Training Technicians
An investment in education can pay off down the road
Deborah Lockridge
Senior Editor
Kids want to grow up to be firemen, astronauts, doctors, football players, race car drivers. Let's face it, truck mechanic isn't frequently on the list. Even if you dress it up with names like technician, people still think "grease monkey."
You've heard about the importance of bringing more young people into the field, and you've tried recruiting techniques ranging from newspaper ads to job fairs to referral bonuses. But have you considered the benefits a technician training program might offer?
Investing in a training program can help you recruit and retain both new and seasoned technicians, help you "grow" experienced technicians, and make your shop more productive.
"Training can be one of the most expensive things you do — and also one of the most expensive things you don't do," says Bob Jennings, vice president of sales and marketing with FleetPride. In addition to having its own aftermarket parts and FleetCare repair shops, FleetPride offers a wide variety of training programs on everything from air brakes to air conditioning.
"We train our technicians at least 40 hours per year. In two to three years, we get a 15 to 20% increase in their productivity level," Jennings says. "Increased productivity shows up for a fleet in less downtime. It shows up in a repair shop in billable hours. We actually have a formula that shows our investment in training over two to three years gives us a 400 to 500% return on our investment."
ASE Certification
One way to set up a training program is to use ASE certification as a goal. In a survey of fleet managers, ASE found that more than 85% believed ASE certified technicians worked more accurately, and 81% felt they were more likely to fix a problem the first time.
Florida Power & Light in Miami measured a 32% drop in costs over six years when they implemented an ASE certification incentive program, says Chuck Roberts, executive director of industry relations at ASE. At the same time, the number of breakdowns fell from an average of two trucks per year to one every four years.
When the Arizona Department of Transportation created a stipend pay incentive for people to achieve ASE certification, Roberts says, turnover rates dropped from 35% to less than 5%, and overtime costs were cut by 35% — in just two years.
A task force at the Technology and Maintenance Council is looking into developing a recommended practice to give fleet managers a guide to implementing a fleet technician certification program.
Growing Your Own
FedEx Freight has had a lot of success with growing its own technicians through training, says Vice President Dennis Beal.
Managers will hire someone with limited experience — for instance, someone coming out of the armed forces who has done some kind of technical work. They put them through in-house education, which is generally centered around ASE certification.
The trainee technicians start off at less pay, and as they take and pass the ASE tests, they are given increases in pay. Eventually they are promoted to full-fledged technicians with full pay. After that, they have the ability to become a master certified ASE technician, again with an increase in pay.
"Not only are you able to shape that individual's direction, there also seems to be more loyalty, and retention is somewhat better," Beal says.
A manager of fleet maintenance training is responsible for structuring the education.
"We find that passing the ASE tests is somewhat difficult," Beal says. "Individuals maybe can do the work with their hands, but dealing with it on a piece of paper may not be as easy, so we help them with testing issues as well."
Where And What Kind Of Training?
Now that you're convinced of the value of training, where do you get it? And what type of training should you choose?
OEMs and suppliers are the most likely source for training, according to ASE's Roberts. And think beyond just truck and engine makers. The major component manufacturers offer various training programs on brakes, transmissions, axles and the like.
Grote offers truck lighting and electrical training. Bendix offers air brake training. Horton offers a fan drive training kit. Wix Filters offers an intensive three-day training program at its North Carolina headquarters or a several-hour preventive maintenance seminar on the road.
At FedEx Freight, Beal says, "every time we negotiate with a supplier, say for our tractors, trailers, forklifts, components, engines, part of that negotiation is an education package." It may include both hands-on training at FedEx Freight facilities and interactive computer-based education through CD-ROM or via the Internet.
If you don't have a big fleet and someone devoted to training like FedEx Freight, you might find it daunting to develop a training program and contact all your suppliers to find out what's available and how much it costs. One alternative is FleetPride.
OEM training is often readily available for technicians who work at dealerships, but very few comprehensive training programs are available for fleets, according to FleetPride's Jennings. Not everyone has as strong a relationship with vendors as OEM dealers or large fleets.
"We feel — as an aftermarket company — our place is to work hard to help the fleet maintenance facilities and independent repair shops stay on the cutting edge as well," he says.
FleetPride partners with manufacturers such as ArvinMeritor and Haldex to offer training on topics such as air brake systems, antilock brakes, wheel ends, suspensions, drivelines, electrical systems and air conditioning.
Each of FleetPride's approximately 150 branches is expected to run at least one customer training clinic per quarter, based on what the local customers say they need. Recently FleetPride introduced its TechTrailers, mobile classrooms that will let FleetPride take hands-on training to aftermarket customers. FleetPride also offers training that prepares technicians for ASE certification tests.
"The more technically advanced the vehicles become, the harder it is to keep technicians up to speed, especially with the smaller fleets," Jennings says.
How do you know what kind of training your technicians need? It depends on your shop.
ASE's Roberts recommends that fleets tie the certification program to the work a technician actually does. "If you have a brake shop, don't pay for certification in the diesel engine area."
FleetPride's Jennings also recommends that you focus training on the type of work you do the most. "If you do front-end alignments, you should do training on it at least once a year. If you handle any specialized work, like trailer repairs or lift gate repairs, you should provide training on those as well."
Darry Stuart, who works with fleets to improve their maintenance programs, recommends focusing on the basics. "I don't think you need a shop full of master technicians," he says. "You need good basic mechanics.
"The best training in the world gets dissolved from lack of use," he says. Everybody wants engine training, he says, but in reality, because of warranty issues, at most fleets, the majority of engine work is done at the dealership level. So train on what technicians face in your shop.
Stuart says in his experience, a good place to start your training program is with preventive maintenance, electrical/electronics, and air conditioning and refrigeration.
"Electricity will kill the truck the easiest — it won't start, or won't charge, or there's a problem with the electronics in the engine. But the average technician is afraid of electricity, so the skill level is lower."
Day-To-Day Training
No matter what kind of formal training you choose to provide your technicians, keep in mind that while it is important, training is not a panacea. "You can go broke training if you don't do it right," Stuart says.
In addition to formal training, it's important to make learning a part of the day-to-day job. Stuart says the first line of training is supervision.
A supervisor, he says, should spend at least 40 minutes of any hour MBWA — Management By Wandering Around. "If he's constantly spending his time in the shop observing, and he's got a junior guy that's having trouble, he can go help him. A good foreman can tell just by the look on his face."
Stuart promotes what he calls the "five-minute rule." If a technician can't figure out within five minutes the direction he needs to go on a repair, he should come back to the supervisor for help.
"That gives the foreman the opportunity to do real-time training, instead of letting the guy fumble for two hours before he figures out he has no clue what he's doing."
And if a technician is fumbling, he's not getting that truck back out on the road where it's making money. Good training, both formal and everyday, can help get that truck back on the road faster.
