Doyle Sumrall
NTEA Managing Director
This article was published in the November 2018 edition of NTEA News.
It seems early, but The Work Truck Show® 2019 educational program has been finalized and announced. Key news is an event many distributors and manufacturers have requested — Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference, scheduled March 5.
This new offering will be held in conjunction with the Show, Green Truck Summit and Fleet Technical Congress. Curriculum, which was developed based on requests and suggestions from industry professionals, covers process improvement, strengthening organization and work throughput, and building your workforce through knowledge transfer and Training within Industry (TWI).
There are many paths to achieving exceptional performance and profit — and they share a common foundation of improving skillsets, maximizing productivity and leveraging available technology and resources. During this conference, presenters from work truck industry companies will share their real-world experiences, including productivity success stories and lessons learned along the way.
Conference attendees will:
- Identify currently deployable tribal and individual knowledge in your shop, and develop a process for transferring it to a broader base of existing and new employees.
- Join government, industry, educators and innovators to exchange insights and knowledge.
- Identify the network of organizations successfully following this path and hear their hard-gained wisdom.
Stan Stanford, general manager of Parker Hannifin Corporation, Chelsea Products Division, will give the keynote address at Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference. He has years of experience in manufacturing and use of state-of-the-art productivity and training tools and approaches.
This conference offers a variety of great sessions, making it difficult to highlight just a few. One that stands out, though, is welding, which is a process and core strength for many NTEA member companies. Lincoln Electric is bringing new insights, equipment and training resources for the industry, which will be shared during the Welding — More than a Piece of Equipment and a Welder general session on March 5. Using Simulators for High-Quality Shop Training, scheduled March 7, will feature a hands-on demonstration, and Welder Training and Certification for the Truck, Body and Equipment Industry (held March 6) will highlight latest trends in local certification to fit your needs.
As a Distributor, is ERP for Me? is another session that should encourage great discussion at Work Truck Week. During the months leading up to development, I received at least a half-dozen questions and inquiries from small to medium distributors on how they can find a computerized solution for their business needs. The NTEA member companies and thought leaders presenting this session will share their journeys, experiences and remaining challenges in this arena. I think this is just the start of what will lead to broader conversations and actions to solve this issue for the industry.
Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference addresses an ongoing effort to highlight best practices, new ideas and innovative solutions for work truck industry manufacturers and distributors. I hope you’ll join us for this new event and share any feedback following the conference.
Learn more at worktruckshow.com/innovationconference.
