October_2021 - 40

extremely overwhelming because there is
so much information that you might feel
as if you're drowning in it.
I often use numerous methods to surface
information because of the different
ways this information is categorized
within various service platforms. In my
shop we subscribe to multiple sources
of service information, including from
the OEMs and the aftermarket. Each of
those applications have their pluses and
minuses. Some of them have their data
organized in different ways which means
that the technician accessing such information
needs to know how to navigate the
system with efficiency. Most systems have
implemented search to find information
quickly but what I have found through
experience is that often search has been
poorly implemented. I have found it to be
extremely beneficial to think about how
the service provider is trying to help so you
can identify the times they come up short
and possibly lead you astray.
For example, keyword searching is
oftentimes my first angle of attack. But
one thing to be on the look out for is that
you may be presented with autosuggestions
as you're beginning to type. These
autosuggestions may or may not have
been keenly applied to the platform you're
working in. Some are attempting to mimic
what a Google search does but on the back
end they may end up failing. Additionally,
there may be words you would think
should be common and useful in getting
you right into the service information you
need quickly. However, it still amazes me
sometimes when this is not the case. For
example, oftentimes I find myself looking
for the aiming procedure for a radar
or camera module on a late model vehicle.
Typing in the words " radar aim " sometimes
ends up with zero search results. If
I slice off " aim " and hit any of the results
that talks about replacement, I'll usually
find a hyper-linked step that takes me to
the aiming procedure. An example of this
is shown in Figure 2. As you can see the
likely reason " radar aim " didn't return the
results is because the service information
platform did not index the keyword(s) in
a way that matched up " radar aim " with
p Figure 2 - MotoLogic service information
the document titled " Radar Unit Aiming. "
Performing a search with " radar aiming "
resulted in a positive search result.
TRAINING AND
KNOWLEDGE GROWTH
With some OEMs, their service information
and diagnostics are packaged up
into a single solution. And within these
solutions one may also find that they now
have access to some of the same service
training literature that dealership technicians
have access to. For example, we
work on a lot of Toyota Motor Corporation
(TMC) vehicles and therefore found it to
be extremely beneficial to subscribe to
Toyota TIS (Figure 1). The TIS platform
provides us with OEM scan tool operations,
diagnostics, programming, and
more. Additionally, there is a great deal
40 PTEN OCTOBER 2021 www.VehicleServicePros.com
of training information found with the
platform that your service personnel can
leverage as well.
BMW is another OEM that provides
similar access, offering access options
spanning short- and long-term periods.
For example, we're not a BMW specialty
shop but earlier this year I needed to
perform some specific tasks on a vehicle
where I was able to purchase a short-term
subscription and with a properly configured
computer, I was able to access a
wealth of information that included diagnostics,
vehicle service history, service
information and access to training information
and videos.
The downside to the OEM platforms
is that if you're working on multiple
brands, you'll need to become proficient
with using the platform. If you're only
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October_2021

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