Bristol-Myers Squibb has won the 'Overall' prize at Engineers Ireland's annual Maintenance, Engineering, Environment and Technology Association (MEETA) awards.

A ceremony took place at the organisation's headquarters on Clyde Road on Thursday, 29 November, in collaboration with ESS Ltd.

The awards recognise the ingenuity shown by those in maintenance and asset management in providing value to their companies and are an initiative of Engineers Ireland's MEETA society, a special interest group for maintenance, reliability and asset management practitioners.

MEETA promotes all aspects of maintenance and asset management in industry, the public sector, semi-state bodies and third level institutions, and represents the interests of its members on national and international issues such as education, infrastructure and development of the practice in Ireland.

The winners on the night included:

• Overall Industry Award: Barry Jordan and Derek Murtagh of Bristol-Myers Squibb for their project, 'Embedding Predictive Maintenance during the MPCC Project'.

• Health and Safety Award: Stephen O'Donnell of Allergan, for his project, 'Allergan's Operational Excellence (OPEX)'

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• Management Award: Danny O'Brien and David Butler of Gas Networks Ireland, for their project, A Risk-Based Approach to the Lifecycle Management of Valves at Gas Network Ireland's Compressor Stations in Southwest Scotland.

• Environment Award: Megan Staunton of Astellas, for her project 'Astella's Leading Light for Life'.

• Technology Award: Emma Beglin and Charlie Nolan of Bristol-Myers Squibb for their project, 'Augmented Reality at BMS 'Changing the way we look at Maintenance'.

Other organisations recognised on the night for Asset Management and Maintenance excellence included Ervia, BioMarin, Gas Networks Ireland, MSD Brinny, Trefoil Controls and Jones Engineering.

Ray O'Neill, Managing Director of the event sponsor, ESS Ltd said: "Too often it seems, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement and possibilities of the latest 'big thing' or newest technologies, forgetting that behind all of these is a lot of hard work and a lot of people making a contribution. The winners of these awards are making valuable contributions every day as they are the asset management and maintenance professionals who deliver reliable equipment to allow these wonder products and services to come to market for us all to enjoy.

"For over a quarter of a century, ESS has focused on asset optimisation and compliance and so we are very proud to sponsor these awards as it gives long overdue recognition to these professionals, their dedication, unrelenting drive for continuous improvement and their consequent achievements. They are an inspiration to us all," Mr O'Neill concluded.

Engineers Ireland's Director General, Caroline Spillane, added: "Engineering is playing an ever-greater role in maintenance today as systems become more complex. Effective and innovative management of equipment and process are the life blood that supports companies in their drive to achieve a competitive edge. The range of entries to the 2018 MEETA Awards demonstrates the world-class quality of Irish engineers and technicians in this regard and I would like to offer my congratulations each of our winners and those shortlisted this evening."

(CM)