By Eric Lanke
NFPA President/CEO
NFPA is calling on all members to help populate the roster of the 2021 NFPA Roadmap Committee. We specifically need professionals from across the fluid power supply chain – including from our primary customer markets – to serve on next year’s committee and help us produce the 2021 NFPA Technology Roadmap.
The NFPA Technology Roadmap is the document that describes the areas of fluid power research and development that are needed to help our industry better meet the needs of its customers, to expand fluid power into new customer markets, and to attract the best and brightest young engineers to the field. It is updated every two years by the NFPA Roadmap Committee. If interested, you can download a copy of the 2019 NFPA Technology Roadmap at: https://www.nfpa.com/home/workforce/Fluid-Power-Industry-Roadmap.htm
All NFPA members – suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors – are welcome and encouraged to appoint a representative to the committee. Ideally, it should be an engineer or other technical professional who understands the needs of your company’s customers and the ways in which your products help meet those needs.
We’re also looking for any referrals you are willing to offer into your customer markets. Previous Roadmap Committees have had good representation from OEMs in the mobile hydraulics space, and we will be seeking to renew those commitments for 2021. In order to ensure that the scope of the new Roadmap is well balanced across all fluid power markets, we are especially interested in any referrals to OEMs in the industrial hydraulic or pneumatic spaces.
The Committee’s refresh cycle will be focused between January and August 2021, and will include an introductory webinar, several conference calls and two in-person (or virtual) meetings. Given the size and make-up of the Roadmap Committee, these events are not just sessions to work on the Roadmap, but also to network and connect with partners and potential customers across the fluid power supply chain. Past committee members have cited how informative and rewarding participating in our roadmapping process can be.
Many more details will be shared when the full roster of the committee has been confirmed.
To volunteer, refer a colleague, or learn more, please contact me at elanke@nfpa.com.
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