‘Hands-on’ President brings new perspective to EWPA

As National Service Manager for Onsite Rentals, John provides leading-edge thinking around service performance, fleet availability, fleet procurement, major inspection programs, parts procurement, technical training and all aspects for fleet servicing.

He has 33 years of technical and service experience, including 27 years repairing and providing technical advice for Elevated Work Platforms, is a former NSW President of the EWPA, has been on the national Board for the past 10 years.

In November 2022, he was appointed national President of the EWPA.

John considers himself a ‘hands-on service guy’ and it’s this perspective that he’ll continue to bring to his new role.

“I’m the first service tech from the mechanical side of the business to take on the role,” says John. “That gives me an acute understanding of how the equipment works, how it functions, the different safety features and the user experience.”

John’s career began in the aircraft industry as a member of the Royal Australian Air Force. On leaving industry dies,” says John.

“As a working at heights industry, our equipment has to be the safest option available to our customers. Safety is key to our success.”

Over the past 35 years, he’s seen the industry evolve, change and mature into what it is today.

“The technological advances are amazing, especially in the last number of years and it’s great to be a part of that innovation.”

John believes the biggest changes he’s seen over the last decade are the electrification of equipment and telematics.

“Hybrid and electric machines hadn’t really reached the mainstream five years ago but we’re now seeing the electrification of a lot of equipment that was once diesel,” he says.

“What we’re finding is that government contracts are driving companies to report on their emissions. As many of these companies rent the equipment that creates emissions, electric equipment is now seen as a way to achieve reductions.”

“That means we also need the right infrastructure (eg, mobile or installed charging stations). We need to better understand charge cycles so if a machine runs out of charge and it’s a mile from power, we and our customers know what to do.”

But the push towards electrification comes at a risk for the hire and rental industry.

“Our customers look to us to give them the latest technology however it’s changing at a rapid rate. You don’t want to invest in equipment that’s going to become obsolete before it’s lifecycle has ended so that’s a big challenge for our industry,” says John.

“There used to be all these businesses who would churn out apprentices, but industry across the board has failed to develop apprentices over recent years. I will continue to advocate for our industry to take on and train apprentices to become tradespeople.”

With more skilled tradespeople exiting the industry than coming in, it's resulted in a big skills gap.

“While we have an EWP apprenticeship — I worked with Autoskills Australia to bring that to life — the industry as a whole hasn’t invested enough in that skillset,” says John.

“I used to go to local high schools and talk about the opportunities in this industry, but schools are no longer interested. They prefer to push people into university rather than trades.”

As national President, John is keen to see the EWPA do more to engage existing members and attract new members.

“We’re also seeing a growth in telematics, which is basically GPS and remote monitoring. This access to live information on what your equipment is doing and how it’s being used, means we can help our customers use our equipment more efficiently.”

Being part of an evolving industry means there is always new equipment and technology on the horizon but fortunately, John has access to the major OEMs.

“I’m able to tap into them and give honest feedback when they’re looking at new products or designs or when they’re looking to understand what our industry is doing or what our customers might want to see,” he says.

“I am regularly invited to express a point of view or participate as part of the product road map and it’s a really enjoyable part of what I do. That said, I can be like a dog with a bone and really dig my heels in on anything that I’m passionate about. If I’ve got a position, I’m not afraid to push that position appropriately.”

As for the industry’s biggest challenges at the moment? It’s people.

“The shortage of skilled workers is certainly our biggest challenge but it’s not just a challenge for our association, it’s industry wide. We’re competing for the same pool of workers as are our customers and other major industries, including those with ‘deep pockets’ like mining.”

John says one of the big issues is how to attract skilled technical people to the industry.

“We’re known as the resource library for specialist technical knowledge and the Australian Standards, which is free to anyone in the industry.”

Members can also access industry-recognised training, support and professional services, like legal, insurance and HR

“With the majority of our members being new and smaller businesses who don’t have the internal resources and infrastructure of the bigger players, that represents good bang for your buck.”

Looking ahead, John believes one of the biggest challenges for the EWPA will be Board renewal.

“We’ve got to ensure the talent is coming through, that we’re training that talent and giving them a pathway through to Board level,” he says. “That’s how we remain relevant.”

And despite being a bit of a quiet achiever, John is keen to use social media to engage more with members, potential members and lift the profile of the industry.

“I want to use my profile to get the message out about this industry and why it’s important,” says John.

“It will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to representing our members.”

You can keep in touch with John via LinkedIn. www.linkedin.com/in/john-glover-36411858/