Josh Gerkin Named Technician of the Month

City of Tucson Certified Automotive Mechanic Josh Gerkin has been named
the inaugural Technician of the Month for the June 2012 issue of
Government Fleet magazine. Mr. Gerkin works in the City’s Fleet
Services Department. He has 18 years of experience as a mechanic and has
been employed with the City of Tucson for eight years.

He is a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)
Master Tech and is ASE certified in a number of areas, including
Compressed Natural Gas and Advanced Engine Performance. Mr. Gerkin is
responsible for repairing and rebuilding all types of vehicles and
equipment for the City of Tucson. Throughout his years with the City, he
has found a number of ways to improve processes, saving labor hours and
money, noted Government Fleet magazine.

John Tennant, Fleet Maintenance Superintendent for Tucson's Fleet
Services Department, said Gerkin constantly looks for solutions to
problems. He recognized the need for improved shop communication and led
efforts to develop a shop-wide broadcast system that communicates
critical information directly to each mechanic's workstation. He helped
develop the police pursuit vehicle make-ready process, which reduced
required man-hours by 20 percent. He developed the procedure for
installing automated mileage update hardware on light- and heavy-duty
vehicles. Tennant said both categories of units now experience minimal
downtime when staff is installing this critical equipment. The equipment
automatically updates unit mileage and sends it to the department's
Fleet Information Management System.

"I congratulate Mr. Gerkin on this well-deserved recognition," said
Tennant. "He has been instrumental in improving our overall capabilities
and efficiency. As the go-to mechanic, his knowledge and skills continue
to have a positive impact on our proficiency and quality of
maintenance."

Beyond those accomplishments, Gerkin recognized the need to update and
add new vehicle diagnostics software, participating in the process to
update the Genesis II system used and was behind adding Ford's IDS
web-based diagnostics system to the department's available technologies.
Since the department implemented the system, Gerkin has remained
responsible for maintaining it and training other mechanics on its use.
Tennant said Gerkin improved processes and saved money in a number of
other areas as well.