Speakers Announced for WorkBoat Maintenance & Repair Conference and Expo; Commercial Vessel Maintenance and Repair Show Set for New Orleans April 14-16, 2015

    NEW ORLEANS, LA, April 08, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With a comprehensive schedule in three dynamic tracks, the inaugural WorkBoat Maintenance & Repair Conference and Expo, which will be held April 14- 16, 2015, at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, will deliver solutions to help fleet managers, port captains and operators keep vessels in top condition and working hard.

The WorkBoat Maintenance & Repair Conference and Expo features an info- packed three- day conference and expo with technical sessions, roundtables, demonstrations, happy hours, and keynotes by Capt. Nick Sloane, Salvage Master for the wreck removal of the Costa Concordia, and legendary football coach Terry Bowden.

To register or for further information, visit www.WorkBoatMaintenanceandRepair.com.

To watch a video about the new show, visit www.workboatmaintenanceandrepair.com/video.

The Conference will offer three in-depth programming tracts: Structure and Hull, Power and Propulsion and Regulations. Show producer Diversified Communications, which also manages the International WorkBoat Show, announced the following speakers for the Conference:

Tuesday, April 14 Conference Program:

9:45- 10:30a.m. - Training New Welders
Shipyard welding can be more challenging than other industrial welding and requires continued innovation. Join in the discussion as professionals from welding schools and shipyards share how to train new welders to increase efficiency and decrease downtime. Presenters: Ken Johnson, Corporate Weld Instructor, Vigor Industrial and Veronica Wade, Interim Dean of Workforce Education and Program Partnerships, Harbor Island Training Center, South Seattle College.

9:45- 10:30a.m. - Improving Your Bottom Line through Condition Monitoring
Millions of dollars are invested every year into vessel maintenance programs with the goal of preventing costly and sometimes catastrophic downtime. Condition monitoring by vibration analysis and, most recently, online monitoring systems, popular in the oil and gas industry, has proven to be a vital component of successful and cost efficient maintenance programs. This presentation will provide an introduction to condition monitoring, vibration analysis and online monitoring systems, and showcase the attractive benefits that come along with these technologies. Case studies, methods, modeling, trending, and application will be discussed to provide a real- world look at condition monitoring in action. Presenter: Rich Merhige, President/Owner, AME Solutions

9:45- 10:30a.m. - New EPA Tier 4 Regulations
With EPA emissions standards continuing to evolve and become more stringent, depending on the size and power of the engine, it is imperative that everyone who works to in vessel maintenance and repair understands how the new standards will apply. With Tier 3 coming online this year, the industry will need to prepare for Tier 4 in the next two or three years, which generally require afterequipment. Join industry professionals as they explain the requirements and what to expect. Presenters: Jon Burton, Sr. Marine A&I Engineer, Caterpillar Marine Power Systems and Todd Jacobs, Senior Product Engineer, Hug Engineering

10:45- 11:30a.m. - Physical Asset Management Strategy
An industry study discovered that 84% of equipment failures were caused by the way that equipment was designed, installed, operated and maintained -- human induced defects. Only 12% of defects were due to wear and tear and 4% of defects were specifically due to age, according to the study. Preventive, predictive and precision maintenance each has an impact on maintenance costs per operating hour, availability for operations and reliability. Many vessel operators could drive down costs; improve availability, safety and customer satisfaction if they would employ proactive reliability tools in defining their physical asset management strategy. This session provides some insight into using a set of tools in a cost effective way to achieve better equipment performance and lower total costs. Presenter: Tom Moriarty, President, Alidade Maintenance Engineering and Reliability, Inc.

10:45- 11:30a.m. - Ensuring Compliance in Spare Part Procurement
Spare part procurement sounds easy -- you need a part and you order it. However, because we live in a global marketplace, you need to consider a number of factors before you place that order. If you don't go directly to the manufacturer, are you sure the part is the proper one? Can you trust the quality? Will the part arrive on time? Does it meet regulations? Attend this session to learn how to ensure that your spare part procurement methods mean that your parts function properly and that they will be delivered in a timely fashion. Presenter: Brad Bingert, Service Engineering Manager, Cummins Marine.

1:00-1:45p.m. - Quality Paint Applications Through the Use of Standards
This presentation will focus on how specifying industry standards for surface preparation, coating application and quality control inspection vastly improves the quality of the application while minimizing the risk of premature coating failure. These consensus- based industry standards support the vessel owner's goal of obtaining and, in many cases, exceeding the expected service life of the protective coating. The discussion will walk the audience through a paint project explaining what consensus- based standards should be specified and test practices followed at specific hold points during surface preparation, coating application and coating cure to assure the completion of a quality paint project. Presenter: Jim Kunkle, Specification Specialist at the Society for Protective Coatings.

1:00-1:45p.m. - Vibration Monitoring
This presentation will complement the Condition Monitoring session by exploring in greater detail how vibration monitoring can help lower your costs per maintenance hour and help prevent equipment failure. We'll look at systems in general; specific products, and how vessel operators are successfully implementing these practices. Presenter: Jim Smith, Director of Business Development, IVC Technologies.

1:00-1:45p.m. - SubChapter M and its Impact on Maintenance
Subchapter M is almost, finally here. In September 2014, the Coast Guard posted its regulatory agenda for the release of the towing vessel inspection final rule. However, the industry still awaits its final release. The rule is a chance to elevate safety in the inland barge industry through the rule's key component -- requiring a Towing Safety Management System. The proposed TSMS requirements say, "Procedures must be in place to ensure safety of property, the environment and personnel." But what procedures must be in place and how will those who maintain the vessels meet these requirements? This session will answer those questions. Presenter: Kevin Gilheany, Owner, Maritime Compliance International LLC.

2:00-2:45p.m. - Understanding Corrosion
In the arena of marine corrosion there are evolving standards that professionals need to stay abreast of. This session will help attendees understand the various types of corrosion, identify the causes of corrosion failures, choose the right materials for uses in marine environments, as well as select and use the proper protection methods against marine corrosion. Presenter: Kevin Ritz, Vice President, Applications Engineer at Electro- Guard, Inc. Marine Corrosion Solutions

2:00-2:45p.m. - Using Technology to Lower Maintenance Costs and Decrease Downtime and Costly Repairs
This session details how technology products and connected services can help marine customers to lower operation and maintenance costs, increase productivity, avoid downtime and costly repairs, adhere to increasing regulatory requirements, and work more safely and sustainably. Presenter: P. Jaime Tetrault, Director Product Support, Caterpillar Marine

2:00-2:45p.m. - Lubricant Regulations
Whether they're called Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants, Environmentally Friendly Lubricants or Environmentally Considerate Lubricants, the key factors are the standards set by the Environment Protective Agency, not the generic name. The EPA has chosen Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL's) as it applies to the Vessel General Permit. There are pros and cons for each base oil technology. There are also maintenance- related issues which are affected by the EPA VGP record keeping requirements. This session will address some of the findings to ensure the proper materials are being used. Presenters: Jared Mikacich, Sales & Marketing Manager, Panolin America Inc.; Mark Miller, Executive Vice President of Business Development, RSC Bio Solutions and

3:30-4:15p.m. - All Session Track - Human Capital Management: Recruitment, Hiring and Retention in Today's Marine and Offshore Environment
Hiring and employment in the Marine industry is ever- evolving and certainly has its challenges in the current economic environment. Due to certain regulations changes, technical shortage and generation gaps some skills sets are at the highest demands ever. Still some organizations are forced to change their personnel strategies from a fixed cost to a variable and avoid over hiring and the burden of large payroll and overhead costs. We will discuss what companies are doing to overcome these challenges along with retention efforts and best practices to minimize costs while maintaining quality in the industry. Presenter: Eric Peters, Managing Director, Faststream.

Wednesday, April 15 General Sessions:
9:00-10:00a.m.
Continental Breakfast Featuring Workforce Summit Roundtable. Presenters: Ann Avary, Center of Excellence, Marine Manufacturing & Technology, Skagit Valley College, Joshua Berger, Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County; Sandy Brown, ABYC Education; Josh Hecht and Rafael Ramirez, Faststream Recruitment.

11:00-11:30a.m.
Coffee Break & General Session: Tax Issues Regarding Marine Maintenance - Join the discussion on the various tax issues regarding marine maintenance such as using Capital Construction Funds to pay for maintenance and repairs of vessels and the ability to expense rather than capitalize these expenditures. Presenters: Matthew P. Miller, Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, LLC and Leon H. Rittenberg III, Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, LLC.

Noon-1:30p.m.
Keynote Luncheon: Captain Nick Sloane, Managing Director, Sloane Marine Ltd. Senior Salvage Master, Costa Concordia Wreck Removal Project

2:30-3:00p.m.
Refreshment Break & General Session: Budgeting for Maintenance - This session will provide an overview and discussion of asset life cycle costs and a sinking fund analysis to create maintenance budgets. Presenters: Captain John C. Cronin, Jr., P.E., Principal at John Cronin, P.E. and Captain Beau E. Payne, Marine Engineer at North Ferry Co., Inc.

Thursday, April 16 General Sessions:
9:00-10a.m.
Networking Continental Breakfast Reception featuring Workforce Summit Roundtable. Presenter: Ann Avary, Center of Excellence, Marine Manufacturing & Technology, Skagit Valley College; Joshua Berger, Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County; Sandy Brown, ABYC Education; Josh Hecht and Rafael Ramirez, Faststream Recruitment.

12:00-1p.m.
Keynote Luncheon: Terry Bowden, Legendary Coach and College Football Analyst

For more information, visit www.WorkBoatMaintenanceandRepair.com.

About WorkBoat
WorkBoat is part of the Diversified Communications' portfolio of commercial marine events, publications and e- media products. The WorkBoat brand has been connecting qualified buyers with leading suppliers for more than 70 years. In print through WorkBoat magazine, online at WorkBoat.com, face- to- face at the International WorkBoat Show and through education with the Professional Series, WorkBoat delivers high quality information to all segments of the marine industry in North America. For more information, visit www.workboat.com.

About Diversified Communications
Diversified Communications, based in Portland, Maine, provides information and market access through face- to- face events, publications and eMedia. Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine and business management. Diversified operates divisions in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the UK and Canada. For more information, visit: http://www.divcom.com.

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