A WesTrac technician who claimed the silver medal for Australia at the inaugural Global Dealer Technician Challenge Finals in Chicago said while the competition was packed with curveballs, it was a valuable learning experience.
WesTrac technician Leon Archibald beat thousands of Caterpillar technicians with his ability to solve challenges in a pressure-cooker of a time environment.
Mr Archibald made it to the finals in Chicago earlier this year after moving through a two-year selection process where thousands of technicians from around the world vied for a spot to compete.
The finals were held at Caterpillar’s facilities in Edwards, where technicians were put through a series of practical troubleshooting challenges in an arena, designed to mirror real-world breakdowns.
Competitors worked alone under strict time limits, which Mr Archibald said was the hardest part as he and the other finalists had no idea where they stood during the competition.
“I know we thought we’d done well, but the issue is you don’t know how anyone else is going as you can’t see them do their challenges,” he said.
“From when the clock starts you’re on your own. The only people there were the assessors and mentors.”
Mr Archibald said the challenges were ones they faced in the real world, but performing under a time limit was not normal.
Time limits ranged from half-an-hour to three hours, he said, and the competition was divided into two arenas, each containing five separate technical stations.
“One arena had five tasks simultaneously and you’d rotate through each one,” he said.
Mr Archibald said competitors could consult Caterpillar diagnostic systems.
“Systems are available but you can’t ask anyone — you can only use Caterpillar programs,” he said.
At each station, competitors had to diagnose faults and explain their findings to an assessor acting as a customer.
“You’d confirm the fault, the possible cause and the repair, then go back with a report.”
To keep competitors on their toes, the assessors would change the challenge mid-task — another occurrence that doesn’t happen in real world technician situations.
“You’d start on one sequential fault and get to a point and it would suddenly change,” Mr Archibald said.
“They’d throw a curveball or give you something else. In the real world you’d be less likely to have that many things stacked against you at once.”
Mr Archibald’s journey to Chicago began at WesTrac, with competitions held in-house before regional rounds took place in Melbourne. He then progressed to international rounds in Spain, a process that took two years all up.
Mr Archibald also took the chance to attend the CONEXPO‑CON/AGG, one of the world’s largest construction trade shows. He said it was great to build friends and networks with the global Caterpillar dealer network.
He said the experience was not just about competition, but about learning from technicians around the world. He was not eligible to compete again, but hoped WesTrac would continue to run it.
“It’s the first ever one, so my hope is that they will keep running it,” he said.
“Events like the challenge as well as apprentice competitions and initiatives such as WorldSkills are really good for getting people excited about technical jobs.
“It’s a beneficial thing for our industry.”