Name: Phil Monument
Company: Manns, Bury St Edmunds
Age: 27
Main franchise: Claas
Position: Service Engineer

Introduction
From sweeping the floor at a local farm at the weekend to earn some pocket money to a full time position t J Mann and Sons, Phil's career has progressed through energy, enthusiasm and dedication to the job. His careers started on a local farm emptying bins and sweeping the floor until he was asked to replace filters on their tractors with the local dealership technician. He was offered a full time job as soon as he left school on the farm, but felt that engineering stimulated him more than the tractor driving on the farm.

How did you career get started?
I worked at the weekends for a local farmer helping him out doing the mundane jobs, sweeping up and emptying bins, not that exciting really. One day a tractor needed servicing and I was asked to do it and that was my first real introduction to engineering. I then serviced more and more tractors in the local area thoroughly enjoying the variety of work and went to Kings Lynn and then Eastern College to do my City & Guilds NVQ in Service engineering.

What jobs do you carry out at work?
A wide range of jobs from servicing and repairing tractors, telehandlers, combines and other farm equipment. I work both in the dealership and out in the field depending where the work is, certain times I'm out on farm more and then other times in the dealership. It's hard for me to pin down what I do as I do so much and that depends on the season and time of the year.

Is there such thing as a normal day?
No. I wake up and I know I'm going to have a day full of surprises which makes getting up much easier, even if it is at 6.30am!

What takes up most of your time?
With modern technology I have to keep my diagnostic computer up to date with information. At the moment paperwork and jobs sheets take up a lot of time, but in the future that will be computerised so it won't take up as much time which will be much better and more efficient.

What's it like working at Manns?
I moved to my current job about 5 years ago from a smaller dealership which wasn't as well organised. The team of engineers at Manns is just great, we have a really great time and they organise all sorts of events for us from bowling to theatre trips to London, it really helps team moral.

What's the best part of your job?
Being out there in the van. I'm outside in the fresh air, meeting people and customers and seeing them happy when their machine is fixed, really great job satisfaction. It certainly beats being stuck in the office or inside all day!

What career options are available to you?
I want to develop my technical skills, become a Master technician and improve my knowledge with the hope of moving further up the ladder within the company. We have annual reviews which helps me see where my future may be going and where I would like it to go.

What's the biggest challenge you have to deal with?
There's a couple; technology and customers. Both are really good when working well, not so good when they don't! I have a very good working relationship with the majority of my customers, sometimes when they are stressed they can be a bit tough to deal with, most of the time I get their problems sorted out which makes me feel really good and the farmer does appreciate what I do for them.