Professional Tool And Equipment News - May 2020 - 8

EDITOR'S NOTE

Subtle but significant
storage changes

Tyler Fussner
Assistant Editor

Even a shop's "furniture" evolves over time.
Emily Markham
Assistant Editor
By Sara Scullin, Editor
Sara@VehicleServicePros.com

A

lot of us are spending more time at
home than we are accustomed to.
For part of the population, this means
an opportunity to tackle some of those
long-neglected home updates, additions,
and repairs. For others, the home projects
were a nice thought ... but aren't exactly
panning out in reality (guilty).
In any case, spending more time at home
means all your dwelling's qualities - good
and bad - are on full display. The dynamic
of how a home is set up and how things
are organized can spark a few meaningful
ideas or launch a full-on renovation. I finally
said goodbye to about 45 DVDs (remember
those?) the other day. Who needs DVDs
when you've got Amazon Prime to play
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood over and over
... and over again?
The shop is a technician's second home,
and the sentiment remains the same.
Organizing schemes and layouts that served
you five or ten years ago might slow you
down now. In the shop, as in our homes,
the shift to digital has a real effect on what
we put in our space, how we move, and how
we work.
Take a look at the toolbox. It still earns
its keep by housing sockets, ratchets, batteries, and chargers .... and maybe it has a
built-in power supply. If you are a diagnostic
technician and spend a great deal of time
plugged in and reviewing scan tool images,

you might be considering a 'tweak' to how
you store and use all this gear.
In PTEN's Big-Time Boxes column, we've
welcomed diagnostic tool carts into the fold.
We still love the tool storage systems that
are shop fixtures and real workhorses, but
there's something to be said for a cart that
helps a technician tackle a job without having to dig around, untangle, or replace items.
Our March issue featured Richard Urso,
a diagnostic technician at High Tech Auto
Specialists in Oaklawn, Illinois. Urso modified his Snap-on KRBCSST Series Blue-Point
Roll Cart over time, mounting a monitor to
the back and welding exhaust brackets to the
side of the cart to access his labscope and its
10' test leads.
This month we have another diagnostic
tool storage solution on display, belonging
to Master Certified Technician and Shop
Foreman Codie Gaddie of Borst Automotive
in Tucson, Arizona (pg. 50). Gaddie added
a 27" monitor to the lid of his cart, which
he then hooked up to a mini PC and scan
tool kit. The cart is Gaddie's one-stop diagnostic shop, helping him to address the flow
of 'check engine' and ABS lights coming
through the door.
Beyond more streamlined organization, carts designed or crafted specifically
for diagnostic tooling can offer technicians
increased mobility, truly changing the way
they move and work in the shop.

Kayla Oschmann
Assistant Editor

Barry Hoyland
Contributing Editor

Scott Brown
Technical Editor
PTEN Editorial Advisory Board
Technicians
John Harris,
Brooks-Huff Goodyear, Timonium MD
Eric Moore,
DeMary Trucks, Columbus, OH
Lou Fort,
K.A.R.S. Inc., Huntingburg, IN
Shop Owners
Phil Fournier,
Phil's Auto Clinic, Hemet, CA
JD Goad,
Goad's Body Shop, Lexington, VA
Edwin Hazzard,
Southeast Mobile Tech, Goose Creek, SC
Barry Hoyland,
VSSCA, Camarillo, CA
Pete Rudloff,
Pete's Garage Inc., Newark, DE
Equipment Manufacturers
Chad Schley,
Schley Products/SP Tools
Jim O'Hara,
Clore Automotive

8

PTEN

MAY 2020

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