Our Industry Person of the Week is Kim Kallstrom, Assistant Director at Reliability & Maintainability Center.
Q: How did you get started working in your field?
Kim: I was an aircraft maintenance officer in the Air Force and did Lean consulting in the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul arena after transitioning to the civilian workforce. When my family moved to Knoxville I was introduced to the Reliability & Maintainability Center at the University of Tennessee and have been there ever since!
Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?
Kim: I love that in my position I get to encourage students to enter the field of reliability by placing them in internships, and I also get to assist companies in all industries to prepare their workforce and improve their reliability and maintenance programs. I am proud of how we have expanded the value and reach of our Center, as well as helping the one of a kind academic program flourish.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?
Kim: Reliability is a fabulous field, because it is essential to every industry and will continue to be critical no matter how technology changes our business practices.
Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?
Kim: The most rewarding part of my job is working with the undergraduate students at UT to place them in reliability focused internships and co-ops with our RMC Member Companies. Most students have very little knowledge of what RME is all about when they come into my office the first time, so it is exciting to watch as they grow and mature through hands-on job opportunities. It is exciting to see their work experiences turn into full-time job opportunities, and we have quite a few former interns that are now company representatives that are active participants with our Center.
Q: Anything Else you would like to add?
Kim: The Reliability & Maintainability Center and the RME academic program are very unique. I am thankful that the University of Tennessee recognized the need for these programs and are leading the way in Reliability education and professional development.
Q: Are you on social media? Where can we tag you?
Kim: I am on LinkedIn (Kim Kallstrom), Twitter (@KKallstrom), Instagram (kimkallstrom7) and Facebook (Kim Davis Kallstrom).
THANK YOU, KIM! WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UP WITH YOU THROUGH THE #PUMPTALK COMMUNITY!
KNOW AN AMAZING PERSON WHO IS MAKING VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS WITHIN INDUSTRY? NOMINATE THEM TO BE AN “INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE WEEK”!
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