The DMSI team spent two days at Smart Manufacturing Week 2026 at the NEC Birmingham, meeting manufacturers, technology providers, and reliability professionals from across the UK and beyond.
Between conversations about condition monitoring, inspections, and reliability, opportunities to connect with potential partners, and a few memorable reunions, the event delivered plenty of reasons to make the trip to Birmingham.
Reliability and maintenance discussions at Smart Manufacturing Week 2026
As one of the UK’s largest manufacturing events, Smart Manufacturing Week attracts professionals from across the maintenance, operations, engineering, and manufacturing sectors. This year’s most talked-about topic is the use of AI in manufacturing and industrial automation.
The growing interest in smarter, more connected operations was evident across the exhibition floor. Conversations around MAINTelligence™ led to discussions with companies across the manufacturing and asset management space, opening the door to potential partnerships and collaborations.
Reconnecting with longtime industry contacts
One of the highlights of the event was a visit from John Sykes, who previously served as one of DMSI’s distributors in the UK.
Our conversation quickly turned to memories of when Ian Liddle and Steve Reilly first started the company and how hard it was to convince companies to move from paper-based maintenance tracking to computer-based tracking.
Looking back on those early days sparked a discussion about how maintenance and reliability practices have evolved so that everyone had access to what was previously resident-based knowledge –only one person, or a small number of people, really knew what was happening with the machines.
John remarked that many of the concepts that we were promoting were well ahead of where the market was. It is a reminder of how much the industry has changed and how many of those concepts have since become standard practices across manufacturing operations.
Condition monitoring conversations with JPS Reliability
We also had the opportunity to meet James Sylvester and James Pearce of JPS Reliability. During our conversation, they generously shared a copy of their publication, Book of Gold, Practical Condition Monitoring Case Studies, which includes more than 100 detailed case studies and comprehensive strip inspection reports. It’s a valuable resource for tradespeople, technicians, and reliability professionals alike.
We always appreciate the opportunity to discuss condition monitoring with practitioners who have spent many years helping organizations identify equipment issues before they become larger reliability problems.
Wrapping up Smart Manufacturing Week 2026
As the event came to a close, there was still time to enjoy a few of the things that made Smart Manufacturing Week stand out. The mini bands performing throughout both days brought a unique energy to the exhibition floor and quickly became one of our favourite parts of the event.
Andrew wrapped up the conference with a stop at Tasty Greek before heading back for the final conversations of the show and one last walk around the exhibition floor.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth during Smart Manufacturing Week 2026. We appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new contacts, and discuss the maintenance and reliability challenges manufacturers are working to solve.
Next up, you’ll find the DMSI team at SMRP 2026 and MainTrain 2026, where we’ll continue conversations around inspections, condition monitoring, asset performance, maintenance management, and reliability improvement.
If you missed us in Birmingham and would like to discuss your maintenance and reliability goals, we’d be happy to connect. Book a call with our team to learn how we can help support your operation.
Frequently Asked Questions about Smart Manufacturing Week
When is Smart Manufacturing Week 2027?
The next Smart Manufacturing Week events include the Smart Manufacturing World Summit in Stuttgart, Germany, from March 24–26, 2027, Smart Manufacturing Week U.S. in Detroit, Michigan, from April 19–22, 2027, and Smart Manufacturing Week UK at the NEC Birmingham from June 9–10, 2027.
Who should attend Smart Manufacturing Week?
Smart Manufacturing Week is designed for plant managers, maintenance managers, reliability engineers, operations leaders, manufacturing executives, and technology providers. The event provides opportunities to learn about new technologies, exchange ideas with industry peers, and explore solutions that improve manufacturing performance.
What technologies are featured at Smart Manufacturing Week?
Smart Manufacturing Week showcases a wide range of manufacturing and reliability technologies, including condition monitoring solutions, maintenance management software, industrial automation systems, asset performance management platforms, IIoT technologies, inspection tools, and predictive maintenance solutions. Our team brought MAINTelligence™ to the event to demonstrate how manufacturers can improve asset visibility, support reliability initiatives, and make better maintenance decisions through centralized data and reporting.
