The Uses of AI for Commercial EV Fleets
Rather than delve into the usual prophesizing that comes with AI,...
Paul Winchester, Head of Operations at Mer Fleet Services, is second up in the series. We spoke with him about his experience in the EV charging industry, what he finds rewarding about his job, his favourite green initiative, and more.
You can also watch Paul’s interview on our YouTube channel.
I’ve been in the electrical industry all my working life. I first got into EV in 2010 when the Nissan Leaf was launched. I worked for an energy company at that time, and we were heavily involved with the implementation of the hardware in people’s homes and in the local branches.
I think being in Operations, obviously every day is different, and you never get two days the same. There’s always a lot of things going on. We’ve been going through a massive change and there’s changes within the industry all the time. There’s the implementation of the new smart charging regulations, which will only benefit us as we install a new infrastructure.
Speaking from my own perspective and things that I’ve kind of encountered, it’s got to be more practical. It’s got to be more reliable. You know they’re fundamentally the things that the customers need, that the customers want. And I think that’s our job as professionals. When we are approached from customers that we’re providing them with the right infrastructure for their needs.
I can only say and just based on kind of what’s evident now from customers, the jobs, the work that’s coming through, certainly through Sales and into Operations, everybody’s dipped their toe into the EV market and you can see now by the scale of the jobs that the jobs are only getting bigger. So, I can only see it booming and being really good for our business.
I don’t really have one favourite, obviously I’m always going to say the electric car because I love driving EVs. I think they’re a cracking piece of kit, they’re only getting more and more sophisticated and the specs are much better on them now.
I’ve probably got two. There’s one that kind of resonated with me when I was little, which came from my Grandad, which was set your stall and you’ll always get what you want for whatever reason that always stuck. I do have one at work which I’ve always stuck by which is don’t ask anybody to do anything that you wouldn’t be prepared to do yourself. And that’s how I manage my teams and I kind of stick by that mantra.
Probably the easiest question to answer out of them all: it’s the values, it’s what they stand for, but most of all, it’s the people. It’s the people that give me that shot in the arm every day to come to work and to do my best. I work with the best bunch of people that I would ever wish to ask for. So all day long, absolutely, it will be the people.
I would just say go for it. There’s loads of opportunities, it’s changing all the time. When I think back to when I joined Mer two years ago, when I look at how many new people we’ve had join the business, it’s really exciting and it stands us in real good stead for the future. Just to see those people coming in and out of the office every day and thriving and learning new skills and developing, it’s a fantastic industry to get into so absolutely get my thumbs up and go for it.
Like most people I’ve got a young family, so we’re always out and about doing stuff. We’re fortunate that we live in a beautiful part of the world. Anybody that’s been watching Robson Green lately on ITV shows this, I spend a lot of time up on the Northumberland coastline.
Watch the full interview on our YouTube Channel.
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