Automotive News Canada - February 2020 - v2 - F15

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

GLASSES
continued from previous page

local technician's display glasses so the tech
can work a solution without having to step
away from the vehicle.
The Collection in Coral Gables, Fla., was one
of the first Porsche dealerships to use the Tech
Live Look protocols.
The high-end dealership carries eight
brands under one rooftop. Scott Struble, the
dealership's Porsche service director, says an
average of about 40 Porsches a day are worked
on there, which in the automaker's world is
considered a high-volume dealership service
department.
"We have our own escalation process, which
starts with the actual technician," Struble says.
"If he comes across an issue, he escalates to
his team leader. If, at that point, they're not
able to diagnose the issue, my shop foreman
becomes involved. The shop foreman will
contact Porsche technical services at Porsche
Cars North America."
In the past, especially difficult problems
were escalated by submitting an electronic request on the dealership's system. The service
technician would describe the issue, giving
Porsche information on the vehicle and telling them what had been done so far. Porsche
would contact them by phone, with some
back and forth via electronic forms.

Porsche experts are
able to see exactly
what local technicians
see and can provide
service bulletins
through the glasses.
Technicians can follow
explicit instructions
without having to look
at a computer screen
sitting on a desktop
elsewhere in the
service bay.

Better response time
"Porsche would respond and we would read
it," Struble says. "Naturally, it was a time-consuming process. With Tech Live Look and
these [augmented-reality] glasses, once they
get the ticket with the escalation request, they
contact us directly."
The response time has been cut from weeks
to, in most cases, a same-day resolution.
A pair of the glasses costs a dealership
$3,250 and Porsche charges a monthly fee -
which it wouldn't disclose - to connect with
its Atlanta-based experts.
Because they communicate live through the
glasses, the technicians at Porsche now have a
chance to see precisely what the Collection's
service technicians see. Porsche can supply a
service bulletin through the glasses to local
technicians so they can follow explicit instructions without having to look at a computer screen sitting on a desktop on the other side
of the service bay.
The occurrences are minimal, but when the
need arises, it's usually of a time-sensitive nature.
"When you have a customer with a concern
for their vehicle, it's an inconvenience," Stru-

Problem solver

Tech Live Look basics
 What it does: Allows specialists at
Porsche HQ to see cars in shops, work
with dealership techs to solve thorny
problems
 Cost: Dealer pays $3,250 for
glasses, plus monthly fee
 Where: All 189 U.S. dealerships
 Average call length: 11 minutes

ble says. "You're forced to bring your car in for
service or repair, and time is of the essence.
The sooner you can get the vehicle back to the
customer, the quicker they forget about what
happened. The increase in customer satisfaction goes up considerably."
Vince Stephens, the Collection's Porsche
shop foreman, says the "live aspect" of the system helps immensely, especially with "one-off
issues" and new models.
"With a new model, we get our manuals,

technical bulletins and more, but when a
product is too new, or we haven't seen a particular problem before, that's when we use
these glasses," he says.
After a quick briefing on how the glasses
work, the techs get to try them out.
"When we're looking, we're also talking,"
Stephens says. "As I am turning my head, the
[Porsche] adviser may say, 'Hey, turn back a
little bit to where you just were. I thought I saw
something. We haven't seen that before, let's
take a closer look.' "
The Tech Live Look system can also serve as
a safety officer of sorts. With new hybrid and
electric-powered vehicles requiring knowledge that was generally more familiar to an
electric company's high-voltage linemen, the
system helps to safely guide technicians
through their tasks.
"We had a Panamera hybrid in for an issue
with the cooling system," Stephens says. "The
Tech Live Look adviser helped by watching
and guiding us through the ins and outs of
high-voltage safety." 

FEBRUARY 2020

PAGE 15

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