David Willis has been awarded the 2018 Detroit Master Technician title.
The competition, run by Penske Power Systems, recently held its final in Brisbane.
It saw technicians from around Australia and New Zealand compete in qualification rounds in Brisbane, Auckland, Sydney, and Perth, in a range of challenging tasks.
Willis, a leading hand from Sydney, beat five other finalists in the annual skills and diagnostics contest in what was a tight competition open to all Penske Detroit Guild members.
The tests included both general procedural tasks as well as advanced diagnostics scenarios. The added pressure of racing the clock in a competition environment made the contest particularly demanding.
“The Master Technician competition was hard-fought, bringing out excellence among the six finalists,” Penske Detroit training manager Russell Koch says.
“This competition demonstrates to our customers the high standards that they can expect from a Penske-trained technician.
“It is no easy task to win this title. Whether it is a simple duty such as changing a gasket, or a complex electronic control issue, customers can be assured that lessons learnt by participants in the heat of the competition are directly transferred to continuously improving the quality of work performed on their valuable assets.
“The competition has evolved over the last three years to a very streamlined event. The most difficult thing about this competition is that our Detroit Guild members are of such a high standard. This makes finding tasks for them to complete all that much harder, as they gain more experience both in their workplace and from the competition itself.”
Mark Hurst, who won the inaugural competition in 2016, has since progressed from working as a technician to taking on a role as a trainer within the technical training department where he is able to pass on the skills he has acquired.
“Visiting the Detroit factory in 2016 gave me a new appreciation for the Detroit product range,” Hurst says.
“It inspired me to push further in my pursuit of knowledge. The technology and manufacturing processes I saw were nothing short of awesome, and it all confirmed my view that the products we represent are truly world-class.”
As part of the prize, Willis will receive a trip to the United States to tour the world-class manufacturing facilities of Detroit and Daimler. He will also tour the Team Penske motorsport facility in North Carolina.
