TRSA’s 31st Annual Maintenance Management Institute (MMI) took place this Oct. 15-17 in Newark, NJ, bringing together industry professionals for a series of insightful sessions and networking opportunities.

The three-day event kicked off with a keynote session by Tommy Cocanougher, a seasoned engineering veteran from Cintas Corp., Mason, OH. His presentation, “Developing You and Your Team for Growth,” emphasized the importance of personal and professional development within maintenance and reliability teams. Cocanougher highlighted the need for self-growth, skill-building and the adoption of new technologies to foster a culture of reliability and career advancement.

Following the keynote address, attendees participated in “The Maintenance Mindset: Conquering the Complex,” led by Christopher Stammer from Voluminant. This immersive session challenged participants with a complex problem-solving exercise designed to enhance their critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills. The engaging simulation encouraged technical professionals to think strategically and adaptively, essential traits for thriving in production-driven environments.

The owner of Safety Solutions for Healthcare, Brian Varner, held a session titled, “Essentials: Safety Communications for Maintenance Engineers,” which provided crucial insights into recognizing and communicating chemical hazards. Through real-world scenarios and case studies, attendees learned to interpret safety data sheets, understand labeling requirements and implement effective communication strategies to ensure OSHA compliance and promote a safety-first culture.

Todd Leeth, strategic growth leader at Spindle, and industry consultant Keith Ware, explored critical strategies for driving operational success in commercial laundry operations. Their session focused on overcoming complacency, fostering a proactive maintenance culture, and leading teams in preventive maintenance, troubleshooting and machine repair to optimize performance and reduce downtime.

Ian Bigelow, the co-founder of Simple Laundry Solutions, led a session titled, “What is Old is New Again: Keeping Machinery Up after 30 Years of Hard Use.” Bigelow shared valuable lessons on maintaining aging machinery and identifying signs of wear and inefficiency. He also discussed strategies for justifying new equipment purchases to company leadership, balancing cost considerations with the benefits of improved productivity and safety.

Varner then returned to discuss key safety practices for plant engineers. Through hands-on activities and discussions, participants learned to identify hazards, practice proper entry procedures and use safety equipment effectively to ensure OSHA compliance and workplace safety.

The second day started with plant tours to American Wear Inc. and Unitex Healthcare Laundry. Following lunch, attendees met in work groups to develop presentations that each group shared on the final day of the institute.

Stammer summarized the value of MMI when he shared that, “MMI isn’t structured as a bunch of speakers disseminating information. Participants receive a framework for boosting plant uptime, throughput and safety on the first day of the event. The remaining day and a half are spent on making and processing observations focused on helping operations improve. We had participants from 17 different companies and two dozen sets of eyes who made some amazing observations for plant improvement that would typically get lost in the rush of the day. They hit it out of the ballpark. There was a huge amount of value gained from the collaboration of the entire group and the insight from both the speakers and the industry veterans who attended.”

The 32nd Annual MMI will take place on Oct. 22-24, 2025, in Philadelphia. Click here for details.

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