Surprisingly few transport engineers move from trucks to buses and coaches, or vice versa. Are there good reasons for this, or does it reveal something about contrasting approaches to engineering management in two road transport sectors? David Wilcox sought the views of two senior engineers who have made the switch, both ways. "All engineers like something to break occasionally, so they can put it right. But things didn't break that often at TNT." This, in a nutshell, is how Alan Parker explains what eventually led him to say yes to the recruitment consultant who called in 2001 to discuss a post in bus fleet engineering. At the time Mr Parker was group engineering director at TNT UK, where he had worked for the past 25 years. "I didn't want to become another Ken Barlow," recalls Mr Parker. "I wanted the challenge."
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