General Chair Message
I’m honored to be General Chair for the 69th Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium. RAMS® is a collaboration between eight professional
societies who have a passion for reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS). RAMS® is organized by a dedicated group of volunteers from these societies. These volunteers have worked hard all year to produce a program that will provide a unique experience across the entire RAMS body of knowledge. Attendees have a unique opportunity to learn through tutorials, technical paper presentations, expert panel discussions, keynote and banquet speaker engagement, exhibitors, and interaction and networking with other professionals. It is my pleasure to welcome you to RAMS®2023!
RAMS is an extremely effective and cost-efficient way to educate yourself and your associates in reliability, maintainability, and product safety. The variety and depth of the RAMS program will satisfy the range of attendees from beginner to seasoned expert. Tutorials present a unique “basic fundamentals to advanced” forum, qualify for Continuing Education Units (CEUs), and supports our RAMS Tutorial Certificate Program. Paper sessions complement the tutorials with an emphasis on demonstrating effective practical applications and advancement in theory. The Panel sessions bring together, government, corporate, and academic experts on selected focused topics for providing their insight and experience. And, this year we will offer a dedicated ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE) Preparatory training track for those interested in pursuing a CRE certification .
This year’s theme is “The Digital Transformation of R&M”. This theme was selected realizing that with the emergence of significant knowledge enabled by Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, reliability and maintainability can now be incorporated in the digital engineering design while also improving R&M through the collection and timely analysis of equipment-specific field data and health monitoring systems. AI/ML application to our R&M tools, techniques and processes (and products) promises speed and scale which is essential in a competitive acquisition and engineering environment to be relevant. The RAMS Program and Tutorial Committees have done an outstanding job of selecting papers and tutorials that are relevant to the theme and the needs of RAMS attendees.
Our keynote speaker is the Honorable Christopher J. Lowman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment (ASD(S)), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. As ASD(S), Mr. Lowman is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (USD(A&S)), Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Defense on DoD logistics, materiel readiness, and product support. On behalf of the USD(A&S), Mr. Lowman oversees the Defense Logistics Agency and Defense Microelectronics Activity, and is the principal logistics official within senior DoD management. His current and past experience will bring a great perspective to the DoD digital transformation effort and corresponding R&M value, the heart of this year’s symposium theme.
Our banquet speaker, Mr Don McMillan is a retired engineer from Silicon Valley who has taken different more enlightening comedic spin on data and presentations from the engineering and technical world. I know you will find his presentation enjoyable.
For spouses accompanying attendees, our arrangements committee has planned an informative and entertaining spousal program to explore nearby exciting attractions that Orlando has to offer. This program includes group transportation on a private charter bus to the Kennedy Space Center and other local attractions (Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Airboat Rides, etc.).
The symposium venue is the Florida Hotel & Conference Center located adjacent to and steps away from the Florida Mall and a quick ride from the airport. The Hotel is centrally located in Orlando to the nearby famous attractions of International Drive, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and of course Disney World. Orlando is a fantastic location with wonderful weather especially in January and a short drive to either coast (Tampa or Cape Canaveral).
I look forward to greeting you at RAMS 2023!