Beyond Graduation/Vicki Phelps

The New Zealand stage of my work life included working in the microbiological laboratory of J Wattie Industries, owning a restaurant, and working for New Zealand Rail where I began my logistics career as a part-time clerical officer. Working in a male-dominated industry is not always easy, and this is especially true of the transport industry. The need to constantly prove yourself equal to your male counterparts is ever present.

Although, I achieved a Company Excellence Award for services to the business while I was with New Zealand Rail, I also felt it was important to gain a tertiary qualifcation to give credence to my work and to gain greater respect within the industry. I began studying for the CILT Diploma in Logistics in 1997 when I was a branch manager in Gisborne.

The application of real work experiences to my projects not only lent them authenticity, but also helped me gain a deeper understanding of the transport and logistics scene as a whole.

In 1998 I was appointed regional operations manager for the central region and I continued to put to good use my learning from the diploma.
In November 1999 I was offered a consulting role with Qlink, the freight division of Queensland Rail, in Brisbane, Australia. The role was to assist in the planning and
implementation of a track-andtrace system known as POStrac. Qlink had been over to New Zealand to view the track-and- trace system that was being used by Tranz Rail and because of my experience I was invited to assist in the implementation.

I completed my diploma in January 1999 and in February began my work across the Tasman for QLink. Because of my operational experience, I was tasked with
identifying the key operational issues that would directly impact upon the POStrac system, evaluating current processes, and redesigning these to fi t within the
POStrac system. I identified the needs for the training programme, developed the
objectives, helped identify various training programmes, and decided on the most appropriate given the strict timeframes. I developed the training and terminal manuals, created a training CD, trained the trainers in the functionality of POStrac, identified the trainees in the various locations throughout Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and coordinated movement of the training teams throughout
the states.

I continued in a consultative role for the next four years, and when POStrac went from being a project to a functioning part of the business, I was asked to stay
on as the POStrac administrator, providing training for new and existing staff and both hardware and system support. This enjoyable role kept me busy for the
next two years.

However, the desire to become more involved in the operational side of the business began to grow again, and my daily interaction with the staff on the floor
rekindled my desire to take a more active role. In November 2004 I successfully applied for the position of road operations supervisor, and it was here that
my diploma training really came to the fore.

During the next four years, I successfully implemented the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) which realised a number of benefi ts to the business,
including improvements to productivity and efficiency, reduced vehicle downtime, better relationships with enforcement agencies, correct loading of vehicles
the fi rst time with consequent savings, meeting duty-of-care responsibilities, improved driver morale, and better and more consistent compliance with road
safety standards.

I also identified a need for a scheduling system for pickup and delivery vehicles; after testing and trialling the system, projected savings to the business were
estimated to be up $800,000 per annum through improved fleet coordination.
After nearly 19 years in the rail transport industry, I felt the need for a change and when I was offered the role of customer services manager for Container Swinglift
Services, a specialist provider of wharf cartage services in Brisbane– they were the first company to bring sideloaders to the city – I enthusiastically embraced it. This
new career path has allowed me to further increase my skill set and brings with it new opportunities in my logistics career.

Who knows what the future will bring for me, but I look forward to what lies ahead with enthusiasm and the knowledge that I can give anything a go and be successful,
even in a man’s world.

The CILT UK Diploma in Logistics is now the CILT UK Professional Diploma in Logistics & Transport, and is offered in New Zealand through the Logistics Training Group, email: info@ltg.co.nz