Research, Workforce, and Blogging Headline Pneumatic Member Discussions

Pneumatic members recently came together at the 2015 NFPA Annual Conference for a special Council Networking Breakfast where several NFPA Council’s, including the Pneumatic Council, discussed the latest hot topics and issues that were on their mind. NFPA staff liaisons to these councils were listening closely, to point out current initiatives and future projects related to the topics and issues discussed. The overriding theme during the Pneumatic Council Discussions were Research, Workforce, and Blogging, as Pneumatic members voiced their thoughts.

When it came to technology research in the area of pneumatics, members were quick to point out that today’s research seems to be very application specific and didn’t hesitate to remind everyone involved that concentrating on simplicity, as well as efficiency, is very important.

While some of the workforce-related discussion centered around the lack of skilled labor, a very interesting discussion took place concerning donating components to Technical Schools and Universities to help bolster student interest in pneumatics and fluid power. The lack of proper contacts and online tools with these educational institutions seem to be a major barrier. NFPA staff was quick to point out two tools that NFPA has available or is working on to help, NFPA’s Product Donation Database and NFPA’s Education Roadmap. NFPA’s Product Donation Database allows manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers to identify products or materials available for donation, while educators can use it to search for the donated products they need. NFPA’s Education Roadmap identifies educational institutions with fluid power curriculum by region and state, and will soon be adding contacts for each facility, to enhance our industry’s ability to reach out to these institutions.

NFPA’s Product Donation Database allows manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers to identify products or materials available for donation, while educators can use it to search for the donated products they need.

NFPA’s Education Roadmap identifies educational institutions with fluid power curriculum by region and state, and will soon be adding contacts for each facility, to enhance our industry’s ability to reach out to these institutions.

Lastly, NFPA staff informed pneumatic members of an upcoming blog site that is under development—to inform customers and machine builders about the advantages of using pneumatics—with the help of pneumatic member volunteers’ development and contribution of blog content. A content topic discussion soon followed and topic ideas such as “Pneumatic vs. Electric”, “Advantages of 3D Printing”, “Pneumatic Hybrid Technology”, and much more were discussed.

Overall a very successful meeting with plenty of interesting pneumatic-related topics and subjects discussed. The next Pneumatic Council discussion is planned to be held in conjunction with NFPA’s 2015 Industry and Economic Outlook Conference scheduled for August 10-12, 2015 at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, Illinois.