transform how maintenance and production work together. A CMMS is a tool that can help your team achieve your goals, but it is only a tool.  Be intentional throughout your implementation. Avoiding these common mistakes can mean the difference between a tool that collects dust and one that drives operational excellence.

Article written by

Colin Whitney

Maintenance Reliability Consultant

www.accenture.com

Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), using tools such as vibration analysis, thermal imaging and oil analysis, is now clearly recognised as being the key to running an effective maintenance program. By comparison, planned periodic maintenance, or worse still breakdown (reactive) maintenance, are not only unnecessarily expensive and unreliable, but potentially fraught with danger!

But why is CBM the answer? Firstly, when using CBM tools, service and maintenance personnel potentially bring another very valuable asset to the job – they can use their eyes, ears and noses!  For example, by spotting things like oil leaks or worn drive belts, breakdowns can be avoided through timely intervention. To assist with this process, software tools are now available to lead even a novice user through the process of carrying out inspections to produce clear and fully documented reports, which can automatically generate email alerts and workflow tasks. 

Additionally, CBM brings with it the opportunity for Proactive Maintenance, essentially the process of “closing the loop” by identifying the root cause of a fault and correcting it. For example, vibration analysis might indicate a badly worn bearing that has failed after only a few months, well within the manufacturer’s specified MTBF.  Without identifying the root cause of the premature failure, the bearing might simply be changed only to rapidly wear out again. 

It is generally agreed that the three main causes of premature bearing failure in rotating equipment are:

• Out of balance
• Misalignment
• Lack of lubrication

Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, all these conditions can be detected very easily using extremely affordable, simple to use handheld vibration analysers. Once diagnosed, all these faults can very easily be remedied in-house using affordable easy-to-use tools such as in-situ rotor balancers, laser alignment tools or even a simple grease gun!

Not so long ago CBM tools used to be considered expensive and difficult to use. But thanks to modern technology, these tools are now not only extremely affordable, they are also very easy to use. For example, the TPI 9070 (pictured) is a simple to use, incredibly low-cost vibration analyser that records, analyses and displays vibration at the push of a button. The TPI 9070 displays colour coded alarm levels based on internationally agreed (ISO) vibration values and bearing condition. It also incorporates a fully zoomable vibration frequency spectrum (FFT) display with cursor, and diagnoses out of balance, misalignment, looseness and bearing faults.

Test Products International (TPI) manufactures a complete range of low cost, high performance, and easy to use vibration analysis tools for maintenance engineers, from the simple one-button-to-press TPI 9070 to top-of-the-range CBM tools that include machine balancing and inspection software. 

The TPI 9085 (with ATEX/IECEx/North America Zone 0 certified version also available) is one of the latest in TPI’s line of easy-to-use high specification CBM tools. The TPI 9085 offers high level functionality and capability, including instantaneous bearing temperature measurement, at extremely low cost. The TPI 9085 can automatically download machine routes (as simple lists) that can be followed by even the lowest skilled operative to collect and store vibration and temperature readings for automatic upload to the included, free-to-use, C-Trend II trending software. This powerful but highly intuitive windows-based software, with its ability to automatically generate reports and email alerts, allows faults to be identified well BEFORE they become a problem that could result in unexpected breakdowns.

For more information, please contact TPI Europe on +44 1293 530196 or www.tpieurope.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Crossbridge Energy's Fredericia Refinery in Denmark, one of the most energy-efficient refineries in the world, experienced integrity concerns in its vacuum flash tower in the visbreaker unit. Excessive fouling had led to accelerated sulphidic corrosion in a section of the vacuum flash tower, which needed to be mitigated.

The visbreaker unit converts long residue, which is the bottom product from atmospheric distillation into lighter and more valuable products such as gasoil, kerosene and naphtha. The Fredericia refinery produces fuels such as heavy marine fuels, light and heavy gasoil, diesel, gasoline and LPG, and the facility is integrated into the local district heating network producing hot water to the grid. It is the ambition of the refinery to become CO₂ neutral by 2035.

Challenge

The vacuum flash tower was experiencing several issues:

1. Fouling of stacked PAL/RACHID rings leading to irregular flow patterns
2. High-temperature sulphidation corrosion as a result of turbulent flow
3. Internal corrosion and erosion damage in the original SS 410 material
4. Pitting in the top section despite being above the dewpoint
5. Need for structural integrity improvements through localized welding

Technical Assessment

The visbreaker unit, also known as a thermal gasoil unit, involves:

• Long residue cracking and distillation
• Gasoil distillation and drying
• Kerosine distillation
• Vacuum distillation
• Heat recovery in the form of hot water to the domestic grid, as opposed to using air coolers.

Well known corrosion mechanisms in this type of unit are:

• Sulphidation, sulphidic corrosion
• Naphthenic acid corrosion
• Aqueous acidic overhead corrosion
• Sour water corrosion

In this case, sulphidation was the problem. This degradation mode usually produced an iron sulphide scale on the corroding surface limiting the corrosion rate somewhat. Low alloy chromium and chromium nickel steels produce more tenacious, protective sulphide scales on the surface that result in enhanced resistance to sulphidic corrosion. At high flow velocity this scale can be broken down continuously, leading to increased corrosion. In this particular column a AISI 400 grade steel was believed to offer sufficient corrosion protection at the operating temperatures between 180 and 350°C. However, the increased fouling in a section of the column caused preferential flow along the column wall, leading to breakdown of the protective sulphide scale and consequential increased corrosion.

In addition, increased pitting corrosion was found in an area immediately above the cladded section. This corrosion is believed to be from acidic sour water corrosion.

IGS HVTS® (High Velocity Thermal Spray)

HVTS was technically approved with the following specifications:

• Internal alloy upgrade covering approximately 30 m² of surface area
• Complete cladding scope was then extended to 55 m² due to additional corrosion identified at the start of the project
• Implementation during a planned outage window starting September 2nd, 2024

Project Execution

The project was carefully planned with several key considerations:

• Timeline: 8 shifts total, operating 2 shifts per day over 4 days

• Resource allocation: IGS increased resources to meet the extended scope needs while not increasing critical path time
• Coordination with other maintenance activities, particularly flare repair work
• Integration with regular 6-month inspection and cleaning cycle
• 

Results

The implementation proved successful with multiple positive outcomes:

• Zero safety incidents during execution
• Reduced operational expenses (OPEX)
• Lower life cycle costs (LCC)
• Improved equipment reliability
• Integration with existing contractor qualification system (aligned with Shell standards)

Testimonial

"IGS's HVTS® solution proved to be an ideal solution for our vacuum flash tower. The technical execution was impeccable, completing the work well within our outage window with zero safety incidents. The importance of executing on time during a very busy turnaround is key to success. IGS kept their promises and finished on time despite a scope increase going from 30m² to 55m².”

• Lars Jung, Senior Materials & Corrosion Engineer at Crossbridge Energy Fredericia Refinery.

This case study demonstrates the successful implementation of modern corrosion protection technology in a critical refinery operation, balancing technical requirements with operational constraints while maintaining high safety standards and efficiency goals.

https://integratedglobal.com/

A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Wisconsin has increased the biogas yield at its AD plant by 25%, thanks to the installation of a new digester mixing system.

Instead of capacity decreasing because of rags, grit and debris steadily accumulating at the bottom of two digesters (334,000 gallons (1,264m³) and 183,000 gallons (693m³) respectively), the tanks’ contents at the city of Sparta (situated between Milwaukee and Minneapolis) are now comprehensively mixed by Landia’s GasMix system.

A simple, yet highly effective design, comprising the proven Landia Chopper Pump (invented by Landia in 1950), and strategically-angled venturi nozzles, all mechanical equipment can be accessed on the outside of the digesters for easy maintenance.

Sparta’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager, Ed Hanson, commented:

“Our old, basic mixing system just blew air upwards in the digesters, which wasn’t very efficient. Also, we couldn’t get to it to carry out maintenance or make repairs without draining the tanks down. This can take you offline for a long time, which nobody wants when trying to produce biogas.

“Eventually, the old mixing system was failing; just providing some minor recirculation, with very little actual mixing taking place. When it became time to drain down the first digester and install the Landia GasMix, we found a huge amount of debris inside.”

Built in the 1950s, Sparta’s wastewater treatment plant serves 10,000 people in what is known as the ‘Bicycling Capital of America’. In addition to domestic wastewater, the WWTP also receives effluent from a large food processing plant, a major dairy, plus leachate from the county’s landfill, and septage brought in from hauliers. Although the WWTP has some screening, there is very little pre-treatment in place before it reaches the inlet.

“The Landia GasMix installation went very well,” continued Sparta’s Ed Hanson. “Landia were here to help every step of the way, especially as this was a tight and tricky challenge with very limited space for the new mixing set-up. We had to move some of our recirculation pumps.

‘Grabbing the gas’

“At the start-up of the new system, we could see immediately that the Landia GasMix created plenty of turbulence and did a great job grabbing the gas from the top of the digester. Everything went smoothly, so six months later, we went ahead with installing another Landia GasMix for our second digester. Although it was a challenge with the space restrictions we have on this part of the plant; everything slotted into place, and the new mixing system has been working just fine, with no issues at all.”

Heat produced from the AD process is now utilized for heating the digesters to their optimum temperatures, with the Landia GasMix ensuring that sludge is mixed comprehensively to significantly enhance the destruction of volatile solids and boost biogas yields.

‘Far more methane is being produced’

“We’ve certainly seen that our gas bills are not as much as they were the year before, and we’re much more eco-friendly now,” added Ed Hanson. “We have long cold winters here, so with the old mixing system, you could see everything drop back down to nothing as temperatures dropped, but since our upgrade, the gas holds much, much longer. We can see that far more methane is being produced, and faster.”

Unlike the previous mixing system where all mixing components were trapped inside the digesters, Ed and his team of four colleagues can now carry out visual and audio checks on the externally-mounted pumps, making any adjustments as necessary.

‘Good digestate product’

“Maintenance is easy, and we also have a good digestate product at the end of the process,” continued Ed.

“This provides very useful nitrogen for farms in the county as a fertilizer, and saves them money, which is always a positive thing. We’re now looking at how we can improve consistency, so that there’s less water and more product. We’re working on getting the compaction levels just right so that it is easier for farmers to apply to land.

“The new mixing system was a long time coming, but it has been well worth the wait. We’re now producing biogas as we should be, because the digester sludge is being mixed comprehensively by the Landia GasMix.”

www.landiaworld.com

It’s late spring, traditionally the time of year for bright weather as we head into summer. Sadly we have to focus on what is behind the weather, yes the bigger picture for which we thank the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for the exact picture of what is going on.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet with 2024 the warmest year on record. Storms were often severe and flooding widespread, claiming at least 335 lives and affecting an estimated 413,000 people. The European State of the Climate 2024 report provides a detailed analysis of Europe's climate for the previous year, going beyond annual temperature with analyses of a wide range of climate variables, from heat and cold stress to sunshine duration and cloudiness, from wildfires to glaciers and much more. 

Key weather facts are:

• Temperature: 2024 was the warmest year for Europe, with record-high annual temperatures in almost half of the continent.

• Sea Surface Temperature (SST): For the year as a whole, SST for the European region was the highest on record.

• Rainfall: Western Europe saw one of the ten wettest years in the analysed period since 1950.

• Flooding: Europe experienced the most widespread flooding since 2013.

• Heat stress: The numbers of days with ‘strong’, ‘very strong’ and ‘extreme heat stress’ were all the second highest on record. 

• Glaciers: All European regions saw a loss of ice; glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard saw their highest rates of mass loss on record.

• Wildfires: In September, fires in Portugal burned around 110,000 ha (1100 km²) in one week, representing around a quarter of Europe’s total annual burnt area.

“We observed the longest heatwave in southeastern Europe and record glacier mass loss in Scandinavia and Svalbard. But 2024 was also a year of marked climate contrasts between eastern and western Europe. The European State of the Climate is a treasure trove of quality information about our changing climate. Learning how to use climate data and information to inform our decisions should become a priority for all of us,” says Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

51% of European cities have adopted dedicated climate adaptation plans, representing encouraging progress from 26% in 2018, according to the climate policy and action section of the report, highlighting that continued efforts will unlock even greater potential to adapt to climate challenges effectively. Extreme weather events pose increasing risks to Europe’s built environment and infrastructure and the services they support. 

Shrinking glaciers: Central Europe is one of the regions in the World where glaciers are shrinking the fastest. Glaciers in Scandinavia and Svalbard in 2024 experienced their highest rates of mass loss on record and saw the largest annual mass loss of all glacier regions globally, with an average thickness loss of 1.8 m in Scandinavia and 2.7 m in Svalbard. It was the third warmest year on record for the Arctic as a whole and the fourth warmest for Arctic land.

• Global enterprise asset management (EAM) company aims to grow indirect sales four-fold by 2030
• Traction for controlling costs, uptime and resilience in industrial businesses has already led to a 46 percent increase in certified partner consultants since 2023
• A growing EAM market, and Ultimo’s innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and clear roadmap for Cloud and SaaS technology is appealing to channel players from big brand vendors

IFS Ultimo, the leading enterprise asset management (EAM) software provider, is making major strides in expanding its channel partner ecosystem in key regions such as the Americas, the DACH countries, Central Eastern Europe (CEE), Asia Pacific (APAC), and the United Kingdom & Ireland (UKI). As part of its long-term vision, the company aims to grow its indirect sales four-fold by 2030 and is simplifying its partner application process while strengthening the partnership model to broaden value and support for its rapidly growing network.

Expanding budgets for digital transformation initiatives coupled with continued pressure to reduce costs and unplanned downtime, is driving spend on EAM software in industrial businesses. The EAM market reached $4.5 billion in 2024 and will grow at a nine percent CAGR to reach $6.4 billion in 2028, according to Verdantix¹. Having already seen a 46 percent growth in its partner ecosystem since 2023, IFS Ultimo is gaining strong traction with EAM-focused partners in verticals such as manufacturing, logistics, energy, and healthcare.

Johan Made, CEO at IFS Ultimo commented, “Our platform is developed collaboratively with customers, and the company is differentiated by acting in unison with organizations as they advance along our EAM maturity model. As Ultimo does not require extensive professional services to realize its full value, customers such as BP Castrol and Bosch are turning to us for our proven track record of cost transparency. Partners like AVEVA, Siemens Healthineers and MaxGrip work with us for our proven ability to derive customer value at an industry-leading pace, enabling them to stay ahead of market demands and serve clients with agility, and vision.”

James Mansfield, Global Channel Sales Director at IFS Ultimo, added, “With the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and cutting-edge technology in asset management, IFS Ultimo is positioning itself as a key player in shaping the future of EAM. The growing demand for EAM solutions, particularly in the manufacturing, logistics, energy and healthcare sectors, is reshaping the channel landscape.”

Updates to the IFS Ultimo partner programs came into effect earlier this year and include expanded margins, increased lead allocation, an enhanced sales certification system, investment in dedicated sales team resources, business planning structures and differentiated partner status awards. Designed to increase partner profitability, IFS Ultimo is incentivizing partners to invest back into their successful SaaS practice.

IFS Ultimo’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) annual recurring revenue (ARR) model facilitates predictable, stable, and recurring income streams for its partner ecosystem.

In October 2025, IFS Ultimo Nexus will bring the company’s global partner community together in Vienna, Austria for learning, business inspiration and networking. Visitifsultimonexus.comfor further information.

A new era of infrared research is here: FLIR MIX Starter Kits synchronize and align high-speed thermal and visible imagery with precision, delivering clearer insights to accelerate breakthroughs in defense, commercial, and academic research.

WILSONVILLE, OREGON — FLIR, a Teledyne Technologies company, today unveiled FLIR MIX, an advanced multispectral imaging solution designed to bring greater detail and accuracy to infrared imaging. By blending thermal and visible-light imagery, FLIR MIX gives researchers and engineers a powerful new way to analyze, interpret, and share complex thermal environments with greater accuracy.

The Challenge: Seeing the Full Picture Has Never Been Easy
Until now, researchers have had to choose between thermal and visible imaging: one reveals heat signatures while the other provides structural detail. Recording both and trying to align them manually—or harder still, synchronizing them temporally—can be inconsistent and time consuming. The result is data that's close but never quite complete.

FLIR MIX is a game changer, capturing and synchronizing high-speed thermal and visible imagery at up to 1,004 frames per second. The camera and software work together to deliver one dataset with spatial and temporal alignment—no more missed details or second guessing, just a complete picture of fast-moving events.

Two Kits. One Software. Infinite Possibilities.
FLIR MIX Starter Kits are purpose-built solutions designed to synchronize high-speed thermal and visible imagery with precision, delivering the insights researchers need to push the boundaries of discovery.

● FLIR MIX X-Series Starter Kit – Optimized for high-speed research applications, including airbag testing, materials analysis, and ballistics, this kit pairs FLIR X69xx thermal cameras with a high-speed visible camera, precision optics, custom mounting hardware, and seamless connectivity—all powered by FLIR Research Studio for intuitive data analysis.
● FLIR MIX A-Series Starter Kit – Built for applications such as electronics design, renewable energy, and battery testing, this kit is designed to integrate with FLIR A67xx thermal cameras, offering a versatile visible imaging setup, custom mounting, and robust networking solutions to ensure precision data capture.
● FLIR MIX Toolkit – For researchers who want to merge thermal and visible footage in post-processing, the FLIR MIX Toolkit is available as an add-on license to an existing Research Studio Professional Edition license. It removes the complexity of traditional post-processing by synchronizing every thermal and visible frame in real-time, delivering one complete dataset for faster, clearer insights. Whether tracking material stress, analyzing fluid dynamics, or capturing high-speed impacts, researchers can focus on discovery instead of fixing misaligned data. What you see is what you measure, exactly when it happens.

"FLIR MIX simplifies thermal analysis by combining quality thermal and visible imagery in real-time in one easy-to-use hardware and software package," said Matthew Hasty, Senior Global Product Manager at FLIR. "The solution empowers researchers to achieve precise spatial alignment with radiometric data for every pixel, providing detailed temperature insights across the entire image, making analysis more straightforward while shortening the time to discovery."

Available Now.
FLIR MIX is available now. To experience the future of multispectral imaging, visit www.flir.com/MIX or contact your FLIR distributor.

www.flir.com

The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) has signed the Armed Forces Covenant in a ceremony held at Blighmont Reserve Centre in Southampton, marking a new commitment from the industry to those who have served.

The Covenant is a commitment from BCAS and its members to the Armed Forces Community.  It acknowledges and understands that the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.

Through its Armed Forces Working Group, the Society aims to provide meaningful support to ex-military personnel as they transition to a career in civilian life. Ashley Quarterman, BCAS Executive Director explained:

“The compressed air industry is diverse.  It requires specific technical and engineering skills to specify, commission and maintain equipment. It also offers a broad range of other career opportunities in sales and customer service, logistics and administration to name a few.   

“We recognise that military experience will equip individuals with many of these skills that are in demand in our sector. Through our working group, we hope to encourage more veterans to consider a career in the compressed air industry.

“In return, we want to play our part in helping veterans as they transition into a role in civilian life, by offering fulfilling career opportunities; a transition which can be difficult for many.  We are therefore encouraging all our members, and the wider compressed air community to consider the benefits that employing military personnel could bring to their business.”

BCAS has a number of members with military experience, such as RAF Veteran, James Shaw, Managing Director of JDS Compressors. He said:

“My role as a weapons technician was high intensity, and you could never predict what might happen next.  We were used to reacting quickly and solving problems. I enjoyed that challenge and, in many ways, we face the same challenges in the compressed air industry. Responding quickly to avoid a compressor breakdown, analysing equipment performance and talking with customers to reach the best outcome.  It requires a similar mindset.”

Royal Navy Veteran, Nigel Palmer, who is managing director of SCC Air Compressors UK Ltd. added:

“I am proud to be part of the compressed air industry and its commitment to supporting veterans in their ongoing careers. It is an industry where our skills can be used with great impact - whether it's dealing quickly with equipment breakdown, commissioning a new installation or advising customers on new ways to improve efficiency and performance.”

Ex Royal Navy Marine engineer and now National Sales Manager at Atlas Copco, Jason Pollard concluded:

“When I left the military, I found that my skills were in demand and could be put to good use in the compressed air industry.  Unlike some of my fellow veterans, who have faced numerous barriers when transitioning to a civilian career, I found the compressed air industry to be very receptive to my skillset.”

To learn more about the AFC, visit https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/

The multi-channel retailer/mail order company is using enterprise asset management software for its highly automated logistics center in Polling, Austria. Centrally managing its asset information, efficiently plan maintenance tasks, and improving work order and spare parts management. The interface and mobile features help Personalshop organize maintenance and repair tasks more effectively and minimize downtime.

**

Optimized asset management: Personalshop increases planning reliability with IFS Ultimo

• Personalshop relies on Ultimo for the centralized management and efficient maintenance of its highly automated intralogistics
• Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software enables the mail-order company to optimize its asset and spare parts management
• With the 3-month implementation, Personalshop benefits from increased operational efficiency and improved planning accuracy

The mail-order company Personalshop has chosen Ultimo EAM software for its highly automated logistics center at its headquarters in Polling, Austria. The successfully implemented solution enables the multi-channel retailer to centrally manage its asset information, efficiently plan maintenance tasks, and improve work order and spare parts management. The user-friendly interface and mobile features help Personalshop organize maintenance and repair tasks more effectively and minimize downtime. By implementing Ultimo, the mail-order company has achieved a significant increase in operational efficiency and planning reliability.

Personalshop's logistics center in Polling is a state-of-the-art facility, featuring a fully automated high-bay warehouse with 10,500 storage locations, approximately 1,200 belt and roller conveyors, a shuttle block warehouse with 100 transport robots, as well as storage and retrieval machines, packaging machines, and return stations. The center is designed to handle over 60,000 items per day and ship them throughout the DACH region.

"The scale and complexity of our logistics facility in Polling require precise and reliable management of the resources to ensure smooth operations," explains Hannes Egger, Head of Logistics at Personalshop. "We also need to ensure that all critical components are always available in our spare parts warehouse, which holds over 7,000 active SKUs (Stock Keeping Units), and that maintenance tasks can be systematically planned and executed."

Key criterion: Easy to Learn and Use

When selecting the appropriate software, Personalshop prioritized ease of use alongside functionality. "We wanted to ensure that our technical team adopts and fully utilizes the software. Only then can we truly leverage the benefits of an EAM system," says Emre Yalcin, Head of Maintenance and Repair.

The Austrian team selected the ready-to-use Premium edition of the software, which requires no configuration. And, after an efficient three-month implementation phase, Personalshop was able to handle a variety of tasks with Ultimo, including managing the asset structure, planning maintenance and repair work, and analyzing disruptions.

Value-added data analytics, mobile working and e-learning included

The software enables the technical team to create and manage maintenance schedules, efficiently handle work orders and reliably manage spare parts. With Ultimo, Personalshop can ensure that maintenance tasks are proactively planned and carried out, reducing the likelihood of failures and extending the lifespan of the equipment. Additionally, Ultimo offers comprehensive reporting and analysis tools that allow monitoring of maintenance activities and utilizing performance metrics for informed decision-making.

With integrated mobile applications, the technical team can access important information from any location, ensuring flexible and responsive maintenance. Personalshop opted for a ‘train the trainer’ approach, where two technicians utilized the e-learning resources then trained the rest of the team.

"Since the introduction of Ultimo, everything has been running smoothly in our logistics center. We are very satisfied with the support and our team is fully committed," summarizes Hannes Egger, Head of Logistics. "The added value we particularly appreciate is the increased planning reliability that Ultimo provides. This gives us the confidence that our logistics processes will continue to run efficiently and smoothly in the future - a prerequisite for high customer satisfaction, which is our top priority."

About IFS Ultimo
IFS Ultimo, an IFS company, enhances the financial resilience, regulatory compliance and operational excellence for manufacturing, logistics, energy and healthcare through its innovative software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions. Since 1988, Ultimo has focused on maintenance, uptime, safety, cost control and efficiency. Known for rapid deployment, ease of use and an unparalleled time to value, Ultimo is proud to support over 100,000 technicians who manage more than 15 million assets for 2,400+ customers worldwide. For further information see ultimo.com.

About Personalshop

For over 30 years, Personalshop has been offering its customers national and international top brands as well as its own products at the best prices. Customers can find out about the exclusive offers through various channels - from sales catalogs to online shopping and Personalshop stores. With 3 million loyal customers in the DACH region, over 400 employees and an annual turnover of around 300 million euros, Personalshop is one of Austria's most successful mail-order companies. For more information about Personalshop, visit www.personalshop.net.