Getting to Know Christopher Santos, the Champion of Canon’s Inaugural CSPL Regional Service Meister Challenge 2019
It’s not often that our Service Engineers have the chance to show off their skills – but the opportunity arose for Christopher Santos to do just that in Canon’s recent inaugural CSPL Regional Service Meister Challenge SMC 2019 – of which he emerged as the proud champion! Held in the Canon Singapore Office, the chosen engineers from 7 NSOs competed for the title in what was widely regarded as the Olympics of Technical Skills for Canon’s BIS Service Engineers in the region.
Aiming to recognise the technical skills and abilities of Service Engineers on both a national and regional level, the challenge required participants to dabble with hardware troubleshooting and to enact different service-providing situations. In a bid to ensure the long-term sustainability of BIS business throughout the region, CSPL aims to inspire and cultivate a culture of constant self-improvement. This challenge is a big one - in fact, the team started preparations for it since the beginning of 2018.
We met with Christopher Santos to delve more into what it takes to compete in this challenge and how he felt on becoming the region’s Service Meister for 2019!
Why do you think you were chosen for the challenge?
It’s an honour to be selected; when my name was first announced, I felt that I didn’t even deserve to be chosen! There are so many senior engineers who are more capable and suitable for the challenge. However, I was informed that the process was based on the results of the annual Technical Competency Assessment organised by Canon Singapore’s Training and Diagnostic team and my results met the criteria for selection.
How did you prepare for the challenge and what were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome?
My bosses started conducting training sessions for me once the announcement was made - I am extremely thankful for the support that they have given me. I feel that I’m very lucky because on top of the experience that I’ve gained from Canon over the years, they also went the extra mile to prepare me with plenty of training. This allowed me to be confident and stay focused despite the immense pressure during the challenge.
When faced with any obstacles, staying confident was key to helping me stay calm. This was especially stressful due to the many pairs of eyes that were observing my every movement. I’m also thankful that I did not experience any “mental block” and was thus able to efficiently complete each task.
What went through your mind when you were crowned the winner of the Service Meister Challenge 2019?
I was on cloud nine! Admittedly, it was also slightly overwhelming when everyone started coming over to congratulate me as I did not expect the win. I must say that the other NSOs have also done a very good job; I was just the lucky one to emerge as champion!
Christopher Santos receiving his award from Canon Singapore’s President and CEO, Ms Noriko Gunji, and Senior Director, Mr Syed Shamim Anwar Quadri
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