Whither Tech Support
Thursday, December 01, 2011
By Penelope B Grenoble
Anyone who takes a close look at the current state of technical support in the heavy equipment industry will notice a number of trends that have the potential to affect changes in how equipment is serviced. First the machines—they’re more and more complicated, which means the technology to diagnose and trouble-shoot has become more sophisticated, specialized, and expensive. Second, a constant the stream of upgrades and add-ons requires technicians be constantly on their toes. Third, the work force is changing, and the industry is facing a shortage of experienced and competent personnel. Fourth, OEMs and dealers are increasingly emphasizing service as a profit center. Finally, the variable on which all this turns is training.
Let’s start with the last one first because it influences all of the above. “There will always be some customers that have fleets and will have their own mechanics,” says Peter Steiner, Case’s manager of dealer technician training for North America. “But their best bet is to outsource what they can with their local dealer.” (The implication being the dealer is more prepared to tackle the hard stuff because dealer technicians have been through corporate-sanctioned training.)
At Miller-Bradford & Risberg, Inc. in Green Bay, WI, Tom Gorst, vice president of product support, takes a similar position from a dealer’s perspective. “With the trends in machinery controls and electronics, as well as pollution standards getting tougher, the industry is much better served by dealer technicians who attend specific machine manufacturers’ training on a regular basis. Our technicians attend one or more primary schools per year, minimum, with mini-schools scheduled throughout the year by our manufacturers.” (This idea follows the first, that not many end users will be inclined to, or have the wherewithal to make this kind of investment.)
On the other hand not everyone is arbitrary. At Empire Cat in Mesa, AZ, Caterpillar ThinkBIG Coordinator Dave Baker thinks the dealer/customer support relationship has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. Perhaps a customer has a large enough fleet to support a competent and experienced staff, as well as enough resources to keep it going when the machines are humming. And perhaps he’s been lucky or savvy enough to hire people who are capable of keeping track of machines, picking up small things that could develop into something major, keeping oil changes up, etc. And perhaps he’s smart enough to know when to have his dealership, rather than his staff, tear into an engine or transmission. Across the country at Milton Cat in Milton, MA, Service Solutions Center Manager Josh Gaynor has a similar opinion. “The question has to be answered by the individual customer, taking into consideration his investment in brick and mortar, service equipment, existing technical capacity, and union obligations or local contracting agreements.”
The elephant in the living room is that manufacturers aren’t really keen on training their customer’s technicians on the tough stuff, in part because they don’t want them mucking things up. This apprehension can be well founded, says Steve Barker, technical trainer for Nortrax in Orlando, FL. “We’ve had machines come in that a customer’s technician has worked and all he’s done is create more problems.” (Implication No. 3: Do you want your guy working on a machine for two days, when a dealer technician, who may have seen the same problem 20 times over, can knock it off in 20 minutes?)
Brian Evans, product support and training manager at Doosan, says basic knowledge is a hurdle. In the Doosan scheme of things (and, one guesses, throughout the industry), a staff of highly trained (and certified) mechanics means the dealer benefits in a number of ways, including better deals on new machines and guaranteed warranty reimbursement. In fact, John Deere currently requires all warranty work be done by Deere-trained technicians.
But the fact is not all dealerships are created equal, and OEMs are now engaged in playing catch-up. Case brings its dealer technicians into a central training facility and has developed its own proprietary technician simulator to help deliver critical hands-on experience. John Deere hosts training courses for technicians and dealer trainers, who are required to be certified before they can teach courses in their home territory. And dealers of all persuasions are developing relationships with trade and technical schools to help bring qualified technicians into the fold.
At Northeast Wisconsin Technical School, senior diesel instructor Jon Sowl reports that degree students as well as technical diploma students learn the basics of machines, from hydraulics to electronics, from engines to drive trains, what Barker, a former technician himself, calls “the foundational underpinning” a dealer can build upon and customize. “How can you fix a problem on a machine if you don’t know how it works?” Point well taken. Another point, says Sowl, is that many high-school grads come out unprepared for what it takes to gear up for a career, a particular problem as the heavy equipment technician work force ages. All the more reason for employers to hire out of programs like his that bring students up to speed before they send them out in the world.
Nortrax’s technician training program is based on ongoing evaluation of the ratio between equipment sold versus technician availability. If one dealership is big on excavators but short on excavator technicians, you can bet what’s next up on the training docket. Deere certifies technicians by equipment type (Implication No. 4: How can customers match that kind of competency with a multipurpose in-house staff?)
Caterpillar’s ThinkBIG program includes 21 partnerships worldwide between dealers and community colleges and technical schools that train technicians to Cat standards. Empire Cat’s ThinkBIG program, offered in conjunction with Mesa Community College, requires applicants complete two years of training that alternates between eight weeks of classroom instruction and eight weeks of a paid internship at a Cat dealership. General education courses put trainees in line for potential management responsibilities. But while the idea is that dealership will keep our graduates in house, completing the program doesn’t guarantee employment, says Joe Rauscher, the ThinkBIG program director at Mesa Community College.
But what if against all odds you opt to develop your own in-house program of product support? A look at the dealer training programs suggests some common elements.
Know who you’re training and why—Acknowledge that technicians have different skills. As Barker points out, field technicians tend to be good diagnosticians and trouble-shooters but don’t do so well staying home and taking an engine apart. The Cat/Mesa partnership requires applicants take an aptitude test to assess their basic knowledge and a hands-on test to evaluate whether they can visualize and work with their hands. After that they must satisfy a panel of instructors they have what it takes to complete the program.
Formalized, progressive learning—In general OEM-based training follows Gaynor’s suggestion that a curriculum proceed from beginner to intermediate and advanced topics because it allows students to move through training in a logical progression. Most current programs require trainees complete introductory online training (Case’s Web University, John Deere University) before they can proceed to a training center classroom. Likewise, classroom instruction is typically alternated with hands-on and sometimes mentored experience, often at dealers, not the least reason because they’re the ones with the diagnostic equipment. Doosan works its dealer technicians through four levels: one, basic electronics and hydraulics; two, machine-specific systems—20% classroom, 80% hands-on—three, hydraulic and engine repair; and four, technical component repair.
Provide acknowledgement and/or certification—In some cases this amounts to positive feedback, in other cases, such as Deere’s formalized technician certification program, it’s deadly serious. Case certifies trainees as they complete each level of training and provides patches, plaques, and certificates. Cat and its dealers provide certification of completion for every instructor-led course and, like Deere, offer certification programs for advanced products, which can mean upwards of 200-plus hours of training. Programs at junior colleges and technical schools confer associate degrees, certificates and diplomas.
Mentors/on the job experience—The key to good training, says Gaynor, is to match the technicality of in-classroom training with what students experience in their internship or part-time dealer employment, and, by implication, extend this after they’ve been on the job. In school, this allows students to immediately apply the skills they have learned in real-world applications. “Overtraining before students have had the opportunity to try out what they’ve learned can result in poor performance and ultimately may require retraining.”
Cat’s ThinkBIG Mesa Community College trainees go into dealers as apprentices, and shop supervisors are encouraged to identify senior technicians who can be paired with the graduates to develop and hone their skills. Miller-Bradford & Risberg dealers routinely hire technical school students part time while they’re finishing their education with the idea they’ll eventually get a trained, competent technician out of the deal. Maintaining a relationship with a trade school or community college also helps provide industry a way to keep educators current with what it needs.
Continual updates—All corporate training programs offer updates, mostly web-based. Deere requires recertification when it introduces a product such as its new IT4 engine. Technicians who’ve already been Deere-certified get the information online and are grandfathered in. Cat equipment updates are handled through New Product Information, wherein dealer personnel attend Cat-sponsored training courses and recreate the course for dealer personnel. Case provides technicians who have gone through training with online updates.
Gaynor suggests organizations looking to train their own technicians check with their dealer to see what they offer and what other options might be available. Milton Cat, for example, offers basic training on SIS and ET as well as the opportunity for select customers to enroll in Milton Fleet Training, a three-year program that provides a laptop computer, software, and over 150 hours of instructor-led training, which qualifies a technician for diagnostic work on all current Caterpillar products.
“With the technology in today’s machines, there’s a real concern about having properly trained technicians work on this equipment. The other side is that not providing customers any formal training, even the basics, can risk having the same results. The goal is to find a workable mix that provides the customer an understanding of the technology, identifies what functional areas are realistic for their technicians, and indicates when not to cross the line that requires dealer engagement. This requires an understanding of the customer’s expectations and the skill level of their technicians. Sounds like a plan.
Author's Bio: Journalist Penelope Grenoble O'Malley is a frequent contributor to Forester Communications Publications. |
Advertisement]