In researching the article, “Vehicle Acquisition and Disposal” - the cover story for the March issue of Fleet Maintenance Magazine, I had some communications with two recent graduates of the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) program from the NAFA Fleet Management Association.
There were: Larry Anstee, fleet management, facilities development and operations department, Palm Beach County, FL, and Charles W. Stang, state fleet administrator, department of administrative services, general services division, for the state of Ohio.
The CAFM program covers the essential core competencies of fleet management.
Asset management is but one of the eight disciplines that comprise the program.
The others disciplines are fleet information management, maintenance management, professional development and vehicle fuel management, business management, financial management and risk management.
Stang and Anstee both said the program was challenging, comprehensive and very worthwhile.
With regard to the asset management curriculum, Anstee said it made him more “well rounded to the various avenues available to acquire vehicles as compared to our current procedures, and provided a lot of good information about leasing. It has also promoted more out of the box thinking to several procedures we do on a daily basis.”
“Through the training, you’re reminded that there is always more than one way to accomplish your mission,” said Stang. “With changing economic conditions and work environments, we need to be able to react quickly to be successful tomorrow. Education and training is what gives you the tools to make those changes.”
The two said they took away from the training additional knowledge, plus many new ideas to help them perform their jobs better and find further opportunities for savings and operational efficiencies within their organizations.
In addition to the CAFM program, NAFA also holds Fleet Management Seminars (FMS) for those new to the industry (5 years or less of experience) and Advanced Fleet Management Seminars (AFMS) for professionals interested in intense, upper-level instruction. NAFA’s annual Institute & Expo (I&E) offers more than 60 hours of fleet training and education for beginners to expert fleet managers.
NAFA’s next Institute & Expo take place April 24-27 in Detroit, MI.
For more information on NAFA and its educational offerings, visit www.NAFA.org.
