Thursday 22nd

Meeting at the Staybridge lobby at 7:30am to go to Aurora.The bus was there on time and ready ...

 It is a 2.5 hr trip in the bus.  Most of the crew fell asleep somewhere along the road, and I am sure I even saw Jason squeeze in a few zzzz's.  But best of all was this little snap ....  we all know that falling asleep might result in someone making some fun out of it ...

We finally made it to Aurora around 10:15am and ready for the factory tour. Once again, we were not allowed to take any photo's in this faciltiy.

Aurora is the world wide design centre for Wheel Loaders and covers whole process from cutting the steel, forming, machining and painting of the frames and assembly of the machines. There are approx 3500 employees on site.  Machines include Medium and Large Wheel Loaders , 938 through 994, and 336D, 345D outside USA and the 349E and 345E  Tier 4 within USA and Europe. Mining shovels are also part of the plan but they are still deciding which models will be built in Aurora and all depends on facilty capability.
In summary Aurora manufactures 28 different machines and currently ship approximately 25 units per day.
As we toured through the facility, it was interesting to note all of the quality checks along the way during assembly, testing and also pre-delivery. We also saw CPS at work with the CPS boards and the use of ANDON system.  Standard work is broken into 20 minute segments based on a person's ability to remember the tasks required in this time frame.
We were lucky enought to have Joel Busker who is the structural design engineer for Large Wheel Loaders take us on the 5 hour tour.
Aurora displays the flags representative of the countries from which visitors will be for the week.

And the around 3:40pm we left Aurora to take the 2 hr trip to Chicago. We got stuck in a bit of traffic, but the views were good....

By the time we arrived at the hotel, checked in and cleaned up a bit, it was time to go and find somewhere for dinner. 
 Walked along Michigan Ave ( Magnificent Mile) on our way to Andy's Jazz Club for some dinner, which was worth the 20 minute walk and bit of getting lost

And then shortly after dinner, back to the hotel for a final celebration of the 2 weeks and the friends we have made ...

But of course, at the end of the day, its all about these guys and what they have achieved ...

So, now that we are getting towards the end of our trip, we have lots to reflect back on and even more to go and tell everyone at home. There are heaps of photo's to share and I am sure a lot of you will be very bored for the next few weeks being forced to suffer through the hundreds of pictures again and again and again ...

But the guys did want me to post the following messages on the blog for you all:

Before the Elite Field Team program, I worked for William Adams in Traralgon field service doing a job which I would not trade for anything else. After completing the program and meeting the Caterpillar people and also the Dealer people from both Holt and Ringpower in the USA, and the rest of the Australian team (both Caterpillar and dealer), I now know we all work for one worldwide team. Just seeing how passionate they all are about the Cat product and also the customers we all service, has made me realise that all though we all can be in different parts of the world, we are all reading off the same page. I think it is because of  people like this that the Caterpillar product is where it is today.
Also, hi to everyone at William Adams, hi to all at Traralgon branch and to my family and friends.
Andrew Uren

What has stood out to me has been the people: from the sincerity of Jeff at the Tinaja Hills facility through to being so readily accommodated at the Holt dealership by Chad and then  chatting with Holt's field serviceman Dave and discovering that we face the same challenges and joys on opposite sides of the world.
The others in the team who I am travelling with are a diverse bunch and each one adds something unique to the group. We have spent countless hours sharing experiences and discussing what customer service means for us. The enthusiasm amongst the group is infectious and we feed off each other's positivity. I doubt whether anyone in the team could possibly realize just how much I'm learning simply by observing them being themselves. "All I did was do my job and look where I am" is a phrase I've heard often this past week and it's easy to see how these guys are deemed to be elite simply by doing what comes naturally to them.

As we've had opportunity to visit a whole host of dealerships and Caterpillar facilities over the past couple of weeks, what has stood out to me has been the impact of being prepared.  Many times now we have arrived to a notice board welcoming us either personally or by our dealerships and immediately felt comfortable and at ease in the confidence that yes, we have arrived at the correct location on the correct day and our hosts are anticipating our arrival and are ready for us.
This is a lesson that can be taken back to field operations; a quick phone call to inform the customer that we are on our way will promote suitable machine availability and avoid misinterpretation of our service commitment, arriving prepared with the correct background information and corresponding parts and tooling will instill a feeling of confidence within the customer that we are well equipped to address his situation and a prompt and quality service report will confirm that we have indeed completed a comprehensive diagnosis and repair and returned the machine to full service expectations.
A lesson can also be taken from the book of the hospitality industry - i.e. a set table confirms to the guests that they are expected and appreciated.
I look forward to applying these principles to my daily activities.

While I'll remember the places and activities with great fondness, it is the people who have made it for me and I'm glad to know that these friendships will continue on well into the future.
Dave Nagel, Hastings Deering

On behalf of WesTrac NSW, I would like to thank all of the people involved in setting up the Field Service Elite program. I would also recommend to fellow technicians that the program has many advantages. The experience of being guided through the factories and talking to the field service technicians from different dealerships was invaluable.
I would like to thank the group for making the journey an A1 Experience from the start to finish. Hope that we can all stay in contact and make the future programs as successful and enjoyable as this year has been.
Matt Bailey, WesTrac WA

WOW ! What an awesome trip. The company I kept on this trip is far beyond my expectations and I have made some great friends. The places we went from LA through Texas to Orlando then back was an amazing selection of places that gave us a taste of the USA. The introduction of us to the US field technicians was great and to see that world wide we have the same challenges each day, the same passion for the Cat product and as much as the US vehicle is a much larger one, we all have much the same set-up.
To follow the Cat product in Peoria from the developmental testing and design to the proving in Tucson to how Cat deals with CPI both back in Peoria and how it is proven in Tucson and then dealt with.
It was a grand experience to meet the design engineers and to discuss problems us field technicians have with the people who actually design and write the schematics and manuals.
What an amazing experience and group. I am so wrapped that I had the opportunity to meet these guys and an awesome trip to the USA. Thank you
Jason Loney

Well USA. What can I say. The cars are biggers, shops and cities are massive. The people are super friendly too. This has been a trip of a life time. Not knowing any of the other seven in the group at the start, I can now truly say we have grown to be all good friends.  From the many challenges we had along the way, the rewards have been worth it.
Dustin Carter, WesTrac WA










Tomorrow we have a bit of free time in the morning before we head off for the airport and finally back home.

We will post one last blog tomorrow before we leave