Global SE Awards 2015: Roland DG Service Engineers Compete for the Title of World Champion

Roland DG’s Service Engineers (also called "SEs") strive to improve their ability to provide high-quality, standardized maintenance and repair services in order to ensure that customers from all over the world can use Roland DG products with peace of mind. The goal of the Global SE Awards is to motivate SEs to take pride in their work and to improve the level of Roland DG Care activities through a series of competitions where SEs compete using the knowledge and skills they have cultivated in their daily work.
Continuing in the tradition of the first Global SE Awards held in 2013, the second world competition was of a larger scale, with regional competitions held in 15 locations. A total of 440 Certified Service Engineers from 50 countries and regions participated in the local competitions. The winners of the regional competitions were then brought together for the final contest held in Japan to compete for the title of World Champion.

• Global Competition
• Global Competition Finalists
• Local Competitions

The final global competition, held in Hamamatsu, Japan, featured an elite group of 21 finalists.
They competed in three challenges to demonstrate their superior abilities as Service Engineers.
The contestants were required to use all of the experience and knowledge
they had mastered under considerable pressure.
SEs were able to enhance their skills by sharing their expertise with SEs from other regions.
Using the additional knowledge and skills they obtained at the 2015 Global SE Awards,
it is expected that contest participants will contribute greatly to the further improvement of
Roland DG Care service quality as leaders in their respective regions.

Event date

October 20 - 22, 2015

Venue

Roland DG Corporation headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan

October 20th

Mission 1

Hands-on exam (foundation)

Print head replacement
Time limit: 30 minutes

The first challenge consisted of replacing inkjet heads in the wide format inkjet printers, which is a basic form of maintenance service work. Exams emphasized not only the accuracy of work and quality of performance, but also the care and thoroughness displayed in the handling of machines and parts, based on the notion that the products belong to customers. In addition to demonstrating their individual skills, contestants also learned by observing the efforts of other SEs.

backnext

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Mission 2

Hands-on exam (application)

Printer troubleshooting
Time limit: 30 minutes

This part of the competition challenged contestants’ ability to quickly identify and resolve problems in order to restore broken printers to their normal, fully operational state. The test included problems that could not be solved simply by using their own knowledge or experience in order to test their powers of imagination and discernment to logically analyze problem causes.

backnext

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

October 21st

Mission 3

Written exam

Time limit: 15 minutes x 8 questions

There were eight written exam questions covering the comprehensive knowledge required in providing excellent customer service. Questions covered not only knowledge of maintenance such as assessing graphics printed with inkjet printers and analyzing schematics of machine electronics, but also required extensive knowledge in order to deal with a wide variety of customer requests.

backnext

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Global SE Awards 2015 Awards Ceremony

At the end of the two-day competition, an awards ceremony was held at a venue inside the Hamamatsu Hachimangu shrine. Praise was awarded to all of the contestants while the top three SEs received special commendations from Roland DG Chairman and President Masahiro Tomioka. Aside from the top three performers, other SEs who gave noteworthy performances at the competition received special awards from four regional managers in charge of the service activities in the Americas, EMEA, ASEAN and East Asia regions.

Comments from the Winners

Mr. Terry Carpenter (From the U.S.A.)

• Experience as a Roland DG technician: 14 years

• Representing Far From Normal

The finals were a tremendous experience. I had a wonderful time learning new things and meeting all the other finalist SEs from all over the world. The competition expanded my understanding and knowledge base. To be able to tap into that larger network of SEs really helps. The most difficult part of the competition was the stress of having to complete the tasks in front of so many people. I’ve done this sort of work for a long time and I know my way around the machines, but I’ve never had to do it with many people silently watching me while I was replacing a print head or taking the tests. It was very difficult, but enlightening, too. I found the challenges both interesting and enjoyable. What I learned from the competition was to take your time, be careful and do things step-by-step. Even when you know what you’re doing, it’s important not to rush. When you’re under pressure, slow and steady wins the race. Rushing leads to making mistakes. I highly recommend that other SEs enter future competitions. It’s such a very positive experience to participate in.

• 
• 
• 

Mr. Alexandre Geraldi (From Brazil)

• Experience as a Roland DG technician: 7 years

• Representing Amplytech Technical Services and Trade Ltd.
  Amplytech Serviços Técnicos e Comércio Ltda

I’m very happy and surprised by the results. It was a challenge because the other contestants were very good and I was proud and honored to be there with them. Mission 1 was the most difficult part for me because I had to perform under pressure, but it was also good, because in real life, we are always pressured by the customer. The customer cares a lot about his equipment, his business, his family – and we have a very important role when working on their machine. So a machine is not just a machine -- it’s a dream of success. I learned a lot from the competition, including persistence, patience, and – most important -- to believe in yourself. In order to provide the highest quality service, we should perform our work with love. We must strive to always do the best we can and to remember that we are doing something important. We should also remember to look back from time to time and recall the many good things that we have accomplished.

• 
• 
• 

Mr. Peter De Bont (From Belgium)

• Experience as a Roland DG technician: 24 years

• Representing Benes + NV

I was very pleased to be awarded third place in the world championship. As a first time contestant, I was very proud of my results. For me, Mission 3 was the most difficult part. There were a lot of theoretical questions requiring knowledge that you cannot memorize. I’ve been a service technician for 24 years now, so I can rely on my experience. With newer machines, however, I have to rely on service documentation for answers. There were things I learned during the competition which will help me in the future to solve problems easier and faster. It’s definitely been educational being here and taking part in the competition. As SEs, I think we need to stay focused and continue following the training that Roland DG provides. They do a great job preparing us to do our jobs as Service Engineers.

• 
• 
• 

Special Awards Winners

Americas Service Organizer Mr. Ron Ball AwardsMr. David Edgecome (From South Africa)Experience as a Roland DG technician: 9 years ｜ Representing Keymark Media (Pty) Ltd.

EMEA Service Organizer Mr. Michael Moller AwardsMr. Osami Taki (From Japan)Experience as a Roland DG technician: 2 years ｜ Representing Vertec Co. Ltd.

ASEAN Service Organizer Mr. Gino Farina AwardsMr. Philip Livesey (From the United Kingdom)Experience as a Roland DG technician: 9 years ｜ Representing Roland DG (U.K.) Ltd.

East Asia Service Organizer Mr. Akiyoshi Sunako AwardsMr. Peter Evans (From Australia)Experience as a Roland DG technician: 18 months following 20 years of previous experience ｜ Representing Roland DG Australia Pty. Ltd.