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FEATURE STORY

Mindset Continued

an area of our business. Think about this, very few children learn to ride a bike by themselves. They are taught by
someone who has already learned how a bike is ridden. Usually a well-qualified rider walks the inexperienced rider
through the basics such as pedaling and braking, sometimes they install training aids i.e. training wheels, and many
even lend a steady hand as the new rider begins to pedal slowly. Before too long the new rider is an expert in the art
of pedaling and braking. However, learning doesn’t stop there. Most kids stay in the neighborhood at first, eventually
they learn to ride on trails and roads. It takes a fair bit of time to understand traffic lights and riding at night, this is all
part of the learning process. Both supervisors and crew members need to really understand what it takes to develop
your skillset. It’s not a onetime review of a procedure, check the box and your qualified situation. Leaders mentor
your teams, stress test their skills, and spend time reviewing both the good and the bad outcomes of any one of our
hundreds of completed daily work orders.

Finally, we come to the category of your toolset. This is both literal and figurative. Literal, those are the tools we
use such as wrenches and drills and grease guns. Figurative,
those are tools like writing an email or completing a damage
report. 5-Steps are one of the more important figurative tools
we have. Software and phone apps are tools. Maps are tools,
OR’s are tools. The list is extensive, but the way we interact
with our tools is straightforward. First, we need to make sure
we have the correct tool. It’s tough to loosen a bolt with a
punch, a wrench works much better. Imagine trying to grease a
bearing by forcing grease through a funnel. A grease gun is a
much better tool. Understanding how important the correct
physical or literal tool is to our success should serve to help us
understand how important the correct tool is figuratively. I
need the correct software to be able to send the message to
my customer regarding how many miles ground in a shift or
how many miles dug. I also need various support tools such as
track charts and timetables to ensure the information I include in the report is accurate and will upload correctly in
the customer portal. Each step in the process can only be completed correctly if I have the right tool. Similarly,
when you work to complete the 5-step, you need expertise and an understanding of the work to be undertaken to
properly analyze and subsequently execute your task. Work to ensure you have the tools you need, and don’t hesi-
tate to communicate to your leaders when those tools are not available.
Our game plan in Fleet Operations is very simple, we strive for operational excellence! This means we set out each
day with the proper mindset, we have the right skillset, and we use the proper toolset to get the job done safely and
efficiently while serving our customers at the highest level possible. Everyone who has learned to ride a bike has
probably fallen a time or two. Those mistakes help us learn and should be shared with the entire organization. Re-
member, you have lots of coworkers willing to help you develop your skills and supply you with the tools you need.
Mindset needs to come from within. It starts when your day begins and ends when you finally stop and get some
rest. At all times in between stay focused on your surroundings, aligned with your team, and engaged in a way that
keeps you safe.

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Volume 2 : Issue 1