Steering the ship

Taking on the job of editing a successful and well established magazine is always an exciting prospect.

First published a little over ten years ago Hoist Magazine has built on modest foundations since it was part of the Wilmington Publishing to become the respected title that it is today.

Over time all editors want to leave their mark on a publication, and although there are a few areas of the magazine that I would like to build on, its ten-year anniversary seems like an apposite moment to reflect on what has worked well before.

With this in mind, in my last comment I mentioned the organisation of a new editorial advisory board for the magazine, a good way to stay current on the most pertinent issues of the day and put them in the right context.

In the next couple of weeks some of you will be receiving an invitation to join this board and help steer the direction of the magazine.

Initially the board will meet up just twice a year at main industry events to discuss the content that has been published over the last few months, what has worked well, what else should have been included and plans to improve the quality and scope of future content.

Already we have had a number of parties interested in getting involved, a benefit of working in a field where those involved are keen to dedicate the time and effort for little personal gain other than the advancement of the industry as a whole.

As well as manufacturers and distributors of lifting equipment we will be looking to ensure we put end-users from the sectors of most importance to crane and hoist builders at the centre of what we do here.

Along with our aim of facilitating inter-industry communication, these are the people we must strive to inform through our content.

As such we will also be looking to include at least one technical paper each month. Subjects of concern are of course wide ranging, including the fundamentals of specification, design installation and best practice for any given application.

This month technical paper, Roy Peterson of Duct-O-Wire's take on the practicalities of using a wound rotor motor over the more frequently specified variable frequency drives, is a good example of what we would like to achieve. Something that can give end-users pause for thought and make industry professionals think again.

Kevin Walsh Editor
kevin.walsh@hoistmagazine.com