Call for Volunteers: NFPA Technology Task Force Collaborative Projects

The NFPA Technology Roadmap identified a number of machine-level technology trends that are actively shaping the future of the fluid power industry. These trends include the increasing electrification, connectivity, and autonomous functionality of both the mobile and industrial machines that use fluid power in their power or control systems.

To better understand these trends, and to engage stakeholders across the supply chain in the development of the resources and connections that will be needed to keep fluid power positioned at an actuation technology of choice on all these platforms, NFPA launched two Technology Task Forces – one focused on mobile applications, and the second focused on industrial applications.

These Task Forces have been meeting regularly, and have now identified several collaborative projects that will be pursued in the year ahead – each designed to connect engineers and technologists across the fluid power value chain in the development of needed industry resources.

The projects are:

• Communication & Data Protocols for Mobile Equipment. Produce a white paper that summarizes the communication and data protocols most commonly used on mobile equipment. Collect and present case studies showing successful integrations with fluid power systems.
• Energy Efficiency Gains from Electrified Hydraulics. Produce a white paper that summarizes the ways in which hydraulic systems and/or components can return gains in energy efficiency to mobile equipment with electrified power sources. Collect and present case studies showing applications of these methods.
• Pace of Technology Adoption for Electrified Mobile Equipment. Create methods for tracking the pace of electrified technology adoption on mobile equipment. Assess periodically and produce on-going reports.
• Mobile Technology Conference. Review and select presentation proposals for NFPA’s “advanced hydraulics” conference at iVT EXPO USA.
• Communication & Data Protocols for Industrial Equipment. Produce a white paper that summarizes the communication and data protocols most commonly used on industrial equipment. Collect and present case studies showing successful integrations with fluid power systems.
• Functional Safety. Produce a white paper that: (1) Reviews existing safety standards and machine directives; (2) Assesses risks and hazards associated with fluid power’s use in upgrading older machines to automated functions, and identifies common functions to address; (3) Identifies best practices and emerging technologies that minimize risks and hazards in those functions; and (4) Provides a resource to members that helps them understand and address the safe use of their systems.
• Preventing Leaks. Produce a report that summarizes the current best practices for preventing leaks, assesses the prevalence of those practices in the marketplace, and estimates the potential for improvement.

Project teams are forming now and volunteers are welcome to sign up for one or more of these projects to help advance them. Each represents an opportunity to connect with supply chain partners across the fluid power value chain and to help shape and understand the future technology needs of the industry.