Service Information Access
CHICAGO - Advances in automotive technology are a bit like those in medicine. Not only do the tests, equipment and tools change in design and complexity of function, but the need to access the knowledge and understand the full range of new capabilities, followed by training in their use is a precursor to being able to diagnose medical problems and to service them in a safe and effective manner.
Service professionals - whether independent or dealership - are like doctors. The difference is that the patients are vehicles.
Somewhat buried in the current headlines of governance, hearings, negotiations and the economics of the industry, the need for access to automotive service, tool and training information is still there. Not only with what exists today, but also with an eye on what's coming in the future. Like medicine, the need is dynamic and subject to the winds of change - as innovation, the evolution and resolution of legal issues and rights, rising environmental concerns and other global impacts shape the repair and service landscape.
With ever improving technology, service and tool information and functionality is a major concern going forward. Three emerging issues - the rising influence of telematics, the possibilities of OBDIII with even more sensors being deployed and vehicle immobilizers - illustrate that the need for access is not static; rather, it is evolving and expanding.
The ghost of Christmas Past Ensuring parity in access to tool information and full access to all of their capabilities between independents and dealers, now and going forward, is crucial, both for competitiveness and benefit to consumers. Recently Stephen Cole, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) told legislators that, "By and large, the service information was being provided." But is it enough, let alone cutting-edge information?"... members find themselves in the difficult position of having to tell their customers they are unable to make repairs and refer them to a local dealer."- Bob Everett,
AASP past president
Aaron Lowe, a vice president with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), says that the ultimate goal in closing the gap was to develop a system that ensures service and tool information is provided. This system will allow disputes to be resolved in a timely basis so the technician can get what he or she needs to complete the repairs while the car is still in the bay. During recent testimony before Congress he said, "While our industry does not have a problem competing on a level playing field for service and repair work, the use of electronics and computers on late models by the car companies threatens to shift the playing field and reduce competition in the aftermarket."
Bob Everett, past president of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) explained, "As more and more of a vehicle's functions are controlled by on-board computers, independent repair facilities have found it more difficult to obtain the information necessary to repair their customer's cars."
The frustration for the members and shops he represents who face this problem are self-evident, he added, when "members find themselves in the difficult position of having to tell their customers they are unable to make repairs and refer them to a local dealer."
Chief Legal Counsel of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Robert Braziel agreed during his testimony that vehicle technology was becoming ever more complex. He said the training of technicians and other professionals is an essential investment for survival and success. Having service and tool information accessible is only part of the equation, for having diagnostic tools alone isn't enough. Technicians have to be able to analyze the information tools provide.
"Tools often help find problems generally, but technicians solve them," he pointed out. That's an investment that while everyone recognizes the need for nor not everyone makes.
He added that today's dealerships service other brands, not just their own makes and models. Thus, dealer technicians have the same need for access to service information as independents. He maintained all the information is there for both dealers and independents alike, but that not everyone invests adequately or stays current in learning how to access or use the needed information today - let alone tomorrow. "It's important to distinguish between equivalency of access verses equivalency of outcome," he stated.
The ghost of Christmas Present Lowe and others say that access to vehicle immobilizer systems is an issue that needs to be resolved. While the systems help reduce vehicle theft, the information is needed to complete some shop repairs that have systems tied into the immobilizer system. For example, this information is needed to reinitiate anti-theft systems and restart cars. According to Lowe, only some automakers provide independent shops access to this information currently, with others claiming a more secure method is needed.Today's dealershipsservice other brands, not just their own makes and models.
- Robert Braziel, NADA
An informed understanding of the issue recognizes that the vehicle security issue in neither simple nor as easy to resolve as some expect; it is an issue that is being worked on in earnest by the industry. There are formidable and complex nuances and legal considerations that an uninformed glance might miss. Every stakeholder - from automaker to shop - wants consumers to be able to restart their vehicles in as timely a manner as possible. But any solution also needs to embrace protection against unauthorized access, as well as theft or vandalism.
The Vehicle Security Committee (VSC), a group within the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF), has been working diligently with multiple law enforcement agencies, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, locksmiths, toolmakers, automakers, aftermarket shops and other stakeholders toward the development of a safeguarded access system. The objective is to enable access to only confirmed and authorized technicians, independent and dealers alike, without risking the privacy and security of customers or incurring any legal liability for industry members. A prototype model has been proposed and is being discussed with a view to implementing a process that works and has stakeholder buy-in.
One of the VSC co-chairs, when asked about the immobilizer issue, explained another hurdle. Only two automakers - General Motors (GM) and Ford - are able to make decisions that were binding here in America. The rest of the automakers are subsidiaries of foreign-based companies, and it takes some time and substantial details to facilitate consideration and decisions by those manufacturers based in Europe or Asia. The committee was actively pursuing this, and noted that any stakeholders with concern were, and had always been, welcome to attend, participate and be better informed of the complex realities the immobilizer issue involved.
The ghost of Christmas Future Telematics are, and will continue to impact not only how vehicles are monitored, but also how they might be serviced. Onstar today monitors vehicles and enables GM to communicate directly with its customers and advise them of needed service. While these customers have a choice of where to have the service done, just ask yourself: Where are they most likely to go? Telematics also could provide service solutions through means such as software patches sent wirelessly and directly into a customers vehicle.- Larry Burns, GM
The increase in data storage capacity inside automobiles, through the use of Flash memory or even hard drives installed in vehicles, going forward will increase the memory and therefore functionality of applications that can be sent remotely to automobiles. Besides infotainment subsystems, wireless- and satellite-provided telematics applications in vehicles will grow.
Larry Burn, GM vice president for Research & Development and Planning, has a personal understanding of technological progress, both in medicine and automobiles. Medical technology advances helped restore and maintain his hearing. His experience in automotive advances has led him to say that telematics can not only provide the monitoring capability for vehicles today, but suggested that going forward, telematics also could provide service solutions through means such as software patches sent wirelessly and directly into a customers vehicle. Will the convenience that this affords consumers change the landscape of automotive service? You tell me.
Whether yes or no, it is certain that the aftermarket has to find a way to be involved and capable of meeting this convergence of diagnosing and convenient provision of servicing - not only for its survival, but also because of the 70 percent share of consumer repairs done today by aftermarket service professionals. That will require setting aside historical prejudices and confrontational rhetoric, an earnest joint effort and the building of bridges and trust.
So riddle me this There's a dialogue and cooperation in the medical industry, that in a word ... works. International and domestic medical OEMs go about doing what they do best. Without compromising proprietary knowledge or consumer security concerns, they also provide access to information, tools and training so that doctors - both private practice and institutional - who choose to invest in embracing change can stay current and use technological advances to provide the best of health care to consumers in a manner that is not lagging technology, but is state-of-the art. Doctors fix people. That's their only job, and they do it every day.The question is this: Why do we in the automotive industry spend so much time, money and effort getting in the way of progress that impacts the ability of service professionals to heal cars?
(Sources: AAIA, AASP, GM, NADA, NASTF)
