Hi, Shirley. It’s 9am here in Canada – this is my first call of the day. Where are you?
Hi. I’m based in the Netherlands – we’re nine hours ahead of you and this is my final call of the day! So, you live in Canada, but you’re Dutch. When did you move there?
I took an internship, in 2006 – and decided to stay! I’m in Manitoba – on the prairies. We do a lot of driving. Sometimes it’s a five-hour drive to visit a customer.
That’s a long drive! So, what do you do?
I’m a Service Technician, looking after A3 and A4 milking robots and also a couple of Juno systems. There are few large dairies in our area – one has 20 A5 robots!
Wow, you’re covering a large area! What happens when a farmer calls for help? Do you get a lot of calls at, say, midnight?
No, not that many. Farmers like to look over our shoulder and ask ‘how does this work’ when we’re fixing their robots. Some quickly learn how to solve minor issues themselves.
So, what are you up to?
We’re busy! I work at the Lely Academy in Maassluis and we develop all kind of training for all Lely employees. I work closely with TSS International – they provide all the technical information for the courses. They create content for the e-learning sessions and videos, and I put it into MyAcademy. It’s challenging to keep it all up to date.
Yes, that’s must be difficult. The field knowledge for the content – where does that come from?
It’s handed on to us, not only from TSS, because they can miss experience in the field, that’s why we also work with the Clusters. And also talk to colleagues who are working on farms.
So any feedback we pass to TSS would, possibly, be passed back to you?
Yes, but I think talking directly with technicians, who work with the products to see what we missed and what their thoughts are, is something we need to do more. Talking to you is a good start 😊
I do like the online courses – they help to familiarise me with new products and are a great way to prepare for classroom and practical training, which is held at Pella or Woodstock. Online courses also help me to give the more detailed explanations, which some farmers expect, when I’ve solved a more complicated issue with a robot.
Online is a good place to start, but nothing beats practical training with the products. I like learning how to trouble shoot.
We’ve been working on a training programme for Lely Horizon – which was launched at the Lely Future Farm Days.
That sounds exciting! Is training also available for farmers using Lely Horizon?
Yes, for the first time we are setting up a ‘farmers academy’ now to coincide with the launch of this product. This is a way to give farmers access to the FMS Lely Horizon e-learning.
It sounds like you really enjoy your job! I really enjoyed our chat, Shirley. It’s been really interesting and certainly broadened my horizons. Thank you.
Thanks. I also really enjoyed gaining insight into your role. And it should help me to do my job even better!
Learning System Specialist
Shirley Vera Rivera
Shirley began working at Lely, as an intern, five and a half years ago and is now a Learning System Specialist at Lely Academy, Lely International. She develops all kinds of training, predominantly for TSS and FMS. She works in close cooperation with the Clusters, who then, in turn, offer training to the Lely Centers.
Maassluis, The Netherlands
Janwillem Jongsma
Blumenort, Canada
Janwillem has been working with Lely since 2010. He moved to Canada in 2006 to take an Internship. He’s now working at Penner Farm Services & Horizon Livestock & Poultry Supply, in Blumenort (Canada) as a Service Technician.
Service Technician
Do you ever wonder what your colleagues are doing abroad? In every edition we connect two Lely colleagues. They tell about their activities and share insights. This time we link Shirley and Janwillem.
BLIND DATE
Shirley & Janwillem
Shirley Vera Rivera
Learning System Specialist, Lely Services
My featured core value
BLIND DATE
Do you ever wonder what your colleagues are doing abroad? In every edition we connect two Lely colleagues. They tell about their activities and share insights. This time we link Shirley and Janwillem.
Learning System Specialist
Shirley Vera Rivera
Shirley began working at Lely, as an intern, five and a half years ago and is now a Learning System Specialist at Lely Academy, Lely International. She develops all kinds of training, predominantly for TSS and FMS. She works in close cooperation with the Clusters, who then, in turn, offer training to the Lely Centers.
Maassluis, The Netherlands
Janwillem Jongsma
Blumenort, Canada
Janwillem has been working with Lely since 2010. He moved to Canada in 2006 to take an Internship. He’s now working at Penner Farm Services & Horizon Livestock & Poultry Supply, in Blumenort (Canada) as a Service Technician.
Service Technician
Shirley & Janwillem
Hi, Shirley. It’s 9am here in Canada – this is my first call of the day. Where are you?
Hi. I’m based in the Netherlands – we’re nine hours ahead of you and this is my final call of the day! So, you live in Canada, but you’re Dutch. When did you move there?
I took an internship, in 2006 – and decided to stay! I’m in Manitoba – on the prairies. We do a lot of driving. Sometimes it’s a five-hour drive to visit a customer.
That’s a long drive! So, what do you do?
I’m a Service Technician, looking after A3 and A4 milking robots and also a couple of Juno systems. There are few large dairies in our area – one has 20 A5 robots!
Wow, you’re covering a large area! What happens when a farmer calls for help? Do you get a lot of calls at, say, midnight?
No, not that many. Farmers like to look over our shoulder and ask ‘how does this work’ when we’re fixing their robots. Some quickly learn how to solve minor issues themselves.
We’re busy! I work at the Lely Academy in Maassluis and we develop all kind of training for all Lely employees. I work closely with TSS International – they provide all the technical information for the courses. They create content for the e-learning sessions and videos, and I put it into MyAcademy. It’s challenging to keep it all up to date.
Yes, that’s must be difficult. The field knowledge for the content – where does that come from?
It’s handed on to us, not only from TSS, because they can miss experience in the field, that’s why we also work with the Clusters. And also talk to colleagues who are working on farms.
So any feedback we pass to TSS would, possibly, be passed back to you?
Yes, but I think talking directly with technicians, who work with the products to see what we missed and what their thoughts are, is something we need to do more. Talking to you is a good start 😊
I do like the online courses – they help to familiarise me with new products and are a great way to prepare for classroom and practical training, which is held at Pella or Woodstock. Online courses also help me to give the more detailed explanations, which some farmers expect, when I’ve solved a more complicated issue with a robot.
Online is a good place to start, but nothing beats practical training with the products. I like learning how to trouble shoot.
We’ve been working on a training programme for Lely Horizon – which was launched at the Lely Future Farm Days.
That sounds exciting! Is training also available for farmers using Lely Horizon?
Yes, for the first time we are setting up a ‘farmers academy’ now to coincide with the launch of this product. This is a way to give farmers access to the FMS Lely Horizon e-learning.
It sounds like you really enjoy your job! I really enjoyed our chat, Shirley. It’s been really interesting and certainly broadened my horizons. Thank you.
So, what are you up to?
Yes, need to go back to my numbers now! Good luck with organising the LFFD and stay safe! 🤞
Shirley Vera Rivera
Learning System Specialist, Lely Services
My featured core value
