Jim Kennedy
It is no accident that Jim Kennedy is the national chair of MESA today. After all, he has a 40 year perspective on the escalating importance of maintenance engineering which began when he was in the RAAF. In 1986 he joined the Institute of Engineers National Panel on Maintenance, the forerunner of MESA, and subsequently became a founding member of MESA.
“I joined to extend my knowledge on maintenance practice and to pass some of what I had learnt in the RAAF back to industry.”
At a personal level Jim has received great satisfaction from his role as technical director of MESA over many years, by providing a focus on the developing discipline of asset management and on MESA’s likely future role in that development.
He singles out several major achievements or milestones during his membership of MESA, including the development of the MESA Maintenance Model and the first international conference of maintenance societies (ICOMS) held in 1994.
As technical director for more than 10 years his main activity was the technical programs associated with the ICOMS Conferences.
“I have always considered it a privilege to participate in the assessment of papers and when necessary provide assistance to those members new to the delivery of papers at technical conferences,” Jim says.
“My employer RailCorp and its predecessors view my membership and key role in MESA as a positive for the organisation. As a major asset owner RailCorp has recently created the position of General Manager, Strategic Asset Management, in recognition of the importance of asset and maintenance management,” Jim says.
“By keeping up with the latest developments through peer networks I have been able to ensure that RailCorp recognises my status as a professional in the field.”
Looking forward he says MESA will continue to provide leadership in a discipline that will positively impact Australia’s growing infrastructure capability issues.
MESA expects to improve the existing professional development activities including better access for professionals to a consistent and common model of asset management.
Jim Kennedy says MESA has moved from its focus on post acquisition maintenance to embrace the more holistic role of asset management.
“This reflects a need to cast maintenance in its true light as part of a whole of life, value-adding activity,” he says