Possible solutions to crisis

A dying breed - the qualified diesel mechanic.

Following the example of doctors, FleetWatch called for a 'second opinion' on Jack Webster's article published in this edition regarding the industry facing a crisis in terms of the shortage of diesel mechanics. We bounced the article off Guido Marchio of Fleet Control Services, a company offering correspondence and other courses for technicians and others wanting to specialise on heavy vehicles. He agrees there is a crisis. Here are his thoughts.

Jack Webster's contention that the transport industry faces a crisis regarding the insufficient number of mechanics to maintain the national transport fleet is absolutely spot on.

This situation has developed particularly over the last 30 or so years when the motor and transport industries didn't do enough to train apprentices and of course, the position was aggravated by the racially-selective policies of the government of the time. So what can be done to improve the situation? In my opinion, three things can be done.

• In the short term
  An analysis of the skill levels required to do virtually any maintenance or repair task will show that 70%-80% of the task needs a low level of skill; 20%-30% needs a higher level of skill; and only 5%-10% needs a top level of skill.

Based on this, it cannot possibly make sense to use a rare, skilled person to perform menial tasks. By giving the mechanic one or two assistants to carry out the low-level skill tasks while the mechanic does the higher and top skill tasks, fault diagnosis and supervising his assistants, his technical knowledge and skills can be used to better advantage.

Total commitment to quality from everyone - management, mechanics and assistants - is essential if this concept is to work.

• In the short-to-medium term
  In the industry we have many workshop assistants doing excellent work through some training and what they have learned through the 'College of Hard Knocks'. These people, previously unable to obtain apprenticeships have, in many cases, become the backbone of the workshop. With further training, they can become even more useful and to this end, we have developed a three-tier programme for workshop assistants - basic, intermediate and advanced levels.

Those who, on completion of the advanced level, wish to do so can be prepared to undergo a voluntary trade test and if successful, will then be qualified mechanics. I see no other way of getting the mechanics we need for the future.

• In the longer term
  In previous years there was a training programme for major apprentices (over 21 years of age) presented at the Westlake Adult Training Centre in Cape Town. This was a two-year live-in course for motor mechanics, involving theory and practical work. After the two years, trainees were employed in motor workshops for a further period of, I think, 18 months when they were entitled to do a trade test and if successful, become qualified artisans. The reinstitution of such a programme would provide thorough training in a reasonable time period. The major apprentices who were trained at Westlake were keenly sought after by employers.

These three precepts have all proved their worth in practice and could be the answer to avoiding what is fast developing into a major crisis for the trucking industry.