TODAY’S BOILER | NOVEMBER 2022
What’s Next for ABMA?
Figure 1. About 30 volunteer leaders and staff, in conjunction with McKinley, converged in Dallas to make key decisions on ABMA’s future. Images courtesy of ABMA
In January 2020, ABMA announced an aggressive three-year strategy that would culminate with the first-ever conference and tradeshow focused solely on the boiler supply chain and engaging the end users of boiler-related products.
While the global pandemic sidetracked some of the association’s progress, ABMA grew and enhanced its membership through the addition and expansion of the hydronics sector, published thought-leadership resources, and launched a podcast on various aspects of boiler technology. ABMA also successfully planned and executed BOILER 2022 to rave reviews and optimism.
In June of this year, the ABMA leadership agreed it was time to chart a new course that builds on our accomplishments and addresses the ever-changing landscape and issues impacting the boiler industry.
To start this process, ABMA engaged McKinley Advisors to partner with our staff and volunteer leaders. McKinley offers a deep knowledge of the issues associations face and excels at collaborating with executives and volunteer leaders to craft effective and practical strategies to guide partner organizations.
The next steps were to engage our members to obtain key insights on how the industry continues to evolve and how ABMA can enhance our programs and services to meet the needs of our members and the boiler supply chain.
ABMA completed a comprehensive member survey with responses from almost 100 member contacts, and the results were rich with key insights on ABMA programs and services and the needs of the boiler industry. In addition, McKinley interviewed 20 individuals, from volunteer leaders, new members, and supply chain partners — including representatives, end users, and consultants — to take a deeper dive into the challenges they face and how ABMA is equipped to address them.
Earlier this month, about 30 volunteer leaders and staff converged in Dallas to work directly with our McKinley facilitators to understand association trends, review insights from member surveys and interviews, and make key decisions on the future of ABMA.
The dialogue and engagement were fantastic, and while many ideas were shared and debated, there was strong consensus around the following:
- BOILER 2022 was a success. It is imperative that ABMA focuses resources to enhance this event and grow our relationship with the supply chain.
- Workforce challenges continue to be a top issue with our member companies, and ABMA should seek out opportunities to improve this situation for its members and the overall industry.
- ABMA needs to address misconceptions and misinformation about the boiler industry that could positively impact boiler room investment, codes and standards, energy policy, and regulation.
With a clear direction from our volunteer leaders, ABMA will work closely with our team at McKinley and our officers to draft a three-year plan, complete with aggressive goals and targeted objectives, to meet the needs of our members and the boiler industry.
We expect to adopt this new plan at the January 2023 meeting of the ABMA board of directors and, shortly thereafter, announce details of our key focus areas to the membership and those engaged in the boiler industry.
But, a plan is only as good as how it is implemented. The first half of 2023 will be spent creating work plans for each focus area that includes timelines and resource allocation along with a key performance indicators (KPI) dashboard to track progress and ensure success.
I would like to thank everyone who has participated in this process. It would not be possible without our dedicated group of volunteer members.
As always, I welcome any feedback on our current strategic planning process or anything else related to ABMA. Please feel free to email me at scott@abma.com at any time.
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