I'm at the HDMA CVOC meeting listening to a panel discussion related to technology's impact on the workforce, particularly the driver and the service technician. It occurs to me that we use tablets and cameras and more to provide ADAS (Automatic Driver Assistance System) for the driver. We should be able to use some of the same technology to provide help to the service technician. Let's call it TAST (Technology Assisting Service Technicians) or something catchy.
Cameras can take pictures of parts and automatically identify the part and what is wrong with it. Cameras can take pictures of tire treads and diagnose issues with alignment. Cell phones should be able to take pictures for vehicle inspection reports. Tablets and phones can provide step by step instructions to a driver to help the service technician.
Let's do something to glamorize the job of a technician. We do a lot to make the deductive work of police and detectives interesting on TV. What could be done to make the job of a service technician as exciting as watching a coroner tear apart a body to figure out why someone died or was killed. Maybe we can start with a YouTube channel that amateurs can work on. Maybe even ask high school kids to help make the career more interesting. Instead of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) or House, let's do something called Fleet TDI for Truck Down Inspection.
