EMPOWERING OPERATORS: DICV’s Strategy for Advanced Training and Skill Certification
The construction industry is advancing rapidly, driven by technological innovations and stringent safety standards. At Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), we recognize that the skill level of heavy-duty (HD) truck and tipper operators is crucial to the success of construction projects. DICV employs a comprehensive approach to evaluating these skills, incorporating industry surveys, certification reviews, performance metrics, technical assessments, and peer reviews.
Operational performance metrics, such as fuel consumption, equipment uptime, and maintenance records, offer quantitative data on operators’ proficiency. Analyzing these metrics reveals how well operators manage their equipment, with skilled operators handling fuel efficiently and maintaining equipment effectively, leading to fewer breakdowns and lower maintenance costs. Safety records are equally important, as they reflect adherence to safety protocols and overall competence by evaluating the frequency and severity of accidents and safety violations.
Technical assessments, including practical tests and advanced simulations, provide direct evaluations of operators’ abilities to handle equipment under real-world conditions. Practical tests demonstrate their capability to maneuver and operate HD trucks and tippers, while advanced simulators recreate various scenarios to assess their responses to challenging conditions without real-life risks.
Peer and supervisor reviews add another layer of assessment, offering structured feedback on daily performance and adherence to best practices. These reviews highlight strengths and areas for improvement, providing detailed insights into operators’ daily performance. Regular skill audits by third-party assessors ensure unbiased evaluations, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of operator skills.
To maintain our leadership in the industry, DICV prioritizes staying abreast of industry trends and best practices in operator training. Participation in industry associations, workshops, and conferences keeps us informed about new developments and emerging best practices. Our dedicated research and development (R&D) team continuously monitors technological advancements and industry trends, ensuring our training programs incorporate the latest innovations, from new equipment features to advanced safety protocols. Collaborations with vocational training institutes and certification bodies help align our training programs with industry standards, ensuring operators receive up-to-date and relevant training that meets the evolving demands of the construction sector. We maintain a continuous feedback loop with our clients and operators, identifying emerging challenges and opportunities, allowing us to adapt our training programs accordingly.
Additionally, the new regional training centres complement the continuous pursuit of excellence in training, with around 15,000 BharatBenz technicians, sales staff, and drivers trained over the past four years. In addition to the training centres, DICV conducts BharatBenz National Skills Contests, a real-time evaluation of the excellence of sales and service personnel. DICV’s digitalization initiatives, such as the Simulated Driver Trainer (SDT) and e-learning modules, are aimed at modernizing truck and bus driving techniques in India while prioritizing safety and efficiency.
Certification plays a pivotal role in ensuring the competency of HD truck and tipper operators. DICV views certification as a critical component of professional development, achieving standardization of skills and providing a measure of operators’ abilities against industry benchmarks. Certification enhances safety by ensuring operators are trained to adhere to stringent safety protocols, reducing the risk of accidents and equipment damage. Certified operators demonstrate their commitment to excellence and continuous improvement, making them more attractive to employers and clients.
Certification programs often include training on the latest technologies and equipment, ensuring operators are familiar with new features and advancements, enabling them to utilize equipment more effectively and efficiently. These programs involve rigorous theoretical and practical assessments that test an operator’s understanding of equipment operation, maintenance, and safety procedures, ensuring they are competent and capable of adapting to new challenges and technologies. Certification can lead to career advancement opportunities, making operators more competitive in the job market. At DICV, we strongly advocate for certification as it aligns with our commitment to quality and excellence in all aspects of our operations. DICV places great importance on evaluating the effectiveness of its training programs to ensure they deliver tangible benefits and improve operator performance. This evaluation process involves pre- and post-training assessments to measure skill improvements, performance monitoring of key metrics, soliciting feedback from operators, conducting longitudinal studies to track long-term impact, and benchmarking against industry standards. By comparing assessment results and tracking key performance metrics, we can gauge the effectiveness of our training programs and make necessary adjustments to enhance their impact.
Soliciting feedback from operators about the training programs helps us understand their perspectives and experiences, which is invaluable for refining and enhancing the training content and delivery methods. Longitudinal studies provide insights into how well the training prepares operators for real-world challenges over time, determining the lasting benefits of training and ensuring operators continue to perform at high levels long after completing our programs. Benchmarking our training outcomes with industry standards ensures our training remains competitive and relevant, identifying best practices and incorporating them into our programs to provide the highest quality training possible. At DICV, we are committed to fostering a highly skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of the modern construction industry.
Sreeram Venkateswaran
President, and Chief Business Officer, Sales and Customer Service, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles India
