{"id":9572,"date":"2021-01-31T17:32:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T16:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=9572"},"modified":"2021-01-31T17:32:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T16:32:57","slug":"technician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2021\/01\/31\/technician\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitching Technician Positions in Positive Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: City of Little Rock<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n

A City of Little Rock technician works on a police car.<\/b><\/p>\n

Walter Ederle, CAFM, senior fleet manager for City of Little Rock, Arkansas, has heard the position of fleet manager\u00a0be described as being\u00a0able to juggle 16 running chainsaws at once. Fleet managers\u202fmust deal with numerous issues from so many sides of the\u00a0business, and\u00a0plans made today can change over the course of a few hours. Here, he talks about how\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0planning to take on current challenges and ensure the future of his fleet remains bright despite any obstacles thrown his way.<\/p>\n

The Science of Fleet Maintenance<\/h2>\n

Ederle believes the industry is currently going through a transition, with technology advancing faster than ever before. The technicians of today were brought up in a different\u00a0time, and\u00a0are not always as tech savvy as the new generations of technicians fresh out of their trade school days.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiting people who want to do what we do in general has been a challenge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The average age of his group of technicians is 55, and the work they are doing will only continue to get more difficult on their bodies. As more of them start to retire, the question becomes how to\u202fattract newer workers who will want to stay on the team rather than hop around from shop to\u00a0shop.\u202fWhile pay is an important factor, changing the perception of the profession will play the biggest role in helping to draw in a new crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no longer just about turning wrenches; it\u2019s a STEM job now. Many modern vehicles have up to 80 control modules which increases the complexity and sophistication, leading to a more challenging and complex diagnostics process. Maybe if we started pitching the industry as being more in the STEM field, we might see an uptick in interest,” Ederle said.<\/p>\n

He also thinks striving to increase technician diversity will expose people to different ideas and potentially help reveal better ways to fix vehicles.<\/p>\n

Developing a Place Technicians Want to Work In<\/h2>\n

Creating a thriving work environment can play a large part in getting technicians to remain interested and realize they are being properly cared for. Ensuring your shop is laid out in a way that makes sense and actually spending time with them to ask if they have\u00a0everything\u00a0they need will make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re in the process of remodeling our shops, and I’m making sure the environment where the technicians work is up to modern standards: providing healthy air quality with efficient heating systems, high gloss white walls to reflect the new LED lights that\u202fmake the work area feel\u00a0brighter, and\u00a0updated diagnostic scan tools and shop equipment are all factors we are taking into consideration,” he said.<\/p>\n

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\"Walter
Walter Ederle<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eliminating clutter and maintaining a minimalist mentality will also streamline work processes and ensure productivity. While keeping a focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) is important, good fleet managers are those that see their operation from all different sides, not just the data-driven factors.<\/p>\n

Building Extra Funding Opportunities<\/h2>\n

The fleet management department has become an in-house Ford warranty center, which has\u00a0opened up\u00a0more doors for the operation.<\/p>\n

Now, when the automaker has a recall, the team no longer\u00a0has to\u00a0drive the vehicle 30 minutes to the dealer and wait for three days because they are backed up. This saves a lot of logistic operational time.<\/p>\n

On top of this, Ford will reimburse the department for technicians\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve become a profit center for the city because they pay us for the work our employees do. I submit a request electronically and then I get a check,” he said.<\/p>\n

For those interested in pursuing Ford\u2019s in house warranty approval, he warns it\u2019s a bit of a lengthy application process, including meeting Ford\u2019s recommended technical training programs.<\/p>\n

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Read More:\u202fShould You Be Doing Warranty Repairs?\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Streamlining Between Departments<\/h2>\n

The fleet department is implementing a new fleet management module called Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), an\u202fenterprise resource planning (ERP) module application by Infor. The city uses accounting software built by the same company, which will enable it to tie in with the purchasing department\u2019s invoicing, purchase orders, and other functions with the fleet department. Staff members will\u202fbe able to process purchase orders, invoices, and more without having to go through several extra steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to see how that will help make our whole department more efficient. People spend a lot of time paying those bills. The contract management function makes\u00a0it\u00a0so I won’t have to bid work out as much because it’ll be in the module. Right now, there are many silos between departments, with different sections working with different software for their operations. This will enable the modules to work with each other,” Ederle said.<\/p>\n

Seeing the Good During Rough Times<\/h2>\n

As a department and even the\u00a0city as a whole, Ederle\u00a0said\u202fhe\u2019s noticed that having to deal with the pandemic has made everyone more compassionate. People have slowed down and taken more time to listen and absorb ways they can be of better assistance to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we’ve become closer as a department, showing concern for not only the people who work here, but all our families, friends, and even vendors as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

Fleet management has prepared emergency plans for tornadoes, floods, and even terrorist attacks, but Ederle\u202fnever thought\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0need to figure out contingency plans in the case of a pandemic. The emergence of COVID-19 has permanently changed the way many fleet managers think because of the possibility of an outbreak at their shop. What happens if one person catches it and puts the entire staff at risk? With a choked supply chain, what happens if you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0get a part you are in dire need of? These are the kinds of questions he has had to consider.<\/p>\n

Efficiency is Everything<\/h2>\n

For fleet managers just breaking into the business, Ederle said\u202ftry to not get too caught up in the details.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’ll lose your overall focus. Build a great team that will enable you to delegate various\u00a0responsibilities\u00a0so you don\u2019t become overburdened. There’s so\u00a0much\u00a0data and technology out\u00a0there you can\u2019t do it all yourself,” he said.\u202f”Don\u2019t lose focus on what you’re really supposed to be doing, which is fixing broken cars in an efficient manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

by Lexi Tucker<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.government-fleet.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: City of Little Rock A City of Little Rock technician works on a police car. Walter Ederle, CAFM, senior fleet manager for City of Little Rock, Arkansas, has heard the position of fleet manager\u00a0be described as being\u00a0able to juggle 16 running chainsaws at once. Fleet managers\u202fmust deal with numerous issues from so many sides…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9574,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9572\/revisions\/9574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}