RETA Breeze_MayJune_Final_2025

I started my refrigeration journey in 2008 sweeping floors in a machine room. I was a maintenance mechanic who was trying to learn refrigeration. I was taking any opportunity I had to get close to the equipment and learn from the wealth of knowledge the senior refrigeration guys possessed, as they had been doing refrigeration nearly as long as I had been alive. I got my hands on some old refrigeration books and other random material online and just began to study and learn. Fast forward a couple of years when an opening became available to become a refrigeration operator. I immediately jumped at the chance and was offered the position. I immersed myself in learning the system and learning from my senior refrigeration technicians. Through all of this, I had no idea what RETA was or what it offered. I may have come across some RETA training material, but nothing that I can recall. I just keep reading, observing and learning everything I could. So now, let us fast forward to 2011: my company wanted to get me more formal training and sent me out to a learning institute where I learned from industry experts. After a weeklong immersive course, I took and passed my CARO exam. I was thrilled. Still, RETA did not mean much to me at the time. I took my new certificate back to my company and kept reading, observing and learning. Soon after passing my CARO, I ordered RETA books I & II and found they were extremely informative. I learned more in the short time of studying those books than I had in all the previous years combined trying to learn on my own. After speaking with my company and justifying the value RETA courses provided, I obtained RETA’s online course catalog. I proceeded to get certifications in Operator I, II, III, & IV. I took basic electricity classes and every other course that RETA offered. The knowledge I gained was outstanding. But I still did not know the full reach and impact of RETA. I was just going through the motions to learn. I slowly began to transition from an operator to management, more specifically to Process Safety Management. Anyone who knows PSM knows there is a whole host of information and regulations you must learn to properly manage a PSM program. I shifted my attention to PSM and placed RETA on the back burner. I spent several years managing PSM programs while continuing to hone my craft and expand my knowledge on codes and regulations. In 2023, I decided I wanted to get my CIRO certification. So, I studied hard, took a review course and passed. Through this experience I realized how much I enjoyed the technical side of refrigeration. It was this year I decided I was going to go to my first RETA Conference. Up to this point, RETA had meant very little to me. I had been in the industry for nearly 15 years and knew RETA offered great training

DISCOVERING RETA ONE MEMBER’S JOURNEY Have you ever been a part of something for a long time, but never truly felt a part of it; that feeling of simply going through the motions? It is a weird feeling and one that recently happened to me.

Brian Tiemeier Process Safety Manager Darling Ingredients

18 RETA.com