Terex Utilities Service School provides hands-on training for technicians

Hands-on training from Terex Utilities is geared for technicians, but many individuals who have responsibility for various aspects of construction can benefit

Equipment technicians received hands-on service training at the Terex Utilities Service School at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, S.D., and the lessons about the construction industry will benefit the students in their careers, according to the company’s release.

The 45 participants, representing contractors, rental companies, dealers, utilities and co-ops, stopped at six stations throughout the training and learned about subjects ranging from specific aerial devices and digger derricks to general instruction about maintenance and inspections.

“When the people who are responsible for maintaining equipment get together in a room, they share common pain points, as well as best practices,” said Jason Julius, of Terex Utilities’ Technical Support and Training department. “They learn from each other as much as they learn from our instructors.”

The training was geared toward technicians, according to Terex, but the information could benefit anyone with responsibilities relating to specs, parts management or even sales.

“Participation in this service school provides familiarity with inspection and testing procedures,” said Brian Kiley, a manager with James A Kiley Co., a final stage manufacturer of Terex equipment in Massachusetts. “Using proper testing procedures will help keep units in peak condition and less likely to breakdown. People who service these units would benefit from this school; however, I think it also would benefit anyone who sells Terex Utilities equipment.”

Among the attendees were Michael Hartin and Aubrey Fortenberry, two fleet coordinators for CoSery Electric, the second-largest electric cooperative in northern Texas. Fortenberry said they’re not strictly technicians or mechanics – they manage the line department.

“We can now go back to fleet managers and our Terex sales reps to communicate problems in the field, which might be resolved with an add-on we can recommend for future trucks,” Fortenberry said.

“We can now correct some problems ourselves that we previously would have sent to the shop,” Hartin said.

Fortenberry also added that they learned how to use some of Terex’s newer technology to help identify if the problem is the unit or the chassis, which helps them decide on the right mechanic for a job.

“Now we can correctly troubleshoot, carry a little bit more parts inventory at our shop and get the machine back out there a little quicker,” Fortenberry said.

Terex said the company’s engineers heard firsthand during the training sessions about the problems customers were experiencing.

“[The engineers] listened and often asked questions; they are retaining that information for future products, or they offered solutions because they saw something we were doing that could be corrected,” Fortenberry said.