OREANDA-NEWS. August 27, 2015. Being able to fix it right the first time earned three service technicians a behind-the-scenes look at Ford Motor Company – and an understanding of how the work they do fits into the company as a whole.

Technicians in five regions served by Emerging Market Services participated in the PTS (Professional Technician Society) Technician Performance Challenge, which is designed to improve Ford Motor Company’s Fix-It-Right-the-First-Time performance metric.

Three of the five winners were able to travel to Dearborn, Victor Torres Velazquez of Autos Vega Ford in Puerto Rico, Jose Santana Robles of Grupo Viamar in the Dominican Republic and Namchul Kim of Sunin Motors in South Korea. They had the opportunity to meet with the service engineering team in Emerging Market Services, were given a presentation by a Ford supplier and pondered the question: What can Ford do to encourage other technicians to perform at the same level they do? (The suggestions focused primarily on stronger communications, such as a more methodical diagnosis process, translation of service information and training into more languages, and videos with tips and advice from Ford management.)

They also met President and CEO Mark Fields, who presented them with certificates recognizing their accomplishments.

One lesson the technicians particularly valued from their time in Dearborn was learning what happens to feedback they provide on unique product concerns not addressed in current published service information. “We showed them the entire process – what happens from the time they submit reports to design actions that have been taken as a result of those reports,” said Art Bardell, technical field operations manager, EMS. “They told us learning that validates the time and energy they spend submitting those reports because they know it counts for something.”

The hope, said Bardell, is that the technicians will share what they learned with their colleagues, pointing out the crucial role service technicians play in ensuring customer satisfaction. “We designed this program to recognize technicians who have achieved excellence and encourage others to strive for it.”

Bardell noted that the competition was data-driven, with the voice of the customer emphasized, as Customer Viewpoint data played a key role in determining the winners. Points were earned in several categories over seven months, including fixing it right the first time and performance improvement. Technicians also received credit for achieving technical training certification in such programs as climate control, electrical systems and steering and suspension.

Namchul Kim of South Korea was named Technician of the Year for winning the overall competition.

The competition was held in Asia Pacific, South Korea, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and Central America. The trip to Dearborn wasn’t all business, however. The winners also visited Mustang Alley at the Woodward Dream Cruise, went on the Rouge Factory Tour and rode a Model T during a visit to Greenfield Village.?