TRA INING
As an industry, we have created competitions
to recognize technicians and showcase
their skills. Whether it’s a state association,
company or national competition, each event
provides an opportunity for technicians to
compete and be rewarded with prizes for
their eff orts.
In school, we competed in games as part of
our PE classes, science fairs and spelling bees.
Th ere were winners and losers, and in most
cases, there were awards or trophies to recognize
one’s achievements. But, aft er the awards
are handed out and everybody leaves, the
results and scores are typically either discarded
or fi led away.
Not so with motorsports, where winning and
losing is everything. Teams compile information
26 Fleet Maintenance | AUGUST 2017
and data from each race/event and use
that information to increase their knowledge,
understanding and ability to be better
prepared for the next event and beyond.
We also take the information and data technicians
scored in each testing area and provide
them with a scorecard. Many companies make
copies of these scorecards and review the
results of all of their competitors, looking for
trends that would provide an increased understanding
of the individual’s and collective
groups’ strengths and areas of improvement.
This allows the company leadership to
have a better understanding of the potential
training needs of not only these contestants,
but all of their technicians. Wally Williams
of W.W. Williams (www.wwwilliams.com) —
one of the nation’s largest industrial distribution,
repair and service companies — notes:
“We use the scores as a guide and gauge to
understand what training we need organizationally
in the future.”
Designed to Measure
It is important to understand that technician
competitions are about the tasks and operations
a technician would perform in their
normal work environment. Th us, the testing
stations are designed accordingly, and cover
such things as lighting, brakes, precision
measuring, fasteners, etc.
We build these stations to measure and score
each individual step of the process, and procedures
technicians use to complete the objectives
of the station. Each step of the process has
been determined by either manufacturers or
the Recommend Maintenance Practices manual
developed by the Technology & Maintenance
Council (TMC), North America’s premier technical
society for truck equipment technology
and maintenance professionals (www.trucking.
org/Technology_Council.aspx).
Bryan Lewis, two-time TMCSuperTech
(National Technician Skills Competition)
Champion states: “You don’t know what you
don’t know, and these competitions help you
gain that experience in a positive environment.”
“As a technician, the biggest advantage to
competing is that you see where your shortcomings
are,” says Jerry Bodkins, OnSite program
manager, TA Truck Service (www.ta-petro.
com/amenities/truck-repair-maintenance),
and a station chairperson at TMCSuperTech.
“Knowing that, it is then easy for a technician to
focus their own training to better themselves.
I did this every year that I competed.”
What’s in it for Me?
What do employers, suppliers and others get
out of these competitions? W.W. Williams’
Williams says it’s about “learning for learning’s
sake. Our technician competitors learn
by improving their skills or learning new skills
to perform better on the job. We ask them to
learn about themselves and those areas where
they need improvement.”
Additionally, the technicians are asked to
create business relationships and learn from
their peers.
Technician Competitions
Don’t Just Benefi t
The Contestants
All participants get meaningful paybacks
By George Arrants
DIRECTOR, TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT, WHEELTIME NETWORK AND WHEELTIME UNIVERSITY
The company (www.wheeltime.com) is North America’s largest dedicated service and parts network for quality truck
and coach care. WheelTime University provides assessments, training and ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) test
preparation for WheelTime member technicians and fleets that may not have their own training program. As an
Automotive Education Consultant specializing in National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF)/
ASE Accreditation, Arrants works with instructors and administrators to develop partnerships with local business
and industry through program advisory committees. These committees help schools establish, develop and maintain
programs that are relevant to the needs of automotive, medium and heavy duty, and collision industries and
the community. He chairs the Technology and Maintenance Council‚ TMCSuperTech – the National Technician Skills
Competition – and the TMCFutureTech – the National Student Technician Competition. His entire career has been in
the automotive service and education industries.
» Organizations, manufacturers and suppliers
that have become involved with technician
skills competitions have found that their
participation has helped them develop more
effective training materials and programs.
Photo courtesy of TMC
Competitions
are a technician
retention measure.