MANmagazine Bus edition 1/2017 International

People
Satisfied participants: Benedikt Fuchs has been in
the logging business for 35 years, yet the Allgäu native is still
thrilled about the learning effect of the training programme.
Voll beladen: Um möglichst nah am Arbeitsalltag
zu sein, gehen die Holzfahrer mit ihren
eigenen Sattelzügen auf die Teststrecke.
Agile despite difficult cargo: Trucks loaded with timber have to
manoeuvre safely through the testing track. The high degree of
practical exercise is what distinguishes the MAN ProfiDrive training.
THE TRAINING DAY COMMENCES with a solid
two hours of theory. Afterwards, Lechner
points to the 128,000 square metres of testing
grounds. “That’s our playground today,” he
announces. By the afternoon, each participant
should have expanded his knowledge at four
stations. “This course is different due to the
high degree of practical exercise,” emphasises
Lechner. MAN ProfiDrive has been developing
drivers, driving instructors and professionals
for 35 years and now employs 140 trainers
around the world. “We train on average about
7,000 participants per year,” says Lechner.
The new training for timber-truck drivers
was developed in cooperation with UPM, one
of Europe’s largest paper manufacturers. “We
strove to design a course structure not known
before,” explains Andreas Meggendorfer,
Senior Manager Logistics & Shared Services
CEWS at UPM, and refers to the specifics of the
logging sector: constant driving in nearly
impassable terrains, sometimes even in
reverse over longer distances, the orientation
on forest trails, secure cargo loading and crane
operations. “Since all of that happens in the
woods, that individual is left to his or her own
devices. In addition, everything happens in
any kind of weather,” underlines the UPM
manager, noting that the drivers therefore
must possess excellent driving skills. More
than 100 transport companies in Germany
and Austria drive for UPM GmbH. Most of
them have been working for the subsidiary of
the Finnish UPM Group for many years, some
even in the fourth generation. “We enjoy a mature,
trusting relationship with our forwarders,”
says Meggendorfer.
The partnership with MAN is also not new.
MAN has been working alongside the paper
manufacturer for years, including at its conferences
for forwarders. “We share a similar
philosophy in terms of occupational safety as
well as the collaboration with our customers
and forwarders,” says Meggendorfer. MAN is
the “ideal partner with respect to competence
and coverage”, as the training is scheduled to
soon be offered in other locations.
Meggendorfer receives overwhelmingly
positive feedback from the pilot event, and
Benedikt Fuchs is also enthusiastic. “You can
learn a lot here, particularly about driver safety
and economics,” he says. Participants are
updated on the latest technology and can pick
up “a trick or two” along the way from the
trainers, points out the timber veteran.
Bus and coach drivers already benefit
from similar ProfiDrive courses and learn
how to respond confidently to any hazardous
situations. They hereby not only practice the
handling of fire extinguishers and drill the
evacuation of smoke-filled vehicle interiors,
but also intensify their first aid expertise.
Thorough instruction: No detail is left out in the
theoretical part, which comes first. Even the
indispensable tension belts receive much attention.
140
trainers
working for MAN ProfiDrive annually
train about 7,000 drivers, driving
instructors and professionals around
the world.
© Max Kratzer
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