Three More Awards Added To Our Wall Of Fame

Machinery & Equipment recently won three awards in two prestigious competition honouring editorial ahievement. We received an APEX Award for Publication Excellence in an international competition for the third year in a row, and two Top Five awards in the Kenneth R. Wilson (KRW) Awards program. Previously, the magazine has won six KRW awards, including three Gold (first place) awards.

Sponsored by Communications Concepts, the international APEX Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the success of the entry in achieving overall communications effectiveness and excellence. The submission from our art director, Ellie Robinson, for Machinery & Equipment MRO’s April 2007 issue, was selected from among a total of almost 5,000 entries.

The KRW awards are presented annually by the Canadian Business Press. Business and trade magazines across the country submit their best work in several different categories. Hundreds of entries were received in this year’s competition.

Two Top Five awards were presented to us in the 2008 competition in the Best Industrial/Manufacturing Article category for two stories that appeared in 2007: Perfect Ride and Survival of the Fittest, both by contributing editor Carroll McCormick.

We were also honoured with a Finalist award for a third article by McCormick, Shaking out the Bad Pennies.

Survival of the Fittest, a case history of the Minas Basis Pulp & Power facility, tells the story of a mill operating in a challenging economic environment that uses preventive maintenance (PM) to cut costs by 35%. The story delves into the nitty-gritty of how this impressive result was achieved, so readers will be able to benefit from applying similar techniques and methods to their own operations.

Anyone speeding along in a roller coaster is likely oblivious to the fact that ordinary maintenance workers play a critical role in keeping riders safe and ensuring the reliability of the equipment. Perfect Ride examines strategic procedures followed “by the book” that reflect LaRonde’s intolerance for failure. As we know, a roller coaster gone bad can result in serious injuries and even death. Our correspondent puts himself in the passenger seat so he can better appreciate coaster maintenance and relate its details to our readers.

Shaking Out the Bad Pennies describes the transition of maintenance operations at a brewery from time-consuming weekly equipment breakdowns to having the opportunity to work on new production projects instead of continually doing fixes and repairs. Readers learn of the patience required in using a computerized system to reduce equipment downtime.

McCormick, who has previously received several nominations and two years ago won a Gold Award with Machinery & Equipment in this competition, has written more than 60 case histories, profiles and feature articles for the magazine since 1998.

Our congratulations once again go to Ellie and Carroll for helping make MRO Magazine one of Canada’s top trade magazines.