Stay relevant, educated with Automechanika Chicago training

Feb. 11, 2015
As the automotive collision and mechanical repair industries continue to develop and change, the need for training is ever more important, and Automechanika Chicago, April 24-26 can help.

As the automotive collision and mechanical repair industries continue to develop and change, the need for training is ever more important to ensure technicians are properly educated to handle the challenges of today’s vehicles.

Automechanika Chicago, April 24-26, 2015, offers 50 industry-renowned instructors teaching more than 100 courses over the three-day inaugural event in McCormick Place West in downtown Chicago.

“With the industry changing at lighting speed, you have to attend events like Automechanika Chicago to stay current, or things will pass you by,” says Mike Anderson, owner of consulting firm Collision Advice, and one of the trainers at Automechanika Chicago. “The shops that I see that are best in class in profitability, customer service, cycle time and all those other monitored areas that are vital are unequivocally the shops that are the most well trained and coached. There is a direct correlation between those who invest in employees for training and the profit and performance of their business.”

Anderson is teaching two courses at the event, “Financial Best Practices” and “Continuous Improvement Best Practices.”

“With continuous improvement, a lot of it boils down to creating a culture of improvement. Once you have this down, your shops can be more profitable, fix cars faster, have better cycle time and improved CSI,” he says. “And with business financials, many don't focus on the Profit & Loss statement (P&L) until they need to figure out why they are losing money or not making as much money. We need to ensure that we are using P&Ls like we should, to not only see where we are making and losing money, but also to see where we aren’t maximizing profits.

Thirteen-year industry veteran Gabe Richards, mechanical manager at Lehman’s Garage in Eagan, Minn., is registered to attend a blend of management education with technical expertise.

“Do I know enough to get by on a daily basis fairly successfully? Yes. But I want to be as knowledgeable as possible to give my customers something to talk about, act as a mentor to younger employees, assist my master techs and make the repair process easier,” he says. “Customers want to feel as though an expert is working on their vehicle and that is exactly what I want to convey. The only way is to stay current on new technology and industry changes.”

Richards says he also values an opportunity to network with other automotive professionals who deal with similar challenges on a daily basis. He then uses these relationships to field questions, gather information or troubleshoot, he says.

Prioritizing industry training at the shop level drives a culture that values learning, and ultimately improves shop success.

“Automechanika plays a role in educating and training the collision repair industry, helping foster a culture of learning among technicians and shop owners globally. This learning culture is imperative, particularly considering the impending ‘tsunami’ of new vehicles, new technologies and new materials rapidly approaching the industry,” says John Van Alstyne, CEO and president of I-CAR, who is supporting Automechanika Chicago with its presence on the show floor. “In a typical model year, automakers launch 65 or more new or significantly re-engineered vehicles. I-CAR continues to be a resource to help prepare today’s automotive technicians and shop owners to help keep pace through up-to-date and continuous training.”

Larry Montanez, ABRN Technical Editor and co-owner of P&L consultants, says technicians should attend training events like Automechanika Chicago for the sole reason these events exist — to further education. “We as an industry have no licensing in 98 percent of states, so we need to dedicate ourselves to bettering the industry through self policing,” he says.

Montanez will be teaching “Aluminum Damage Analysis” during the Automechanika show, which will cover OEM joining methods for collision damaged aluminum intensive vehicles, along with the required equipment, tools and training that is needed. He stresses the importance of continued training in all areas of collision repair, and especially for aluminum repair. “Many are disillusioned or misinformed about aluminum repair and protocols,” he says.

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