NAFA Heads to Florida to Strengthen a Global Fleet Certification Initiative
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By Katherine Vigneau, CAFM®, Director of Professional Development, NAFA
In 2016, NAFA dipped its toe into the waters of global fleet to gauge interest. Today, many national fleet associations, large fleets, global FMCs, and other organizations want to pursue fleet certification opportunities for their members and employees. Recognizing the groundswell of interest, Bobit Media invited NAFA to be an Association Partner of its recent Global Fleet Conference, with a key part of the event being NAFA’s overview of its certification programs. NAFA also lead a planning session on formulating a global fleet certification program.
A NAFA contingent attended the conference which took place in Miami in early June. Present were NAFA President Patti Earley, CAFM; Senior Vice President Ray Brisby, CAFM; and board members David Hayward and Steve Satzgiver, CAFS®. NAFA leadership was joined by its Brazilian partner, PARAR, represented by Pedro Conte. He and Earley delivered a presentation on the certification programs offered by both NAFA and PARAR, as well as the partnership which led to the development of the program in Brazil.
The next day, I led the strategic planning session with participants from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, China, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, France, and the U.S. Other interested organizations including NEXUS, Bobit Media, and AFLA were represented.
Also represented were food providers Mondelez, General Mills, and Bimbo; as well as fleet management companies ARI and Donlen.
The full impact of the discussion has yet to be determined, but with the level of interest in the room, it is certain that NAFA will continue to serve. The Association is committed to making the CAFM program accessible to more regions around the globe, helping to develop education similar to PARAR's Program for Fleet Managers in Brazil, and working with partners to develop overarching global certification.
Very exciting times are ahead for global fleet management!
