§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister of Technology when he will publish the report of the Working Party on Maintenance Engineering; if, in view of the importance of maintenance engineering to industry, he will set up a committee to consider this matter further; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. Ernest A. Davies:The report will be published early in May. The Working Party's main recommendation is that a Committee should be set up to advise the Ministry on actions necessary to create a greater awareness of the importance of the subject. My right hon. Friend has accepted the recommendation in principle and the Committee, under the Chairmanship of Major-General Sir Leonard Atkinson, K.B.E., will hold its first meeting shortly.
Discussions within the Ministry and with outside interested parties have indicated that the scope of the subject is far greater than that which is generally understood by the term maintenance engineering. It includes, for example, installation, commissioning and replacement of plant, machinery and equipment, 338W feedback to designers, and management techniques such as investment appraisal.
In order to focus attention on the importance of this technology it was considered advisable to utilise a name reflecting the wider concept now envisaged. The word Terotechnology has therefore been adopted and the Committee will be known as the Committee on Terotechnology.