Meritor, Inc. will expand its Aftermarket product training program for dealers, distributors, fleets and service garages to include live instructor-led interactive distance training (IDT), 12 new regional training events, and options for French and Spanish instruction through its BullPen online training site.
Meritor's training portfolio for 2019 includes almost 260 web-based, classroom and onsite programs. Since the online portal Bullpen launched in 2004, more than 350,000 courses have been completed online. In 2018, 1,500 customers attended over 60 instructor-led sessions.
"The breadth of our multiplatform offerings demonstrates our commitment to meet industry needs for training wherever and whenever customers need help expanding their knowledge base," said Doug Dole, director, Technical Products and Training for Meritor. "We'll continuously expand our programs based on demand from customers who averaged more than 9,000 online courses each month last year."
Live online IDT seminars led by an experienced industry professional are held the second Wednesday of every month at 11 a.m. ET; easy access to IDT seminars are on MeritorPartsXpress.com. Each 30-minute seminar focuses on a different topic every month covering important and timely information as well as updates to key systems and components. Monthly topics in 2019 include:
- Drivelines, January and October
- Steer axle kingpins, February
- Reducing stopping distance friction, March
- Cam brake diagnosis, April
- Air disc brakes, May and December
- Suspensions, June
- Air systems, July
- Hydraulic brake systems, August
- Slack adjusters, September
- Wheel-ends, December
IDT seminars offer live, online contact with instructors, reducing the expense and travel time to remote training locations. Meritor instructors deliver the same level of interpersonal communication participants would experience in a physical classroom, including the ability to obtain direct answers to questions about specific technical issues from participants.
"Live interaction with an instructor during sessions where participants see, hear and receive direct feedback improves the customer experience with Meritor products," said Joe Baumer, training manager for Meritor.
Meritor is enhancing Bullpen by adding courses in Spanish and French, greatly expanding training availability for customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Meritor plans to have more than 40 courses available in both languages before the end of 2019.
Meritor will continue to conduct in-person, onsite training at regional and customer locations to serve people desiring conventional training. In 2019, regional day-long technical training events for salespeople and management and evening sessions for service technicians and shop managers are scheduled for Tampa, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Santa Fe Springs, California; Columbus, Ohio; Birmingham Alabama; Sacramento, California, Chicago; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; London, Ontario, Canada;Philadelphia and Winnipeg Manitoba. Times and specific locations are available at MeritorPartsXpress.com.
