In January, Tim Jourdak (St. Augustine EP PM Tech) had a taste of stardom as part of the Cat Trials video series’ latest episode, “Cat Trial 10: Tech Test.”
Filmed at the Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center in Central Illinois, Trial 10 celebrates the unsung heroes of our industry: the service technicians.
The demand for dealer technicians is great. To celebrate Cat service technicians and the career potential of the work they do, Caterpillar’s latest trial video – Cat Trial 10: Tech Test – showcases their knowledge and challenges them to demonstrate their skills while competing against their peers. Tim, the most recent graduate of Ring Power’s technician apprentice program, was selected by Caterpillar to take part in Trial 10 owing to the video application he submitted in December. In the video, Tim focused on his previous experience as a commercial diver and how he made the switch to a career as a Ring Power EP service technician.
Caterpillar’s latest trial video features 18 dealer technicians, experts in the latest technology on hundreds of different Cat machines and engines, as they test their skills on an obstacle course. The course consists of four challenges that are similar to problems technicians must solve when working on a customer’s product.
First, the technicians must assemble a 3D puzzle called the Cat Can Test, which is an oversized version of one that some dealerships use to gauge mechanical aptitude.
In the next challenge, which tests desire to learn, technicians must match Cat engines to specific applications.
From there, the techs match wits in the troubleshooting challenge to demonstrate their knowledge of Cat services and technology.
The final challenge is a safety mindset assessment, where the technicians must use the Cat App to do a walkaround and pull a parts order.
“Filming the Trial 10 video was a rather interesting experience,” said Tim. “I go from surfing after work to getting on a flight to Peoria the next morning and seeing snow for the first time in four years. [It was] wild.”
Tim enjoyed meeting other technicians from around the country and comparing their day-to-day experiences to his.
“It was even more fun competing against each other on a course that none of us had seen before,” he added. “The competition was entertaining and with all the production value put into the video, I’m excited for everyone to see the final product.”
Currently, there are approximately 1,600 technician job openings among Cat dealers in the United States. Caterpillar is hopeful that Trial 10 will spark interest in mechanically inclined career seekers by providing a closer look at some of the skills technicians have and how they apply them in their jobs.
To watch Tim compete in Trial 10: Tech Test, visit trials.ringpower.com