A Day in the Life of an NATM Compliance Consultant
Tracks
Day in the Life of an NATM Compliance Consultant By Terry Jones, NATM Technical Director
In the past year, NATM has implemented several changes to the Compliance Verification Program (CVP) due to the Association’s continual effort to improve, while also protecting the health and safety of members and staff in the wake of COVID-19. These changes, combined with the vast diversity in our membership in types of trailers produced and geography, make it an interesting career as we assist members with their compliance requirements across the country. NATM currently has two compliance consultants on staff who regularly conduct compliance consultations, and as Technical Director, I complete a small number of consultations each year. Pre-COVID-19, the average week looked much different for consultants than it does today. They would fly to a region and conduct the entire consultation process onsite. This process would typically take around three days and would include anywhere from a handful to a dozen consultations. At present, due to safety precautions, consultants avoid air travel whenever
possible to minimize possible exposure to the virus. Further, NATM has separated consultations into two parts, the onsite trailer inspection and the remote documentation/informational portion rather than conducting the entire consultation onsite to reduce possible exposure to virus both for our members and consultants. This means the amount of time onsite has also been minimized, and thus more consultations can be conducted within the same time frame. The concentration of members varies wildly across the United States. Certain parts have a cluster of members such as Elkhart, Ind. or northeast Texas while other parts of the country have very few member facilities like areas in Nevada or Wyoming. In early March, I travelled to Elkhart and I was able to conduct 21 trailer inspections within two and half days. On the other hand, I have also travelled thousands of miles in many more days only to be able to conduct a fraction of the inspections completed in Elkhart.
It’s not just a mudguard. It’s Selection, Delivery, Fit, Fabrication & Service.
H.E. PARMER COMPANY Nashville, TN (615) 256-4687 www.hepop.com
56
May/June 2021
www.NATM.com
