UpKeep believes that those in the maintenance and reliability community are heroes. That’s why they try to spotlight this underserved community as much as they can.

Making sure society runs smoothly isn’t easy, which is why it’s no understatement to say that those involved in maintenance and reliability are a society of heroes. That said, some individuals stand out because of their contributions to the profession, whether that’s through books, conferences, online leadership contributions, or other methods. Their contributions help reliability professionals all over the world improve both their craft and the facilities where they work, and they deserve recognition.

Over the next month, UpKeep will be highlighting 100+ individuals in the maintenance and reliability field. These individuals have been chosen based on a combination of maintenance community input, and the kinds of contributions they’ve made to the improvement of professionals. Everyone is listed in alphabetical order, and this first article will highlight people with last names A-G.

Without further ado, here are some people in the maintenance and reliability community that you should follow.

Joe Adam
Manager of Engineering & Maintenance at Roche

Joe’s LinkedIn

Joe Adam is a CRL and CMRP, and he currently works at Roche as a manager of engineering and maintenance. Joe has been an active member of the Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals since 2010, serving most recently as a Chapter Board Member and Chapter Board Vice Chair. In the course of his career, Joe was involved in setting up machines to create the very first 9-speed transmission in the world, which was produced without defects occurring outside the plant.

Tim Allen
Associate Director, Principal Reliability Engineer at Shire

Tim’s LinkedIn

For 20 years, Tim Allen was a Reliability-Centered Maintenance Program Manager with the U.S. Navy, during which he was one of the main forces behind developing the RCM process they use for their submarines. In 2001, he published a study of over 50 unique submarine components along with their age and reliability characteristics, and his career since involves consulting and work with Central Arizona Project. During his career, he has helped organizations earn Uptime Awards for improved reliability.

Rajiv Anand
Founder and CEO of Quartic.ai

Rajiv’s LinkedIn

Rajiv Anand has been in the process automation industry for over three decades, practically since its start. He’s seen the technology evolve from basic relay logic controllers to advanced AI, and he founded Quartic.ai in order to provide a digital solution to organizations in need of advanced machine learning and IoT technology. By building AI for subject matter experts in manufacturing companies, Rajiv helps them make the most of their industrial assets.

Joe Anderson
COO of ReliabilityX

Joe’s LinkedIn

Joe Anderson is the Chief Operating Officer at ReliabilityX, a company that helps businesses reach maintenance and reliability goals through a holistic approach involving all levels in the company. Joe has a great deal of experience in maintenance and reliability management, and he’s an industry expert who teaches organizations how to improve in terms of their people, process, and profitability issues. He has written numerous articles for various professional publications, including Plant Services, Reliabilityweb.com, Food Processing Magazine, Machinery Lubrication, and more.

Jason Apps
CEO of ARMS Reliability

Jason’s LinkedIn

Jason Apps has spent the greater portion of his career with ARMS Reliability, a company that provides asset strategy management services to a variety of industries. As their CEO, he oversees the company’s global efforts to help organizations improve their reliability while also contributing to its blog at thereliabilityblog.com. In addition to his work with ARMS Reliability, Jason has also authored a book titled Asset Strategy Management ASMx, which is a guide for leaders who are striving to focus on reliability in the digital age.

Jason Ballentine
General Manager – Engineering Operations at ARMS Reliability

Jason’s LinkedIn

As a General Manager at ARMS Reliability, Jason Ballentine is recognized as an industry expert when it comes to improving businesses through asset management and reliability practices. Over the course of his career, he has helped companies realize $100 million in savings. Jason has also contributed to the company’s blog, providing key insight into a number of practical topics related to the industry.

Mark Barnes
Senior Vice President of Des-Case Corporation

Mark’s LinkedIn

Mark Barnes is a CMRP with over 20 years of experience in the field of oil analysis, contamination control, and lubrication management. As the VP of Global Sales and Business Development at Des-Case Corporation, Mark leads a team that helps organizations find ways to improve their lubrication programs. Mark has spoken at many conferences around the world, and he’s the author of over 150 whitepapers and articles.

Marius Basson
President of The Aladon Network

Marius’ LinkedIn

Marius Basson is the President of the Aladon Network, an organization that provides consultation and training services centered on reliability. Mr. Basson has helped out with reliability improvement projects all over the world, and he is also behind the development of both RCM2—which has been around since the 90s—and RCM3: Risk-Based Reliability Centered Maintenance. RCM3 takes a highly proactive approach to asset and risk management, and it aligns with ISO 31000 and ISO 55000 standards.

Lawrence Bazille
Reliability Leader at Dow

Lawrence’s LinkedIn

Lawrence Bazille is a reliability leader at Dow and an MBA Candidate at Rice University. In addition to his time at Dow, Lawrence’s experience includes six years at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, an internship at Halliburton, and a co-op at Monsanto. Lawrence has some of his research published in NNIN REU’s 2006 Research Accomplishments.

Aaron Beazley
Senior Product Manager – Asset Performance at Bentley Systems

Aaron’s LinkedIn

Aaron Beazley has worked in various capacities related to maintenance, reliability, and process management, including as a Maintenance Engineer at Dofasco Inc. and Polycon Industries, a consultant at Deloitte Canada, and a Solution Architect at Ivara Corporation and Bentley Systems. Currently, he is a Senior Product Manager at Bentley Systems, where he manages their AssetWise Reliability Solution. His position gives him ample opportunity to help companies improve their reliability.

Mark Benak
Vice President Business Development at Uptake

Mark’s LinkedIn

Mark Benak is a technology entrepreneur who currently helps organizations change their maintenance processes into a source of profit. Mark was the CEO of Asset Performance Technologies until it was acquired by Uptake, a company that helps organizations use technology and data to optimize their processes. He contributes to Uptake’s blog, writing on topics related to the use of AI and technology when improving maintenance and reliability.

Bryan Bieschke
Director of Maintenance & Reliability at T. Parker Host

Bryan’s LinkedIn

As a CMRP and driven maintenance and reliability leader, Bryan Bieschke is currently the Director of Maintenance & Reliability at T. Parker Host. In his position, Bryan helps people improve their organizations through RCM and aligning maintenance processes with business objectives. Bryan also conducts online webinars and is an active member of the maintenance and reliability community online.

Klaus Blache
Director – Reliability & Maintainability Center at University of Tennessee

Klaus’s LinkedIn

Klaus Blache is a professor and Director of the Reliability & Maintainability Center at the University of Tennessee. There, he advances education on reliability and maintenance as well as the adoption of practicable practices. In addition to his professional career, he is an author, having written the book The Relativity of Continuous Improvement as well as numerous articles published by Efficient Plant and other publications. Finally, Klaus is involved in numerous conferences, seminars, and lectures.

Dane Boers
Founder and Consultant of Modla.co

Dane’s LinkedIn

With his background in mining and electrical utilities work combined with his degree in engineering, Dane Boers founded Modla, a company that provides advanced analytics and knowledge capture to companies looking to streamline their asset management. In addition to his work with Modla, Dane has spoken at a number of forums on topics related to managing assets and making informed decisions in the field. Dane is certified as a CMRP by the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals.

Paul Casto
Intelligent Assets Practice Leader at Gray Matter Systems

Paul’s LinkedIn

Paul Casto is a CRL, CAMP, CMRT, and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt with over 20 years of experience in the maintenance and reliability industry. Along with his expertise in the technical aspects of various industries, Paul is also skilled at developing teams and helping them work seamlessly between departments. Paul’s written work and presentations have been published by various organizations, including APM Advisor, Meridium, Inc., Reliabilityweb.com, SMRP, and MARCON.

Rick Clonan
Implementation & Training Manager at Eruditio

Rick’s LinkedIn

Rick Clonan is certified as a CMRP, RMIC, MLT-I, and a Level 1 Certified Thermographer. He’s also an active member of SMRP. Rick has worked in numerous facilities in various maintenance and reliability roles, giving him a great deal of experience in root cause analysis. He is also a co-author of a book titled Engineer’s Guide to Preventive Maintenance: Mitigating Asset Risks Through Preventive Action (Leadership for Asset Management Excellence), and he volunteers at BEST Robotics in Nashville in addition to his professional duties.

Chris Colson
Principal at Allied Reliability

Chris’s LinkedIn

In addition to his role as a Principal at Allied Reliability, Chris Colson is one of the co-authors of Clean, Green and Reliable: A Sustainable Reliability Guide For Industrial Plants. Additionally, he has written articles, spoken at numerous seminars and conferences, and served in a number of roles in the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP). Chris’ understanding of reliability, engineering, maintainability, design, and energy management make him a trusted resource among his peers.

Paul Crocker
Supervisor of Maintenance at the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities

Paul’s LinkedIn

As a Supervisor of Maintenance at the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities, Paul Crocker handles many of the day-to-day matters of maintenance management, including supervising, prioritizing, and assigning maintenance tasks. Paul is certified as a CMRP, CRL, and CAMA, and his experience involves much of the hands-on work involved in public utilities as well as leadership experience. He has shared his expertise in interviews with Uptime Magazine and IBM.

Jonathan David
Founder of The Maintenance Institute Africa

Jonathan’s LinkedIn

Jonathan David is the founder of The Maintenance Institute Africa, an organization that educates professionals through the use of training, webinars, and publications. Through this organization, Jonathan has influenced over 900 professionals and undergrads through speaking engagements, and he has mentored numerous individuals as well. As a CMRP, CRL, FIMC, CMC, and active member of various organizations, Jonathan has been involved in various projects and contributes his knowledge regularly through articles on LinkedIn.

Steven Dobie
Reliability Engineer at Teck Resources Limited

Steven’s LinkedIn

Steven Dobie has been making the mining industry more reliable for several years. His educational background in materials engineering from the University of Alberta—which focused heavily on failure analysis—plus his industry experience have made him adept at assessing failure modes for root cause analysis. Steven has presented and conducted workshops at SMRP events, and he is involved in the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.

Paul Dufresne
Reliability Coach at Reliability Playbook

Paul’s LinkedIn

In 2017, Paul Dufresne founded Reliability Playbook in order to provide consultation services to help companies improve their maintenance, reliability, and lubrication practices. His company aims to help facilities understand their losses, identify defects, and put effective plans into motion to eliminate losses. Paul is a CMRP, CMRT, CLS, CPMM, and CRL, and he has been published by Plant Services and other sources.

Shawn Fitzgerald
Chief Marketing Officer at ThomasNet

Shawn’s LinkedIn

A mechanical engineer by training, Shawn Fitzgerald now works as the Chief Marketing Officer at Thomas, which is a data platform and technology company that serves B2B buyers in manufacturing. He’s been called a visionary in his space, and he has led ThomasNet to develop new offerings that help companies improve their processes with the latest technology. Shawn has published articles on both Hubspot and ThomasNet’s website.

John Fortin
Vice President and Director of Asset Management & Reliability at Jacobs

John’s LinkedIn

John Fortin is an author, CMRP, CRL, RCM Facilitator, and certified by IAM (Institute of Asset Management). His book, titled Why Execution Fails and What to Do About It, focuses on how to improve change success rates using his DELTA FORCE model, which is derived from his experience in helping companies improve their reliability management and asset performance.

Blair Fraser
Global Director – IIoT Solutions at UE Systems

Blair’s LinkedIn

In addition to his role as the Global Director of IIoT Solutions at UE Systems, Blair Fraser is also a co-founder of Quartic.ai—a company that provides AI and machine learning solutions to the industrial sector—and he works as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. As a CRL and CMRP, Blair has presented at conferences and been published in MRO Magazine. He also is one of the new co-hosts of the Maintenance Disrupted podcast.

Peter Funk
Reliability Manager at Rehrig Pacific Company

Peter’s LinkedIn

Peter Funk has a background in mechanical engineering, having earned his degree at Drexel University. Peter got his start in the industry through his degree and then working in machine design. There, he gained a strong appreciation for the knowledge of maintenance workers. Peter now works as a Reliability Manager at Rehrig Pacific Kansas, which uses injection molding machines to make bins for waste and recycling.

Andy Gager
Owner at AMG International Consulting, Inc.

Andy’s LinkedIn

As a CMRP, CPIM, CRL, and CAMA, Andy Gager is a highly qualified consultant for organizations seeking to improve their asset performance management. In addition to his consulting work, Andy is a contributing columnist for Facility Maintenance Decisions, a magazine put out by Facilitiesnet.com where he has over 40 published articles.

Andy Gailey
Founding Director at UPTIME Consultant Ltd

Andy’s LinkedIn

Andy Gailey is an experienced production engineer who now provides consultancy services through UPTIME Consultant Ltd. Andy advocates for a holistic approach to maintenance and reliability management, with strategies such as TPM, RCA, RCM, condition monitoring, and criticality analysis being key to progress. To Andy, it is more important than ever to train and develop the people involved in maintenance and reliability management. Andy is the author of numerous informative articles on LinkedIn as well as an article on Reliable Plant.

Mark Galley
Root Cause Analysis Instructor & Facilitator at ThinkReliability

Mark’s LinkedIn

Mark Galley is the President and Co-Founder of ThinkReliability, an organization that helps companies identify problems in their processes and make changes to improve reliability. In his role as a root cause analysis instructor and facilitator, Mark contributes to ThinkReliability’s blog, root cause analysis training webinars and videos, and cause mapping case study examples. He is also a regular presenter at conferences across the nation.

Marie Getsug
Program Manager, Strategic Consulting at Jacobs

Marie’s LinkedIn

Marie Getsug is highly influential in manufacturing, having been named an Honoree of the 2018 inaugural class of Influential Women in Manufacturing. She is recognized as a thought leader in the industry, and most particularly for DfR (Design for Reliability). As such, she has helped a number of organizations develop DfR programs in order to reduce their expenses. In addition, Marie is founder and past chair of the SMRP Pharma & Biotech Shared Interest Group and brings over 30 years of industrial experience to the table.

Anna Goodman
Reliability Engineer at ARMS Reliability

Anna’s LinkedIn

Anna Goodman has worked in a wide variety of companies in various industries, including DuPont, Honeywell, and LCY Elastomers LP. In terms of training, she has a background in mechanical engineering, and she currently works as a reliability engineer at ARMS Reliability where she helps out with consulting and implementation. Over the course of her career, Anna has helped companies improve their maintenance and reliability processes and maintain compliance with regulations. She also publishes the occasional article on LinkedIn.

Suzane Greeman
Principal Asset Management Advisor at Greeman Asset Management Solutions

Suzane’s LinkedIn

Suzane Greeman is a Principal Asset Management Advisor and the author of the Risk-based Asset Criticality Assessment Handbook, which is a guide to improving asset criticality. Her advisory firm—Greeman Asset Management Solutions—helps organizations improve their asset management through consulting and advisory services. Suzane is also a certified asset, maintenance, and quality management professional with over 20 years of experience in asset management leadership.

Maureen Gribble
Director of Marketing at UE Systems

Maureen’s LinkedIn

Maureen Gribble has been in the field of maintenance and reliability since 2006, and she has been working as the Director of Marketing at UE Systems since 2012. Maureen is a CMRP and certified Level 1 in Ultrasound, and she has volunteered at numerous events related to the industry. In addition to her work with UE Systems, she serves as the Education Director on the SMRP Board of Directors.

Ramesh Gulati
Asset Management & Reliability Specialist at Jacobs

Ramesh’s LinkedIn

Ramesh Gulati has been involved in maintenance and reliability for over 50 years, working in a variety of roles. Drawing on his extensive experience in the field, Ramesh authored the book Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices, which earned him the Gold Book award at Maintenance and Technology in 2011 and is considered a must-read for anyone in the maintenance and reliability field. As a CRE, CRL, PE, CAMA, CMRP, and CMRT, Ramesh has received many awards as well as the nickname of “Reliability Sherpa.”

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