Succession Planning!?

I think this is a tough topic for most CTEA members. There is always the struggle, particularly in small and medium-sized businesses, to find the right person/people to take over the business that the current owner/senior management has worked so hard to develop, and to ensure that the business remains sustainable in the future. This is such an important issue that we are planning a session in Moncton this fall that is designed to provide guidance to everyone that must deal with strategic planning for their companies.

This is also a serious issue for an Association, and the CTEA has come to that crossroads where we need to find a successor for a crucial member of our team. Eddy  Tschirhart is planning to retire on January 1, 2013, so we are starting the very difficult task of finding his successor.  For those of you who know Ed (and that is probably the majority), I am sure you can imagine that this is no small task.  Ed has almost 40 years of experience in our industry and is considered THE EXPERT on specing commercial vehicles to meet the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and many vocational applications.  He represents CTEA on a number of CSA committees related to cranes, in addition to truck mounted tank equipment and tank trailers for the conveyance and transfer of dangerous goods.  He also represents CTEA at the American Trucking Association’s Technology & Maintenance Council, on engineering committees with the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association and on the Transportation Association of Canada participating on Vehicle Size and Weights standards development for the Canadian provinces.  In particular, Ed is our Guru on weight distribution and centre-of- gravity height calculation.  As a matter of fact, he was responsible for the development of what we now know as JOB-FILE ™, which is recognized by Transport Canada and many manufacturers as a standard for compliance record keeping.

So, where do we go from here?  We need another Eddy Tschirhart, and our plan is to hire someone as soon as possible, who can handle the job, and basically shadow Ed’s every move until his retirement.  If you have any ideas for or have someone you know who would be equal to the challenge, please have them get in touch with me via my email don.moore@atminc.on.ca or the CTEA office at (519) 631-0414.

The first article below is actually a brief job description for the position.

As always, just click on the link to give me your thoughts!

Don Moore
519-631-0414
Executive Director
CTEA