Fleet Maintenance - 50

GUEST EDITORIAL
»NASTF's mission is to ensure heavy duty
technicians and shops have access to the repair
information they need to service vehicles.
Transervice

NASTF is
requesting industry
participation as it
expands its heavy
duty capabilities.
repair issues where aftermarket experience can
be invaluable to technicians as well as manufacturers who seek better ways to respond to
customer needs.

NASTF steps into the
world of heavy duty
Heavy duty technicians have a resource for
requesting access to OE repair information.
For almost 20 years, the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) has served
as a cooperative effort among the automotive
service industry, the equipment and tool industry, and automobile manufacturers. In keeping with that spirit of cooperation, NASTF is
requesting industry participation as it expands
its heavy duty capabilities.

Why now?

NASTF has seen great success as the go-to source
of repair information for aftermarket technicians
by continuously correcting gaps and working to
proactively improve delivery systems.
While NASTF's mission of ensuring access
to service information remains the same, the
types and delivery systems for that information

By Holly Wolfe

MANAGING DIRECTOR, NASTF
The National Automotive Service Task Force, or NASTF, is
an industry organization that works on behalf of vehicle
repairers to ensure access to the necessary vehicle repair
information needed to service and maintain vehicles
efficiently and effectively. A former Capitol Hill staffer,
Wolfe got her start in automotive policy at the Automotive
Service Association (ASA), serving as legislative analyst
and government affairs manager. During her tenure, Wolfe
advocated for the independent repair industry at the
federal and state level. She joined NASTF in 2019, as the
managing director.

50 Fleet Maintenance | April 2020

have been modernized. In the coming months,
NASTF will be rolling out a redesigned website.
The new site will allow members to customize
their user experience, focusing exclusively on
information relevant to their business.
NASTF has engaged with the heavy duty
industry since its inception but now has the
opportunity to build out its capabilities with
the new, personalized site interface. This
means that heavy duty technicians will only
see information relating to the specific brands,
makes, or models that they service.

What will it look like?

NASTF will post a similar offering like its light
duty side. It is expected that there might be
some variations as it may have websites for
components like powertrains and braking
systems that are not brand-specific. The NASTF
web team will determine an effective way to
display the information once some feedback
from NASTF's Heavy Duty Team is received,
which consists of representatives throughout
the heavy duty industry.
NASTF is a hyperlink farm for the most part.
This means NASTF will be providing URLs that
lead directly to the information source the user
is looking for, wherever possible. NASTF will
also host online forums for heavy duty repairers to "crowdsource" the solutions to common

How will this help the fleets?

By allowing aftermarket heavy duty repairers
the same access to diagnostic and repair information as the dealers, the vehicle or fleet owner
will have more options when it comes to service
locations. Vehicle owners will no longer be tied
to a single repairer and will likely see reduced
costs and downtime from a more competitive
marketplace. This will also streamline the
repair process by consolidating the links to
the manufacturers' web portals.
In addition, NASTF regularly receives
service information requests (SIRs). An SIR is
a tool that allows a NASTF member who is a
vehicle service professional to submit a piece
of repair information or tool gap for review by
participating OEMs. A gap issue is a situation
where service, collision, vehicle security, tools,
or training information is available to a franchise dealer but not available outside of the
OEM's franchise network; or, in many cases, is
needed but not available to anyone.
NASTF foresees this being particularly helpful for smaller or mixed fleets. In addition, OEMs
that support the independent aftermarket have
seen increased value on resale and higher levels
of customer satisfaction due to the increased
repair options and subsequent flexibility.

How can I get involved?

The NASTF Heavy Duty Team is seeking
volunteers from the heavy duty repair and
OEM sectors to assist NASTF in ensuring that
their service information links are up to date.
Accuracy and clarity are of particular importance for independent heavy duty repairers
as, in addition to the challenge of servicing
various makes, models, and years, heavy duty
trucks can consist of components from several
different manufacturers.
If you are interested in assisting NASTF with
developing and maintaining its heavy duty
resources, please contact Managing Director
Holly Wolfe at hwolfe@nastf.org.

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