Professional_Distributor_December_2020 - 33

SMARTER DIAGNOSTICS

emission DTC, the attitude quickly
changed. I happened to be in the office
that day and witnessed all of this happen in real-time. What I observed was
an awesome thing to see. I immediately reflected on what this experience
would have been like in the past where
we didn't have that information available at our fingertips and was so happy
we didn't have to go there.

DIGITAL MARKETING ASSETS
Since adopting the cloud-based SMS,
we've taken thousands of pictures, videos, and collected tons of vehicle data
which we use in some of our marketing efforts. From time to time, we
come across interesting pictures that
would qualify for a short story that
could be used in one or more of our
social platforms.
The process flows like this: Once
the appropriate individuals are made
aware of an image or scenario of interest, the image will be copied and added
to a marketing channel we have set up
in an application we use for internal
communications called Slack. Once the
image is in that channel, the marketing folks can draft up a short story for
review and possibly perform some basic
edits the photo/video such as lighting,
saturation, notes, and/or by adding
visual cues. (See figure 2)

WORKFLOW, SPECIFICATIONS,
DISCIPLINED INSPECTIONS
Service technicians are often tasked
with looking up specifications such
as torque specs, fluid specs, and more.
Today's modern SMS platforms can
add even more efficiency by providing
quick access to this essential information right inside the repair order. (See
figure 3)
Ensuring that the inspection process is carried out uniformly regardless of staff member is highly desirable
and goes a long way towards ensuring
that every vehicle is inspected per our
adopted standards. In some cases, such
as a driveability or an electrical system

analysis, a digital check list can help to
prevent an overlooked and sometimes
critical step from being missed. As we
all know, situations like this could possibly lead to a misdiagnosis.
Complying with local state regulations can also be ensured by forcing the
SMS to populate every work order with
a specific task. In California, service
facilities are required to check, record,
and adjust the tire pressure of every
vehicle entering our shop. This tire
pressure inspect/adjust job is added
automatically to every work order
created in my shop. When a battery
is installed in my shop, there are a
series of follow-up tests that are performed to ensure that the new battery
is not being installed in an otherwise
compromised vehicle. 	
At times, we may receive vehicles
that have had other unsuccessful
repair attempts performed elsewhere.
Before assigning a vehicle to a technician, we may task office personnel
with research to determine whether the
vehicle has any applicable bulletins or
known issues and attach these items
to the work order. This is a powerful
exercise, as I have personally witnessed
technicians successfully come to the
right conclusion when dealing with a
complex vehicle problem. Not only that,
but with a modern SMS system, we're
able to communicate these challenges
with the client. We can show how
complex these issues really are, and
how we as professionals will deliver.
I have been involved in some of these
preparations and it's not uncommon
to find me inserting a few applicable
wiring or connector pin out diagrams
right into the work order. This step
gives us a great point of reference
when we begin testing with some of
our advanced tools, such as meters and
lab scopes.
You can see how leveraging the
power of today's modern platforms and
digital tools can make life a lot easier -
and shops more successful - in today's
highly complicated business.

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