The 18th annual Physical Asset Management Thought Leadership Conference and Exhibition, hosted by leading South African physical asset management company, Pragma, will take place from 13 to 15 August 2012 at the Birchwood Conference Centre, in Johannesburg. It will be the first time that the conference, with: 'Stretch the Limits of Asset Management' as its theme, will take place in Gauteng. The conference aims to find practical, affordable and sustainable asset management solutions.

Says Adriaan Scheeres, CEO of Pragma Holdings and co-founder of the company: “With its theme of stretching limits as cornerstone, attendees will hear from a selection of international thought leaders, authors and vendors, all providing practical and results-driven best practices on how to get the most out of asset management methodologies and programmes to curb the current challenges in our industry. As the only physical asset management conference that offers a broad spectrum of solutions for the needs of multiple industries, the conference will afford attendees the opportunity to network with other like-minded and industry related peers, both formally and through pre-arranged appointments. Asset management programmes will always yield the desired results if built on healthy principles and approached with the correct tools, no matter the circumstances.”

Keynote speakers include Ricky Smith of JP Allied and author of “Planning and Scheduling Made Simple”; John Woodhouse of The Woodhouse Partnership, who is a PAS 55 expert; Uttam Kumar Chatterjee of Advanced TPM Solution, and winner of the 2005 Nakajima Prize; motivational speaker Quinton Coetzee; as well as Prof Tim Noakes, personal coach to various extreme adventurers and sports teams.

Scheeres continues: “Carefully selected conference topics and speakers will offer attendees practical and affordable solutions and best practices that will ensure that assets are maintained to deliver products and services into the future. Topics will include using system tools to identify and overcome planning and scheduling constraints, how PAS 55/ISO 55 000 fit in Integrated Management Systems (IMS), cutting a power plant shutdown from 45 days to 32 days, how to fast-track TPM implementation, why things in mines do not work, how to empower work teams on the plant floor and keep them motivated, using On Key 5 and its toolset to stretch the limits of asset management through real-time data velocity, critical success factors in asset management, and more.

“In fact, this conference will be of value to all asset and maintenance managers, maintenance and production engineers, production and operation managers, engineering planners, as well as top management who need to improve their understanding of asset management. In addition, attendees are also welcome to attend the Pragma Client Asset Management awards evening as well as undertake the PAS 55 accreditation exam (SAAMA), obtain the SAAMA (SCPP) Certificate, obtain the Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) Certificate as well as write the CMRP exam.”

Registration enquiries can be sent to pamtlconference@pragmaworld.net or phone 021 943 4000/11.

General conference enquiries can be sent to liza.burger@pragmaworld.net.

Visit www.pragmaworld.net/conference for more information.