From Nuclear Submarines to Napa Valley: Maintenance Leadership, AI, and Continuous Improvement
What does it take to lead maintenance teams in one of the world's most demanding production environments?
In this episode of Maintenance Manufacturing Insights, Martin Engster sits down with Joshua Kroll, Facilities Maintenance Supervisor at Trinchero Family Estates, to discuss his journey from serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy's nuclear submarine program to leading maintenance operations in California's wine industry.
Joshua shares how preventive maintenance, structured troubleshooting, skill development, and data-driven decision making help keep thousands of pieces of equipment operating during harvest season—the "Super Bowl" of winemaking. He also explains why challenging assumptions during root cause analysis can dramatically reduce downtime and improve maintenance performance.
The conversation also explores how artificial intelligence is beginning to transform maintenance organizations. Joshua discusses practical ways AI can support maintenance teams, from organizing technical documentation and analyzing equipment data to developing employee training programs and monitoring regulatory updates.
Whether you work in manufacturing, facilities, reliability, or maintenance leadership, this episode offers practical ideas you can apply immediately.
------------------------- Are you responsible for keeping machines running and production on track? If you’re a maintenance manager, tool crib manager, or shop leader — we want to hear how you’re getting it done. Apply to be a guest on https://maintenancemanufacturinginsights.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.
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