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Karate master and 21-year CAD veteran
joins Axiom team as Senior Customer Trainer.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA — A karate black belt
and enthusiastic father of two, Greg humbly describes his
gregarious training style as "it's just me!" But
with 21 years of CAD experience and an expert knowledge of
how to use Axiom tools in the field, Axiom staff and customers
agree that "just me" is just fine.
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| The McKinney Family |
Greg scheduled a break between customer training sessions
to speak with MicroStation Today about himself and his new
role as Axiom's premier customer trainer.
MicroStation Today: Give us
a summary of your background in the CAD field.
Greg: I started back in 1984
working as a digitizer (converting paper documents to digital
files) at Texas Electric Service Company (now TXU Energy)
in Ft Worth, Texas. I worked there as a "temp" on
the graveyard shift while attending the University of Texas
at Arlington for my Information Technology degree. From there
I went to Johnson County Electric Cooperative as a draftsman
and dispatcher. I answered the phone and sent technicians
to electric outages. When the weather was nice - and no outages
were occurring - I did drafting work. During that time I took
several trips to Huntsville, Alabama (the home of Intergraph)
and received training on Intergraph graphics packages and
CLIX workstation administration.
I finally found a day job at Huitt-Zollars, Inc. I started
as a CAD Technician, then was promoted to CAD Programmer,
and then to Computer Systems Manager. I worked in their Dallas
office for eight years and later transferred to the Fort Worth
office where I worked for another six years. Then, during
a conversation with my MicroStation Consultant Bob DiVenuti,
I heard about the opportunity at Axiom. And I here I am!
MST: How did you first learn
about Axiom's software?
Greg: My first introduction
to Axiom products was in the early 1990's. My boss, Jim Tower,
ran into David Greenbaum (Axiom's founder and CEO) at an IGUG
(Intergraph Graphic User Group conference). David gave him
a floppy disk that contained FileFixer. I was running
Edit Graphics (EdG) when Jim gave me the floppy and said,
"Try this!" I have been using FileFixer ever
since.
MST:
So what exactly do you do at Axiom?
Greg: I am the Senior Customer
Training Officer. My main duties are scheduling and delivering
training to Axiom customers. During these training sessions,
I ensure that the customer is using the product to the best
of their needs and that they fully understand the basic (and
some advanced) functionality of the product. I like to have
a good time during training sessions. Sometimes I train groups
and when everybody starts talking and joking, it's a lot of
fun.
MST: Could you describe how
a typical training session goes?
Greg:
They are all different. Some customers that I train
have Axiom products, but have no idea how they work. In other
training sessions the customers are familiar with using the
products they have, but need instructions on how to accomplish
specific tasks. The training sessions range from doing a quick
overview of how to use the products in MicroStation Productivity
Toolkit, to spending an hour going into, for example,
the details of how to correct CAD standards using SpecChecker
(a component in MicroStation Productivity Toolkit).
MST: Do you feel that it's important
to get training for a software product after you purchase
it?
Greg: Yes. Software is a tool.
To get the most out it, you have to learn how to operate it
properly. Some people can read the instructions and fiddle
with the options until the program works. I was one of those
people. I used many of the Axiom programs satisfactorily and
thought training wasn't needed. However, since joining Axiom,
I regret all the time I wasted trying to figure out the programs
by myself. We had all this training time available and that
it would have been faster to learn from an expert rather than
fumbling around trying stuff out. As the Senior Customer Training
Officer, I have gotten to dive into all of the Axiom utilities
and have learned about so many more features and functions
that I wish I knew about when I was working with them in production.
It's sometimes hard for CAD managers to have the time to learn
about all these useful features. But that's why I am here.
I am here to make it faster and easier for our customers to
take full advantage of the depth of our tools.
In addition to the depth of these tools, the shear number
of them you get with MicroStation Productivity Toolkit
is impressive too. Many people use a few of the tools and
feel like they get their money's worth. But customers who
use all the tools get even more value from Toolkit.
When I train customers, I always ask them about any time-consuming
tasks that they are currently performing manually. Usually,
I can then show them an automatic way to perform the same
task using the tools in MicroStation Productivity Toolkit.
The common response is "Cool! I didn't know it could
do that."
MST: I hear you are a good
guy to have on your side during a bar fight. Could you tell
us about that?
Greg: I started Karate to get
some exercise and to spend time with my sons. Over time it
has become an important part of my life. I am probably the
only dad you'll meet who beams with pride when my son kicks
me in the head. Karate has brought us closer as a family.
MST: What's your favorite pizza
topping?
Greg: Pizza without pepperoni
should be illegal.
MST: Who's your Super Bowl
pick for this year?
Greg: The Dallas Cowboys. They
probably won't win, but that is where my heart is!
MST: Thanks so much for talking
with us, Greg.
Greg: You bet!
Call now!
For more information on MicroStation
Productivity Toolkit and Axiom
Maintenance Plus contact an Axiom MicroStation Consultant
today! Call 727-442-7774 extension 9382, e-mail 9382@axiomint.com
or visit Axiom on the Web at www.axiomint.com now!
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