With the entry into force of the progressive customs dismantling between Morocco and the European Union since 1 March, local industrial products are facing stiff competition. They can only position themselves in this new situation if they improve their performance continuously. And it is to ensure the coveted competitiveness for companies in the Oriental region that the technological platform of the National School of Applied Sciences of Oujda is organising, this Wednesday, 7 March, a technical day on the operational safety of industrial installations using non-destructive testing methods. A meeting that is in line with the economic and industrial development of the region. It also responds to a logic of partnership with private actors, notably through the participation of companies or professional organisations within the technological platform network.

Beyond the aspects of production organisation, product or process innovation, and maintaining production tools at their optimal capacity, product quality aspects have a crucial importance for the protection of local and national production.

"Non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques are a valuable tool for failure analysis: they allow defects to be detected and characterised with finesse and precision. NDT applied to production and maintenance can provide an answer to improving industrial competitiveness. This is what we aim for at the ENSAO level," Mohsine Eleuldj, director of the said school, explained to ALM.

It is, in short, an opening of research to its economic environment with the ultimate goal of building networks composed of companies (large companies and SMEs), research teams, universities, and competence centres (training). All these economic actors will have the task of boosting technological innovation and, moreover, rationalising the organisational aspect.

In fact, the main beneficiaries of the PFTs are SMEs/SMIs that can turn to the network to obtain a service or technological benefit, or even have direct access to the PFT's equipment, specify the initiators of this meeting.

"The concept of a technological platform (PFT) offers our university structure the possibility of better integrating into the local economic fabric in order to promote the insertion of our engineering students," Bachir Elkihel, a researcher at ENSAO, explained to ALM.

By: Ali Kharroubi

DNCR in Oujda