Seats are beginning to fill for the maintenance management event of the year to be held on 27^th – 28^th June at Rydges Hotel in Christchurch. Organised by the Maintenance Engineering Society of New Zealand (MESNZ), the Practical Maintenance Management Conference and Exhibition takes a holistic view of line management that will benefit any manager or supervisor in modern industry. From team and staff management to health and safety and maintenance planning, a mixture of celebrity speakers, industry experts and peers share their views and experience in a two day forum designed to help technical staff understand and cope with their role in industry. The keynote address will be given by Don Tricker, former Black Sox Coach, who will share his insights into success in dealing with teams and people. Attendees will keenly await the presentations of both ACC and the Department of Labour, while acclaimed HR guru Ann Andrews returns with her inspiring and uplifting tips on getting the best out of your staff.

While the conference topics are applicable to anyone working in industry including line managers and supervisors, the conference does retain strong links to maintenance management in the “real” world and ample opportunities exist to talk to peers who have turned their plant reliability around. Attendees wanting to experience more in depth learning can take advantage of optional pre-conference training workshops in team building, maintenance planning or technical topics, while the conference exhibition provides ample opportunity to view the latest technologies.

While exhibitions and conferences of this size and standing normally bypass the South Island for greener fields in the north, the MESNZ executive are committed to supporting members in both islands and are pleased with the level of local support for this event. Through the support of the Canterbury Manufacturers Association, many manufacturers’ large and small are taking up the opportunity to inspire their staff at the modestly priced event. The two day event runs from 9:00am Wednesday 27 June at Rydges Hotel, Christchurch. Conference tickets are available from $630 pp for MESNZ members ($730 pp +GST retail) and can be booked via the conference website www.pmmc.co.nz or by contacting the event managers on (09) 298 7987