The City of Orlando’s Fleet Management administration team developed an aggressive training curriculum approximately two years ago and the results are coming to fruition. The fleet team has maintained the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence for the past two years, became a GM warranty provider one year ago, and will become a warranty provider for Ford and Chrysler by the end of this year, said Daryl Greenlee, fleet manager.

The new focus on training includes classes from OEMs, where training is now added into the equipment purchasing contracts, and an allotted amount of time set for training for each technician every week, whether that’s through online modules or at a local dealership. A shop superintendent works to mentor and coach technicians to obtain training as well, Greenlee said.

“You can’t be successful unless you have a well trained staff,” he explained.

Fleet Management runs three service shops on two shifts with a staff of 31 technicians who have a combined total of 211 ASE certifications. Out of those 31 technicians, 12 have achieved their ASE Master Automotive status, and five have achieved their ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck status. This equates to 55% of technicians with a Master status and 89% of the technicians with an ASE certification, Greenlee said.

The emergency vehicle technician (EVT) training curriculum is gaining ground as well, with seven technicians having multiple EVT certifications, he added.

In addition, the National Municipal Training classes report for General Motors & AC/Delco was released with the City of Orlando’s Fleet Team achieving the No. 1 spot for the State of Florida and No. 5 in the nation. This means the City fleet as a group has taken the most training classes collectively of all other municipalities in Florida.

“That is a fantastic accomplishment especially for having been active in the GM system for just over a year,” Greenlee said.

Both Ford and Chrysler factory training curriculums have been developed and are scheduled to begin in the next couple of months. In addition to becoming a warranty provider for these OEMs within the year, the City of Orlando fleet is set to begin taking delivery of drop shipments from the Detroit automakers as well this year.