How to conduct a
technician skills
competition
ome would say nothing measures the success of a skilled technician
quite like that of a standardized and scored competition
among peers.
But, organizing and running a successful skills competition for
your technicians can take a lot of preparation and organization.
Th ere are a number of benefi ts both technicians, and the companies
they work for, stand to gain from competing in a coordinated
skills competition. For organizations interested in holding their
own competition, there are steps to consider and resources available
to ensure the success of the event.
The benefits
A skills competition helps identify, recognize and reward top performing
technicians for their skills, abilities, aptitude and knowledge.
“One of the biggest benefi ts is to measure how your technicians
are performing based on a somewhat objective standard,”
says Robert Braswell, Executive Director of American Trucking
Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC). “It’s
always good to know how you’re doing in comparison to others –
your peers, and your competition.”
TMC is a technical council of the American Trucking
Associations, Inc. (ATA), North America’s premier technical society
for truck equipment technology and maintenance professionals.
TMC hosts the TMCSuperTech National Technician Skills
Competitions annually during TMC’s Fall Meeting.
“A big benefi t of technician skills competition participation
for companies is improved employee morale and better
skilled employees,” Bonne Karim adds. A retired fl eet training
manager for the United States Postal Service, Karim was one of
the fi rst volunteers to chair the TMC Professional Technician
Development Committee (PTDC), created in 2005, which runs
the national competition. She is still actively involved in helping
interested organizations – both fl eets and state trucking associations
– establish their own skills competitions.
“One goal was to provide an avenue for technicians to test
themselves, identify areas of strength and weakness and learn
new things to improve their skills and performance on the job,”
Karim explains, regarding the formation of TMC’s PTDC.
While the technician benefi ts from participating in a skills
competition, the results can also provide insights to the entire
maintenance operation for a company. By evaluating the performance
of technicians, it allows shops to adjust and improve their
entire shop’s maintenance eff orts.
Participating in technician skills competitions also allows
With benefi ts for both
the employee and the
organization, there
S are a number of
steps you can
take to hold
successful skills
competitions for
technicians.
By Erica Schueller, Editor-in-chief
Continued Page 14
» A technician reviews the criteria at his hands-on station
during the 2017 Ryder Top Technician Recognition Program.
Photo courtesy of Ryder System
November/December 2017 | VehicleServicePros.com 13
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