Proper training on brakes, tires closely aligned with assuring roadway safety

Jan. 1, 2020
Tires and brakes are where the rubber meets the road. Every driver requires the ability to get going along with the capability of coming to a full stop.

Comprised of wear-parts that continually need attention while generating consistent DIY and DIFM revenues, tires and brakes are where the rubber meets the road. Every driver requires the ability to get going along with the capability of coming to a full stop.

“It kind of goes hand-in-hand,” says Dann Ingebritson, senior technical trainer for Brake Parts Inc. (BPI), the parent firm of Raybestos. “Just about every tire store does brakes.”

Opportunities abound for obtaining the proper training at both the service center and counterperson levels, beginning with an auto shop class that may still be offered at your local high school and moving onward into more sophisticated education for addressing a series of increasingly complex technologies.

Often aligned with other tasks under an overall undercar category, localized vocational programs, independent and association-affiliated instructional institutions and manufacturer-led training sessions are provided throughout the nation to ensure that these safety-critical maintenance, repair and replace operations are successfully completed.

“It’s not like it was 10 years ago; brakes have come a long way – it’s not just throwing pads on and moving it out the door,” Ingebritson reports. “Brakes do a lot more than stop the car: They keep the car on the road. You have to do the job correctly or it will come back to bite you.”

If you’re currently concentrating solely on tires and wish to increase your knowledge by learning about brakes, “probably the first thing to do is to get into a shop that has training,” he suggests. That may seem obvious, yet “if you go to (made-up name) ‘Bob’s Tire,’ Bob may not pay too much attention to training. Find a shop that offers training.”

Raybestos has an extensive array of online and in-person, hands-on training options along with expert call-in advice for industry professionals. “On our Technical Service Helpline we get 200 calls a day, so we know where the problems are out in the field,” according to Ingebritson.

“The diagnostics these days is a process of elimination,” he explains, referring to the numerous interrelated undercarriage systems that may or may not be behind a suspicious noise, spongy pedal, handling issue or stopping difficulty. “We teach every step you should take for a brake job.” Firestone, NAPA and ACDelco are among Ingebritson’s chain training clients.

“My goal is to offer practical instruction to our shop customers,” says Ingebritson. “You go to any parts store and they can tell you which shops have a lot of returns” because of diagnostic challenges. “I like to go to shops that have a lot of questions and issues. I can give them advice on how to find a problem a little more quickly and efficiently.”

Remaining up-to-date regarding automaker innovations is an ongoing endeavor, he notes. “Today’s top technicians, sales people and counterpeople, those regarded as the best in their field, understand the importance of keeping current with the latest systems, products, guidelines and procedures.”

Ingebritson has found that even the most experienced industry personnel are quite receptive to conquering the complexities of all the groundbreaking braking developments. “The average age of my classes at night is typically 40- to 45-years-old, and the guys who come to the class are open-minded. We cover as much as we can – it’s not boring.”

He points out that “by participating in these programs, Raybestos makes it easier for companies to employ knowledgeable, dependable technicians. Through this education, their companies benefit from maintaining a prepared work force capable of providing the best customer service possible.”

The firm’s internet-based training options deliver value as well for addressing the many car-on-the-rack puzzles that commonly come to the fore within this category. “Have you ever wondered why it’s important to match OE specifications on lightweight rotors? Do you want to learn how to properly perform a master cylinder bench bleed?” queries BPI marketing manager Kristin Grons: “Automotive professionals will find answers to these questions in addition to many other helpful tips and useful information when they watch the new ‘how-to’ training videos located on the Raybestos website.”

Assisting service advisors
Online instruction from Advance Auto Parts through the Carquest Technical Institute (CTI) and the WORLDPAC Technical Institute (WTI) includes courses such as Steering Clear of Undercar Misdiagnosis, which focuses on a variety of new technologies that are often overlooked as a cause of tire wear, and the Wheel & Tire Complete Coursethat highlights foundational tire service knowledge. Wheel Alignment Advancedis a 14-module-with-quizzes course covering wheel alignment processes and diagnostic angles.

Brakes Advanced and Enhanced Stability Systems, Diagnosis, Analysis and Repair aretwo offerings stressing the importance of brake service and its impact on vehicle stability.

Additional classes include the 4-hour Pressure Monitoring Systems: Service and Technology UpdateBest Practices in Brake Service, and the 8-hour Anti-Lock Brake & Stability Control: Operation and Diagnosis.

Also available is Virtual Vehicle, an online animation tool “that assists service advisors in having a more meaningful conversation with their customers,” says Chris Chesney, senior director of customer training for CTI/Advance program. “This contains many tire and brake scenario animations and videos depicting failure modes that give the consumer a visual understanding of their situation. This tool is also used by thousands of users as an education tool for both the customer and advisor or technician alike.”

Instructor-led sessions are hosted locally at more than 260 locations throughout North America at Advance stores, industry expositions and event facilities such as hotel ballrooms. “The purpose of these classes is to provide the opportunity for students to enhance their knowledge of the diagnostic techniques through CTI and WTI training experts,” says Chesney, “and add hands-on experience to enhance their skills and productivity.”

Training the trainers
Since 1997 the 9,000-member Tire Industry Association (TIA) has provided instruction to more than 200,000 tire technicians.

“We offer tire service training on all types of tires – passenger/light truck, commercial truck, earthmover, farm and industrial,” says training director Christine Hoogenboom. “Each of our programs is broken out by type of tire. We do not offer one course that covers all types of tires. Instead, a tech would take each individual course for the tires that they work on.”

She adds that “most tire techs do not do other mechanical work. But mechanics do sometimes have to do tire work. For example, they have to remove the tire/wheel assembly to get to the brakes. So some mechanics do our tire training, but it usually does not go the other way.”

Basic training can be accessed through the TIA Online University. Certification is obtained by attending in-person, hands-on classes; the Certified Automotive Tire Service (ATS) designation is the highest level for working on passenger/light truck tires. Qualified practitioners in your area can be identified via TIA’s website.

“TIA holds train-the-trainer courses so shops can send one person to the class to become certified as a TIA Instructor. That person then goes back to his/her shop and holds the Certified Tech classes for their employees,” Hoogenboom says.

Areas of education include mount/demount, lifting, balancing, nail-hole repair, wheel installation/removal and TPMS. International instruction has been provided in Mongolia, Australia, Mexico, Africa and South America.

“Tire dealers vary on what level of training they do. Some just do the Basic Level online. Some do the Certified Course and some do both,” she notes. “Many dealers, especially the larger ones, will use the Basic ATS to train new hires on the first day so they don’t even touch a tire until they’ve gone through the training. And then, if they stay for 6 months or a year, the shop will take the time to fully certify them with the hands-on course.”

Established in 2015, Federal-Mogul’s Garage Gurus technical education network has been emphasizing outreach to young adults through a series of scholarships engineered to attract new hires into the industry.

“The main goal of the Garage Gurus scholarship program has remained the same since its introduction – to encourage and support the next generation of automotive and truck repair service professionals as they pursue their careers,” says Brent Berman, the company’s director of training and consumer experience. “These scholarships often serve as motivation to these men and women to fully engage in their training to become knowledgeable and active technicians in the future.”

With onsite, online and on-demand instruction, Garage Gurus is defined as a first-of-its-kind national training platform “designed to help front-line automotive service professionals keep pace with the latest vehicle technologies.” State-of-the-art Garage Gurus educational centers are located in 12 U.S. markets: Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; the Bronx, N.Y.; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Houston; Rancho Dominguez, Calif.; South Florida; St. Louis; Suburban Detroit; and Van Nuys, Calif.

Featuring an active social media presence, “our Garage Gurus program has proven very successful at helping techs learn how to properly repair and maintain their customers’ vehicles, whether the job is intensive or is an easy fix,” Berman says.

A heavy-duty skills gap
In January Federal-Mogul rolled out Garage Gurus HD, a new training program for heavy-duty technicians. Initial content consists of three modules, including nine classes pertaining to foundation brakes, air disc brakes, bearings and seals. Throughout the year the company has been launching additional sessions for FP Diesel, ASE preparation classes, preventive maintenance inspections and other topics.

“We recognize how important it is to address the skills gap throughout the commercial vehicle industry, along with the need to provide technicians access to quality heavy-duty training classes,” according to Berman.

Upkeep of trucker braking systems appears to be a major underserved need that will be underscored during the Sept. 16-22 Brake Safety Week. Unannounced roadside inspections conducted by authorities in Canada and the U.S. on April 25, which was Brake Safety Day, resulted in nearly 1,600 commercial vehicles being banished to the berm – a frightening failure rate of 13.8 percent out of 11,531 vehicles put to the test. Faulty airbrakes and non-compliant ABS were the culprits.

“Inspecting, identifying and removing commercial motor vehicles with brake violations from our roadways is critical to the safety of the traveling public,” says Capt. Christopher Turner of the Kansas Highway Patrol, who serves as president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), a joint enforcement effort between the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport. “Brake systems that are improperly installed, neglected or poorly maintained reduce braking efficiency and increase stopping distances of trucks and buses, posing a serious transportation safety risk.”

According to governmental statistics, large trucks involved in a crash where braking capacity was a critical factor were 50 percent more likely to have a brake violation than were trucks involved in wrecks where the braking was not called into question. Of the trucks involved in brake-critical crashes, 45.5 percent had brake violations, compared with 29.9 percent of trucks involved in crashes of the same type but where their braking capability was not deemed relevant to the incident.

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