FAN: We wanted to talk to you about the IPWEA Fleet Management Certificate Course. We understand you have just enrolled six members of your staff to take the course. Tell us more.
ARMOUR: The course goes for 12 months. It’s a self-paced course. People can do it as quickly or as long as they want up to a 12-month period. We have enrolled six people to do the course. These are up and coming leaders in our team. We are going to have the opportunity for senior members to mentor junior members of our staff.
FAN: Tell us about your role and the organisation.
ARMOUR: I’m the unit manager at Central Coast Council. I look after the plant and fleet unit which consists of a fleet management team. One of the managers is the fleet manager himself, he heads up an administration and a technical team; then I have another section manager that looks after the plant pool where we have 70 operators and truck drivers, another section is plant maintenance with 50-60 staff. I have 145 staff working for me. We look after 4,500 assets, of which about 2,600 are road registered. Central Coast Council is the amalgamation of the former Wyong and Gosford Councils.
FAN: Back to the course, have you done it?
ARMOUR: I did it about 10 years ago. I see it as a good benchmark and in fact we are going to mandate it into supervisory positions. The management certificate gives you the confidence that as a manager that person you are recruiting has some level of knowledge across other areas other than their own discipline.
FAN: What are some of the subjects that students will get exposure to in the fleet management certificate course?
ARMOUR: It’s a broad brush: it talks about calculating hire rates, measuring utilisation of assets, looks at working labour rates out, so many of the aspects that you take for granted day to day. It’s delivered in a very succinct manner and easy to understand layout so it is a practical tool that can be utilised in the workplace. The course is based on the IPWEA manual. We have six people taking the course and we’ve already scheduled in their mentoring sessions for our supervisors to give them some aid as the students go through the course.
FAN: How did you select the six people to take the course?
ARMOUR: I requested my supervisors to select their champion. It’s essentially a recognition of hard work for that section and offered to people who hold that potential to supervise at some point in their career. This is just part of our success planning. We have a truck driver, we have two mechanics, we’ve got a couple of admin people as well, not necessarily people you might expect to step up into a role. It’s also an appreciation we can show our staff, this is really about fostering their career path.
For more about the course click here
