TRSA’s Maintenance Management Institute Comes Back Strong

After a two-year hiatus, TRSA’s 29th Annual Maintenance Management Institute (MMI) returned on Oct. 12-14. Forty attendees convened in Rosemont, IL, for the industry’s longest-running and most-recognized maintenance-management and technology-development program.

Steve Rowell, president, Accelerated Ventures, and a seasoned keynote speaker and training consultant, kicked off with an interactive session showing engineering leaders exactly how they must adapt to succeed. He included a helium stick group exercise that demonstrated the importance of teamwork.

Joel Bell, senior manager of reliability and maintenance, UniFirst Corp., led a general plant safety session on the topic of lock out/tag out. Another highlight of the day included a facilitated discussion on protecting equipment and parts sourcing. Paula Brown, production manager at Shasta Linen Supply, Sacramento, CA, commented that, “I really gained a lot of information to help me learn and work with the engineers and protecting equipment for the company.”

Bell returned on day two to lead a workshop titled Results Oriented Reliability and Maintenance Management. This session provided attendees with tools for extending the life of equipment. Another speaker, Deanna Griffin, The Griffin Group, reflected on her human-resource experience to propose ideas for accelerating the hiring process. Paul Jewison, VP and general manager, Textile Care Services, Rochester, MN, included a session on roof safety and fall protection, while Chuck Rossmiller, director, laundry programs, Medline Industries, reviewed general guidance on how to properly disinfect your plant. Ian Bigelow, executive officer, Simple Management Solutions, rounded out the afternoon by facilitating peer-to-peer roundtables.

The final day began with a plant tour of Superior Health Linens. The plant in Portage, IN, processes 40,000 lbs. of laundry per day. The 50,000-square-foot facility is new to Superior Health Linens, following its purchase earlier this year. After the plant tour, Matt Lewis, laundry market manager, Kemco Systems, discussed with the group key strategy ideas for energy management and performance. Bigelow also returned to discuss how to develop a defensible capital budget.

The three-day MMI program featured multiple opportunities for networking and information sharing through facilitated open discussions and peer-to-peer sessions, along with the opportunity to mix socially in order to foster stronger relationships with peers and the industry’s engineering and technology experts. Keith Fisher, maintenance manager, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply, noted that, “Each time I attend, I gain so much valuable information and knowledge for myself to take back to teach maintenance and production.” This year’s program was Fisher’s second experience with MMI. First-time attendee, Teresa Avery, maintenance director, West Michigan Shared Hospital Laundry, added, “This has been very informative, and I am thankful that TRSA hosts a maintenance focused program.”

For more information, visit www.trsa.org/mmi.