As one of the largest, most widely recognized retail facilities management events in the country, PRSM National Conference is always an exciting event for our sales and operations team alike; and this year’s conference did not disappoint.
A Decade of PRSM Success
2016 marked my tenth year as a PRSM association member and my first year exhibiting at PRSM National conference as an SMS Assist team member. Throughout my decade of PRSM experiences, I’ve been an active member with a few different companies, written for early publications and attended many, many events. Most of what I’ve experienced in my time with PRSM has been under the nurturing leadership of Patricia Dameron, Executive Director of the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association, who announced her resignation during the conference. Although sad she will be leaving PRSM, I’m honored and delighted to have had the opportunity to know her as a professional and a friend. The transformation of the organization from 10 years ago to what it is today is inspiring, and she should be very proud.
Trends, Tips and Tech
I was pleased to see data, energy and technology as concentrated industry topics. Discussions that included IoT, CMMS and next generation technology dominated the educational sessions. I attended Impact of Using Data to Assess the Budget of the Future. The speaker, Christopher Anderson, VP, Data Strategy & Consulting RSMeans from The Gordian Group, talked about the many forms of benchmarking, variability in year over year costs for labor and materials and parametric modeling that could be used to determine full lifecycle cost of a building. The best sound bite I walked away with was a study presented that determined $1 spent in preventative maintenance work for assets such as an HVAC RTU, saved $2.70 in future reactive spend.
Born and Raised in the Industry
All in all, PRSM was a great experience for the SMS team. We had the opportunity to meet with many prospective clients and show them all the ways that we can empower their enterprise to “expect the unexpected.” Additionally, we had the opportunity to network with other industry leaders and stay on the cutting-edge of retail store maintenance through enlightening educational sessions.
What’s Next for SMS?
Next up on our conference schedule: our residential team will be attending IMN’s 4th annual single-family rental investment forum. Come by and visit the team in Miami May 16-18 and learn more about how our technology innovations drive service and value in the fast-growing SFR market.