Who is your Automobile Service Technician
As an automobile service technician, the need for strategic development can never be over emphasized. In view of this, we will be considering skill sets that will increase effectiveness and boost interpersonal relationship in the workplace.
These skills provide the foundation for developing other skills that is required to help an individual to evolve and adapt to changes in the workplace. No individual can work in isolation irrespective of how well the person is on the job. The skills are interrelated, essential in every occupation and can be applicable in different ways even as an automobile technician.
Below are the essential skills:
Reading
Effective listening
Writing
Document use
Oral communication
Thinking
Working with others (Team Work)
Digital technology
Continuous learning
What does an automobile service technician (a handy man) have to do with these skills you might ask? Every profession has its occupational hazards as long as you would deal with people and your environment.
READING.
An Automobile service technician must posses the ability to read and comprehend. During carrying out his duties, he will have to read a lot of automobile resource materials such as safety manual, user manual, workshop service manual, technical service bulletins and other automobile resources/ materials.
LISTENING.
An automobile service technician must posses the ability of listening effectively. He would have to listen to the client’s complaints, symptoms and irregular noise from the engine and other systems of the automobile.
WRITING.
Writing skill is also a very important skill required to be a good automobile service technician. Every observation made on the automobile must be documented in writing to avoid complications during repairs.
ORAL COMMUNICATION
An automobile service technician should be able to effectively communicate with clients and colleagues in the workplace. The need to explain to the client and your colleagues what is wrong with the vehicle and how you intend to fix it can never be over emphasized.
DOCUMENT USE
Proper interpretation of fault codes, flowcharts, technical schematic diagrams, complaints and symptoms etc. is a standard means of problem solving in the automobile industry. An automobile service technician must be able to collate all these information in providing solutions.
THINKING
Thought process is key to solving automobile related issues. Our thinking pattern forms our perspective while providing solutions. As an automobile service technician, you must be able to ask Why, How and When and have answers to them before any repair is carried out.
WORKING WITH OTHERS (TEAM WORK)
Successful automobile repair is achievable by effective team work. Some automobile service technician work independently but collaborate with colleagues within their specific area of expertise to resolve concerns.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Automobile service repair jobs became digital since the introduction of the micro chip (Brainbox) in the automobile. The effective use of computerized scanning equipment’s is very important. Information sharing amongst technicians, service managers, colleagues in other locations and manufactures support specialists are all done via digital technology. Keyboarding and basic computer skills are an asset.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Continuous technological changes and advancements in the industry requires an automobile service technician to constantly be abreast with these technological changes. Certification and recertification are extremely important to keep up to date with technological advancements.
Fixing today’s automobile requires high level automobile resource material processing before embarking on a repair job.
The automobile(vehicle) is not a magic box, it’s a machine designed to follow certain specific set of instruction per time in order to perform specific set of operation, these instructions and operations could either be manually or automatically controlled. Laying more emphasis on the later, we can define the automobile as a systematic sequentially controlled machine.
These implies that fixing it, requires understanding the logic behind the command and control of each operation , that’s why we should stick to the manufactures specified repair procedure per automobile, while carrying out any repair.
Automobile service technicians(mechanics) are not magicians but people like you and I that have chosen to follow the manufactures specified procedures while fixing vehicles, using the specified tools. This implies that for every damaged or broken part in the vehicle, there is a specified repair procedure, stated either in the owners manual, workshop repair manual or TSB(Technical service bulletin) .
WHO IS YOUR AUTOMOBILE SERVICE TECHNICIAN…..
