Scania boosts Driver Training Team

Perth-based heavy combination driver Karlie Shire says has been a keen Scania enthusiast throughout her driving career. Having first appeared on Scania’s radar with her strong performance in the final of the 2016 Driver Competition, most recently Karlie has been driving a Scania G 500 prime mover combination for VISY.

“I am very excited to take on this new role. For a while now I have been chatting to fellow Scania drivers at truck stops about their trucks, and introducing many of them to features they did not know were hiding on the dash, especially with regard to monitoring their own performance,” Karlie says.

“I have been very focussed on my driving all of my working life and the Scania on-board driver scoring systems really helps you get along in the safest and most efficient way,” she says. “Over more than a year while driving for VISY I was running at 97% or above with 30-tonne boxes on average, and was among the top three or four drivers in the group of 120, in hilly and challenging terrain around Perth.

“Prior to VISY, I worked in general freight, with a short stint in mining sales and some road-train work on the wharf for Stevenson Logistics, where I was able to gain experience reversing road-trains.”

Karlie will be providing Scania’s driver training services to operators and drivers of new trucks as part of Scania’s strategy to ensure they benefit from the highest uptime and most efficient total operating economy.

“We don’t try to teach drivers how to drive, they already know that and many of them are extremely experienced, safe drivers,” Karlie says.

“The aim of our training is to help them understand how the technology included in all Scania trucks can help them get the best performance, economy and durability from their workhorses, and to reduce fatigue as much as possible. This naturally leads to improved fuel efficiency and a reduced environmental impact,” Karlie says.

“We are very pleased to have Karlie join the Scania Ecolution team,” says Hamed Shoghi, Scania Ecolution Manager.

“Karlie is very passionate about Scania, has a lot of real-world heavy combination driving experience and is a natural people-person. She’s able to clearly explain our technology and illustrate the benefits to drivers, which in turn will benefit both the driver and the operator. Getting the best out of the truck in a safe and efficient manner is what drives Scania Driver Training,” Hamed says.

“Karlie joins our national driver training, working alongside Peter Verbrugge and Peter Clarkson who are both Melbourne based, and Peter Koutelis based in New South Wales. We also have driver training contractors in other states, all of whom are available to all Scania drivers when required, not just when a new truck is purchased,” he says.

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“Scania in Western Australia is very pleased to have a dedicated driver training resource based in Kewdale,” says Michael Berti, Regional Executive Manager for Scania WA.

“We have had a gap due to COVID for the past two years in our training activities so there are many new Scania drivers we need to catch up with. Also, Scania in WA is very active in the mining industry and operators there are focussed on uptime and ensuring their drivers get the best out of their vehicles, particularly when downtime has such huge associated costs.

“A driver trainer will provide benefits which can have a multiplier effect for any business operating a fleet of trucks whatever its size,” Michael says.

For more information on Scania’s Driver Training programme, contact Scania in your state.