USA
It is TRSA’s 33rd annual Professional Management Institute (PMI) in August will feature programme updates and two plant tours to augment knowledge and skills for laundry managers of all levels. Attendees of PMI will learn the tools necessary to manage plant operations successfully and efficiently as participants of TRSA’s 33rd Annual Roger F Cocivera Professional Management Institute, hosted at the University of Maryland, 6-10 August.
PMI’s rich history of enhancing the professionalism of managers in the linen, uniform and facility services industry is in its fourth decade. In 2021, the programme was retooled based on TRSA’s production-management job analysis.
To enhance the programme, John Witschy, Dean of PMI, added two additional sessions this year specifically on troubleshooting, one for wash aisle and a second for maintenance engineering. Plus, an in-depth exam review group session will help second-year attendees review before taking the CPLM test.
Chuck Hackenberg, a PMI graduate from Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply, Jessup, PA, stated: “The value of this programme is in the knowledge of the instructors and their willingness to engage and breakdown any questions that were thrown their way.”
This year’s Session I programme is August 6-10 and will include interactive, classroom style lectures, group exercises and presentations led by subject-matter experts. Session I topics covered include:
· Plant production
· Quality control and plant efficiency
· Safety awareness including PPEs and hazcom
· Sustainability
· Staff management
· Productivity and capacity measurements and matrix
· Communicating and collaborating
· Customer service
Following the Session I programme, PMI participants will participate in a series of self-paced, online modules on topics such as human resources (HR), communications, finance, time/project management and business ethics. Students will then meet again for Session II in August 2024 and receive four more days of interactive instruction that will further refine production and laundry-specific management skills.
Upon completion of the classroom and online training, students are tested and can earn the Certified Professional Laundry Manager (CPLM) designation, the baseline of knowledge for all graduates.
Both PMI sessions require participants to collaborate on solutions to real-world scenarios presented as case studies. Darrin Smith, a 2022 PMI graduate from KannegiesserETECH said: “The PMI programme is helping me understand what happens in detail from pickup to delivery, and how it all ties together to complete a customer’s needs.” Visits to local state-of-the-art laundries are part of the curriculum as well.
PMI is hosted concurrently with TRSA’s 58th Annual Ehrlich-Stempler Executive Management Institute (EMI). Program participants have great opportunities to network with colleagues as they gather during free time, meals and evening social outings, which create unique opportunities for information sharing and socialising among leaders in the linen, uniform and facility services industry.
PMI is an all-inclusive programme, with one fee covering all educational components, meals, lodging and transportation to and from evening events. Located at the University of Maryland in Hyattsville, Md., participants can easily arrive at PMI through one of three airports (Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), Dulles International in Virginia (IAD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), also in Virginia). For more information and to register, visit www.trsa.org/pmi. Save $300 on registration if registered by 24 June.
