The National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) held its annual Fall General Meeting, a featured event of the AAPEX Service Professionals Program, in Las Vegas on Nov. 1. Three sessions along with reports on NASTF activity focused on industry changes and service repair technicians.
For the opening session “Changes are Coming to the SAE J1962 DLC,” VW of America (VWoA) engineer and SAE OBD II panel member Robert “Bob” Gruszczynski discussed the 16-pin data link and what’s in store for the future. Since 1996, all new light vehicles in the American marketplace have connected to the outside world with this data port, but with the progress of advanced vehicle technology, change is inevitable.
Additionally, Greg Settle of TechForce gave a presentation on TechForce and NASTF’s Road to Great Technician’s initiative. The program intends to assist the industry to coordinate solutions to the long-debated shortage of qualified technicians. TechForce discussed their contribution to a long-term plan dubbed "Future techs for success". This program involves re-framing the nature of the profession, incorporating the collective voice of the industry and providing hands-on solutions for kids who may wish to go into the profession.
"Today's cars have more control modules in them than the first space shuttle," says the narrator of a show produced by TechForce which will premier Nov. 5 on PBS.
In addition, the session “The most underused OEM Service Info Resources” featured six NASTF OEM members: Navistar, Isuzu, VWoA, Nissan, Honda and Toyota. Each member shared information on their website and tool offerings to help independent technicians become aware of and utilize these available resources.
To access the webcast from the 2017 General Meeting at AAPEX, visit:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/N0odOota6u0
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2716568/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NASTF/
