CAVS Extension

This three day course is taught by Ramesh Gulati, who is the world leader in this area and the author of 'Maintenance & Reliability Best Practices'.

The M&R fundamentals course will boost your technical workforce's understanding of reliability & maintenance principles and help create a sustainable reliability culture to maximize the benefits.

The asset/equipment management practices in any organization determine whether an operation is considered a financial drain or a well-run business unit, which operates utilizing best reliability & maintenance practices to ensure assets reliability, safety, improved productivity, and profits.

• Introduction to Asset Management and It's Business Impact
• Reliability Culture Examples
• Defining Best Practices and Asset performance
• Understanding Maintenance Role - Capacity Assurance
• Workflow and Roles
• Planning & Scheduling
• Materials Management
• Operations Role - Operator Driven Reliability
• Workplace Design - 5S Plus
• Optimizing Maintenance - RCM/CBM
• Designing for reliability and Maintenance
• Improvement Tools (Including 6 Sigma)
• Workforce/People Development Organization, Team Building and Communication
• Current Trends - Lean, Energy & Safety
• Sustaining Reliability and Safety Culture

• Reliability Engineers
• Manufacturing Managers
• Process Engineering
• Maintenance Engineers
• Technicians
• Maintenance and Reliability Managers

Date(s): April 21-23, 2026 (Canton, MS)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: MSU CAVS Extension - 153 Mississippi Parkway Canton, MS 39046

Cost:$575.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

This comprehensive workshop provides a structured, end-to-end approach to understanding, implementing, and sustaining Industry 4.0 technologies in manufacturing environments.

Participants will gain:

• A foundational overview of current and emerging technologies such as AI, digital twins, machine vision, and predictive maintenance.
• A step-by-step guide to integrating these technologies into production systems, including ROI calculations and cost-benefit analysis. Strategic planning tools to develop a sustainable roadmap for digital transformation, with a focus on maintainability, scalability, and long-term value creation.

Designed for manufacturing professionals, engineers, and decision-makers, this workshop bridges the gap between technical implementation and strategic execution, empowering participants to lead successful Industry 4.0 initiatives.

Instructor(s): Jonathan Howell and William (Billy) Peacock, PE

Date(s): May 5-6, 2026 (Canton, MS)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: MSU CAVS Extension - 153 Mississippi Parkway Canton, MS 39046

Cost:$725.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

Lean 101 is a class designed to introduce students to the principles of Lean Manufacturing, focusing on efficiency and waste reduction in processes. Students will learn how to identify and eliminate unnecessary steps through a combination of lectures and hands-on activities.

Instructor(s): William (Billy) Peacock, PE, Harry Kitchens and Montrell Marshall

Date(s): May 7, 2026 (Canton, MS)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: MSU CAVS Extension - 153 Mississippi Parkway Canton, MS 39046

Cost:$175.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

This TPM workshop provides students with a high-level introduction of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). The information shared in this session will provide an understanding of TPM (definition, importance, and key components), explain the benefits of TPM implementation, review the TPM tools and techniques, discuss real-world applications of TPM, and provide examples of successful TPM implementations.

Instructor(s): Harry Kitchens

Date(s): May 7, 2026 (Communiversity)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: Communiversity - 7003 South Frontage Road Columbus, MS 39701

Cost:$225.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

This workshop will provide in-depth exposure to ergonomics definitions, goals and background along with discussions and examples of ergonomics tools for ergonomic evaluations and improve the ergonomics of a company.

Professionals and managers with responsibility to improve employee health and safety through incorporating ergonomic principles and methods. These techniques are applicable in both the manufacturing and service industries.

• Overview of Ergonomics: General principals, aims and benefits, measuring the impact of good ergonomics, and human characteristics and limitations.
• Ergonomics Techniques and Methods: Work and task design and evaluation, control and display design, compatibility, and population stereotypes.
• Physical Ergonomics: Musculoskeletal disorders, manual material handling, NIOSH lifting guideline, ergonomic risk assessment, and measurement and information gathering (ergonomics standards, observational skills, checklists).
• Cognitive Ergonomics: Human information processing, mental workload, perceptions of risk and stress, warning design, signal detection theory, and memory.

Instructor(s): Adam Collins, PE

Date(s): May 12, 2026 (Canton, MS)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: MSU CAVS Extension - 153 Mississippi Parkway Canton, MS 39046

Cost:$100.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

Two-day hands-on course covering fundamentals of aluminum alloys and useful characterization methods. Topics to be covered include an overview of the Chemistry-Process-Structure-Property-Performance (CPSPP) paradigm for material development, as well as the effects of alloying elements and processing methods on phases, transformations, and microstructures. Live demonstrations will include aluminum characterization and property assessment (microstructure analysis, mechanical testing, formability testing, etc.). casting, hot/cold rolling, forging/pressing, etc.

Instructor(s): Hongjoo Rhee and Shiraz Mujahid

Date(s): May 12-13, 2026

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: CAVS-Research - 200 Research Blvd, Starkville, MS

Cost:$550.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

This workshop is designed to assist individuals and organizations to understand the key processes of project management, to initiate a project and to plan for resources, project risks, communication, and change control. It provides insight into the mechanics of managing and executing a project successfully through the closeout phase. It also provides a structured, planned approach to leading and facilitating teams, providing participants with practical tools to generate ideas and determine potential solutions, evaluate effectiveness of alternatives, reach consensus, and to effectively present results to key sponsors and stakeholders.

Instructor(s): Martin Konrad and Harry Kitchens

Date(s): May 13-14, 2026 (Communiversity)

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: Communiversity - 7003 South Frontage Road Columbus, MS 39701

Cost:$300.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.

This two-day workshop explores how Industry 4.0 tools can be used to enhance your condition-based monitoring program to increase asset reliability. This is a hands-on interactive workshop that uses the simulated Industry 4.0 factory in our i4.0 Skills Accelerator Lab.

• Industry 4.0 Overview
• Condition Based Monitoring
• Process Control Analysis
• Equipment Criticality Ranking
• Risk Mitigation (RCA/RCM)
• Industry 4.0 Technologies for Maintenance

Reliability engineers, manufacturing managers, process engineers, maintenance engineers, technicians, and maintenance and reliability managers.

Instructor(s): Jonathan Curtis, PE, Jonathan Howell and Mike Burgett

Date(s): May 13-14, 2026

Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Location: MSU CAVS Extension - 153 Mississippi Parkway Canton, MS 39046

Cost:$200.00 ¹

Please contact Coretta Price at cprice@cavse.msstate.edu or 601-407-2770 if you have any questions.

¹Pricing is contingent upon participant eligibility for state funding. Eligibility will be assessed during registration. For more information about eligibility click here.