Empowering Leadership in Workforce Development, Training, and Professional Growth
Michael D. Holloway –
Training & Competency Development
Michael D. Holloway is an industrial strategist, author, educator, and systems thinker with more than 40 years of experience in reliability engineering, lubrication, condition monitoring, designed experiments, and industrial workforce development. He is the President of 5th Order Industry where he has developed advanced technical training systems serving thousands of professionals across manufacturing, energy, transportation, and process industries. Holloway has authored numerous technical books and papers spanning tribology, analytical chemistry, reliability engineering, microgravity materials science, and industrial cognition. His writing and speaking style uniquely blend systems engineering, philosophical inquiry, and lived operational experience, focusing not merely on how systems fail, but why humans misunderstand failure itself. His work emphasizes pattern recognition, decision quality, uncertainty management, and the hidden relationships between mechanical systems, organizational behavior, and human perception.
Prior Experience
Past 25 Years
In 2023 to 2024, Michael Holloway acted as the Global Technical Manager for SGS of Geneva Switzerland with technical leadership overview of 36 Oil Condition Monitoring laboratories.
From 2013 to 2019, Holloway worked with ALS Tribology lubrication condition monitoring in global strategy providing strategic account leadership for top accounts (branded and direct).
From 1999 to 2013 served as Director of Technical Development and Reliability, for NCH Corporation – Lubricants used in Heavy Industrial Equipment, Government GSA, Mining and Construction applications, trained and conducted Plant Surveys, Reliability Proposals, On-site Seminars, Case Studies and Cost Savings Studies, Spend Analysis and Value Recognition Reports, Reliability Audits.
Prior to 1999
Holloway worked as an Applications Engineer OEM specialist for General Electric Plastics – Silicone, as a Product Engineer specializing silicone materials for electronic and aerospace applications, for Rohm & Haas Electronic Chemicals as a Product Engineer for I-line and X-ray lithographic photoresists for microelectronic fabrication, as an Aerospace Materials Product Development Engineering Chemist for low observable and EMI/RFI shielding materials for WR Grace Chomerics, and as a Polymer Research Chemist for Olin Chemical.
Professional Society Positions and Academic Work
Engineering Master’s Thesis ‘A Study of the Design, Process, and Application of Single and Twin Screw Extruders for the Reactive Extrusion of Polymeric Materials’ under the advisement of Dr. Rudy Deanin, department Chair.
Undergraduate Chemistry Senior Study: ‘The Analysis and Characterization to Establish the Glass Transition Drift of Seal Material from the Space Shuttle Challenger’ under advisement of Dr. George Morris, Professor and Consulting Scientist for Raytheon Corp.
Undergraduate Philosophy Senior Study: ‘The Influence of British Empiricism on the Development of Twentieth Century Atomic Theories’, under the advisement of Dr. Lubomire Glieman, department Chair.
Over the past 30 years, Holloway has published hundreds of papers as well as presented and provided training annually at STLE, Noria, TAPPI, ANTEC, SPE, ASTM, SMRP, ConExpo, MineExpo, World of Concrete, AARS, AIMs, PackExpo, FoodExpo, AESP, ILMA, FluidPower, AGMA, ABMA, IEEE, SAE, OilDoc, LubeMat, IMC, and NLGI.
Holloway served as the North Texas Section Chair for Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers as well as certification examiner for the International Council for Machinery Lubrication and an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Texas. He was managing editor for 3 years for Porsche Club of America magazine SLIPSTREAM and holds a US patent for bearing cleaning composition and method of use.
Education
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University of Connecticut, Material Science, PhD Candidate, 1994-96
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University of Massachusetts, Polymer Engineering, Master of Science, 1994-96
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Salve Regina College, Newport, Rhode Island, Chemistry, Bachelor of Science, 1982-86
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Salve Regina College, Newport, Rhode Island, Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts, 1982-85
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Salve Regina College, Newport, Rhode Island, Associate of Art, 1982-84
US Patent: #7,241,723, Bearing Cleaning Composition and Method of Use, 2007
Certifications:
- Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt trained through General Electric Plastics
- CPC – Certified Professional Coach, International Association of Professional recovery Coaches
- CLGS – Certified Lubricating Grease Specialist, National Lubricating Grease Institute
- MLE – Machinery Lubrication Engineer, International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- CLS – Certified Lubrication Specialist, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
- OMA – Oil Monitoring Analyst, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
- MLT I, II – Machinery Lubrication Technician Level I & II, International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- MLA I, II, III – Machine Lubricant Analyst Level I, II & III (ISO 18436-4, I, II, III), International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- LLA I, II – Laboratory Lubricant Analyst Level I & II (ISO 18436-5), International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- VPR – Varnish & Deposit Prevention and Removal Specialist, International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- VIM – Varnish & Deposit Identification and Measurement Specialist, International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- FPL – Food Processing Lubrication Specialist, International Council for Machinery Lubrication
- CRL – Certified Reliability Leader, Association of Asset Management Professionals
Published over a Dozen Books, 152 Commissioned Articles on DIY repair projects for a Mercedes Benz 450SL and vintage Porsche 911 including engine, transmission, and electrical repair, and over 1000 technical papers presented at over 30 technical conferences.
Click Here to Obtain the Following Books by Michael D. Holloway Through Amazon:
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Published Works & Contributions
Books:
• Spend Analysis and Specification Development Using Failure Interpretation, CRC Press, 2011
• Process Plant Equipment: Operation, Reliability, and Control, J. Wiley, 2013
• Fracking: The Operations, Environmental Consequences, Wiley-Scrivener (1st Ed. 2013, 2nd Ed. 2018)
• Dictionary of Industrial Terminology, Wiley-Scrivener (1st Ed. 2012, 2nd Ed. 2021)
• Machinery Technician Level I & II Exam Preparation Guide, Industrial Press, 2022
• Fluid Analysis for Mobile Equipment: Condition Monitoring and Maintenance (Editor), Industrial Press, 2023
• Designed Experiments for Science and Engineering, CRC Press, 2024
• The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Companion, Wiley-Scrivener, 2025
• Synthesizing Materials in Microgravity: Unlocking Novel Materials Beyond Earth’s Limits, (Off-world Science & Engineering Series). CRC Press, 2025
• Effects of Microgravity on Terrestrial Born Biological Systems (Off-world Science & Engineering Series). CRC Press, 2025
• Precision Industrial Lubrication, Industrial Press, 2025
• In Service Oil Analysis and Condition Monitoring, Industrial Press, 2025
• Accuracy and Calibration Failures in Science and Engineering, Wiley-Scrivener, 2025
• Applied Lubrication, Insulation, and Cooling Fluids for Electrical Power Systems, CRC Press, 2026
Technical Publications & Encyclopedia Contributions:
• Journal of Sustainable Energy Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Wiley-Scrivener, 2014
• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (Chapter on Fracking Operations), J. Wiley, 2016
• Environmental Aspects of Oil & Gas Production (Chapter 5, p. 62-84), Wiley-Scrivener, 2017
• ICML 55.0, 55.1, 55.2 Standard for Lubricated Asset Management (Chapter 1), 2023
• Machinery’s Handbook (Lubrication Chapter), 32nd Ed., Industrial Press, 2024
• Contributing Author for Plant Services Magazine and Website
DIY & Automotive Engineering:
• 142 commissioned articles on Mercedes-Benz and Porsche DIY repair, covering engine, transmission, and electrical systems.
• Expertise & Industry Influencer with 30,000 followers on LinkedIn