GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO. - AEMP (Association of Equipment Management Professionals), the premier organization for asset management professionals of off-road fleets, recently awarded two industry professionals with the 8th annual Fleet Masters Award. The winners were recognized at AEMP's 29th annual Spring Management Conference in Las Vegas. Fleet professionals Mike Munson of Austin Bridge and Road, Irving, TX, and Guy Gordon, CEM of Insituform Technologies, St. Louis, MO were the 2011 award recipients.

The Fleet Master Award recognizes equipment professionals who demonstrate excellence in meeting the unique challenges inherent to delivering cost-effective and cutting-edge management of mixed fleets of on-road and off-road equipment. Past award winners have included representatives from both private and public fleets.

Award recipient Mike Munson holds the position of Equipment Director at Austin Bridge and Road. The company, a division of Austin Industries, is focused on transportation infrastructure, and has completed more than $2 billion in heavy civil projects over the past five years.

Munson and his team manage more than 800 pieces of equipment. To aid in effective fleet management, Munson says he relies heavily on telematics, and has also implemented GPS tracking on nearly 700 pieces of equipment. He says winning the award was completely unexpected, yet he's proud and grateful, as he feels it is a testament to the hard work and dedication put forth by his entire team.

"To accept this award on behalf of my team is such a great honor," Munson said. "Years of effort was put forth by so many to get us where we are today, from our focus on AEMP's 17 core competencies to the implementation of the Austin Way Initiative."

As a company, ARB has implemented policies and programs to aid in efficiency, safety and continuing education, known collectively as the Austin Way Initiative. Munson operates his fleet based on the Austin Way Equipment Manual, a detailed handbook unique to ABR. The 500-page manual is written to ensure both financial viability of the fleet and efficiency in customer support, and also aids in accurately measuring results of Munson's efforts. Furthermore, ARB has developed Austin University to provide both managers and staff with a sound training path, complete with online and classroom instruction.

Guy Gordon, CEM and 2011 Fleet Masters Award winner, leads the equipment management team at Insituform Techologies, Inc., a highly specialized, international construction company. The fleet consists of 1,800 licensed vehicles and 110 off-road units, with many purpose-designed and built machines, and components.

As director of asset management, Gordon oversees a team of about 45, including two CEMs (Certified Equipment Managers). Under his leadership, the equipment group has provided continued improvement in the areas of equipment quality, safety, productivity and cost. Gordon is honored to receive the Fleet Masters Award, and proud to be recognized for the hard work and impressive results achieved by his entire team.

"Our efforts have resulted in very notable improvements over the past four years, including a 42 percent decline in operation costs, a decline of fleet average-age, and increases in both uptime and PM compliance," Gordon said. "We're extremely proud of these achievements. And I'm incredibly honored by this recognition, as it represents the work of our entire group."

The company has also developed a formalized environmental policy, and the equipment group focuses on continually improving equipment design and specifications to reduce environmental impact. Equipment that meets ITI's environmental standards are identified as "ITI Green" and include all off-road units with Tier 4 engines and on-road diesels that meet 2010 emissions requirements.

Technician of the Year Recipients