I work in the Transportation Vehicles Department at the TAV Istanbul Terminal as deputy to Numan Serim, who is responsible for this department. I have been working at the Istanbul Terminal for 12 years. During the first few years after I joined TAV I worked as a driver in the Purchasing Department and in the Machinery and Equipment Department. After the operations period began I worked as a driver for the Members of the Board of Management. With Service Vehicles Officer Şenol Tavşancı, our team is 25 strong; four employees working on the Apron, two in Purchasing, two as drivers for the Board of Management, three as drivers for the night shift and eleven in the follow-up of daily transportation business. On the whole, our team consists of experienced drivers in the 30-50 age group. Everyone knows Istanbul like the back of his hands. In recruiting our colleagues we place emphasis on their driving skills, because our job cannot tolerate any mistakes on the road.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Among the jobs we carry out there are the distribution of daily invoices to all companies affiliated TAV; the delivery of documents to tax offices, consulates, notaries, courthouses and the Governor’s Office; correspondence with translation offices; fulfilling the requests of members of the Board of Management; and taking them to their hotels and purchasing engagements. We coordinate all these activities with our superiors. Every month we distribute an average of 150-200 invoices; we are responsible for delivering them to companies within 7 days.

Our daily routine begins at 08.00 in the morning and continues at a very hectic pace until 18.00. Our drivers cover an average of 70-100 km a day. I wait until all vehicles are back and, therefore, I rarely leave before 21.00. Since we are generally racing against time, we monitor the density of traffic from the Metropolitan Municipality’s traffic program, and we immediately inform our drivers. That is how we avoid delays in deliveries.

The busiest periods are generally the beginning and end of the month, when invoices are issued, and the New Year and religious holiday periods because of gift distribution. We have a total of 75 vehicles. All periodical maintenance, electronic toll collection systems and fuel purchases are monitored from a single center and monthly and yearly reports are issued.

WHY ARE WE A STRONG LINK?

Since the invoices we deliver return to the company in the form of income, I believe that our job is of critical importance. Invoices are delivered and signed for within a set period of time. One of our colleagues, Etem Dinçkol, is renowned for his meticulousness about this. He records every delivery in a book he keeps. When you ask him about a delivery made months ago, he can immediately give you an answer. All our colleagues are very good at what they do. One-to-one contacts that we have established with organizations over the years enable us to carry out our work very efficiently.

The delivery of tender offers is one of the most crucial jobs that we carry out. This plays a major role in the growth of our company. Over the years our company has been expanding and our workload increasing. As members of the TAV family, my colleagues and I continue to work at the same rhythm and with the same enthusiasm to assist TAV in every way in order to fulfil our duties as best as possible.

“I feel as if I have graduated from a certification program in Airport Operations” Harun Öztoprak, Chief of the Terminal Operation Center (TOC), shared with us the experience he gained through his training at the TAV Academy, the ground he has covered in his career and his plans for the future.

Harun Öztoprak Terminal Operasyon Merkezi (TOC) Şefi / TAV İstanbul

Harun Öztoprak, a graduate of Geophysics at Istanbul Technical University, studied Business Administration at Hacettepe University and was appointed TOC Operator at TAV in 2000. He then became IT Shift Supervisor. While at this post–and with a 14 strong team--he received training for Interim Management at TAV Academy.

TRAINING IS ONGOING

For seven months and five days a week, Harun Öztoprak received education on airport operations. He also received personal development coaching in areas such as problem solving, stress management and team management in order to develop his management skills. At the end of the seven months, following the presentation of a graduation project to TAV Airports CEO Sani Şener, he was appointed Chief of TOC. Stating that “This training constituted a project of specialization for me,” Öztoprak says that training is ongoing and that monthly meetings take place with three mentors who are employed in high positions, in different departments of TAV: “We hold one-to-one meetings with our mentors. While we learn about intra-organizational relations from one mentor, we concentrate on airport operations with another. With yet another we work on finances and budgeting. They provide me with guidance on the path I should take. There were some areas where I had difficulties, especially when I had just been appointed Chief. The transition from being managed to managing others is not an easy one. As a result of the guidance I received from my mentors I overcame these difficulties and made progress. During the training process I also received training from foreign specialists on how to achieve one hundred percent customer satisfaction and IATA training. At this stage, I feel so confident it’s almost as if I have graduated from a certification program in Airport Operations.”

A COMMUNICATION BRIDGE

Harun Öztoprak describes his job at the Terminal Operation Center, which works 7/24 with a team of 14 as, “Managing units serving passengers in order to satisfy them, making sure that all electrical, mechanical and electronic systems in the terminal work properly, repairing malfunctions and making sure they do not happen again.” He continues, “We at the terminal operation unit form a communication bridge between service units and users.”

A STRONGER SENSE OF OWNERSHIP

Saying that following the training he has received, he feels a stronger sense of responsibility and ownership regarding the TAV Group, Harun Öztoprak says that everyday he wishes to learn more about airport operations, adding “I am a manager now at TAV Airports and I am planning my career so as to advance to higher levels. My objective is to gradually develop myself, with the support of the training I have received.”