THE SITED ARM
FOUNDING DOCUMENT
The SITED ARM is an abbreviation of Safety In The Engineering Department Automobile Repair Men.
SITED is a department in the Energy Network Business Blog set up to interface with relevant Public and Private Sector Institutions and Players to address, in a pragmatic manner, the issue of safety in the operations of Heavy-Duty industries such Oil and Gas, Maritime, Aviation, Construction among others.
Automobile Repair is an integral part of this department as it has to do with Road Transportation. The practice of the profession is largely in the hands of men who are not literate in the conventional ways of Western education. But men who, by virtue of their experience in the job of repairing cars over the years have developed their own body of knowledge which can neither be dismissed, ignored or wished away.
SITED ARM, therefore, has brought these principles together to enhance and advance this existing platform of practice by organizing and reorganizing the profession to become more useful to the society and humanity at large especially in the Nigerian and sub-Saharan region of the African continent.
The case in Nigeria is particularly pathetic and thus didactic for the purpose to which we would be putting the ‘Mechanic’ as he is popularly known in Nigerian parlance, ie, the Automobile Repair Man.
Nigerian Car Owners have had raw deals in their relationship with the Mechanic and the consequence have been frequent tales of accidents that have claimed and continue to claim countless number of cars, Lives and properties in the country.
SITED ARM has, against this backdrop, created this interventionist mechanism to help the Car Owner have a more credible relationship with the Automobile Repair Man. In other words, this initiative would serve to give Car Owner the guarantee that when they give their cars to a ‘Mechanic’ to repair, they have the assurance that their car would be repaired accurately and sincerely. However, whenever and wherever, issues arise, they have a platform to approach to solve their problems.
It is in this light, that the platform would have a body of ARMs who would be organized across the country and beyond to properly redefine and refine their mode of operations.
We are not unaware of the different associations that claim to be fighting for the rights of the Mechanic. SITED ARM is not and would not transform into an association, neither would it be a part of the politics or relationship with any association of mechanics whatsoever or wherever.
Rather, the body is a group of ‘Mechanics’ who advertise on the Blog weekly who have been brought together in a Directory and organized to achieve the objectives we have set out for the platform.
Secondly, because of the relationship of the Blog to the Oil, Gas and Energy Community, the ARMs would be brought closer to the Players in the industry for the purpose of engaging them, as an important End User in the value chain of the Oil, Gas and Energy industry.
To this end, Programs and Projects would be initiated for the hydrocarbon and general Energy communities to help the ARMs achieve the sole purpose of SAFETY on our roads from the perspective of the Automobile Repair Man.
SITED ARM would engage and embark on frequent capacity building Projects for the ARMs across the country to keep the Practitioners abreast of current technologies and ways of do their job.
In other to make the ‘Mechanic’ Man more presentable and respected in the society, the platform would come up with ideas that would give his workshop and ways of working a more endearing look and by so doing, give his job the required DIGNITY.
Thirdly, the body would be interfacing with institutions and organizations that are relevant to their trade and these include:
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- Oil and Gas companies involved in Lubricants
- Automobile Manufacturers
- Auto Spare parts Manufacturers and Dealers
Finally, and in this regard, therefore, SITED ARM aims to bring together all the components that make up an integrated interface of road transportation to accomplish the mission of reducing the rate of automobile related accidents on the Nigerian roads and beyond.
Chris Paul Otaigbe
Group Admin
Energy Network 