1 I/M solutions 2012 Training for the I/M Industry Bonnie McPherson, Training Manager PARSONS

Challenges  Doesn’t matter what the topic is – very few people volunteer to take training  The industry finds it inconvenient  Facility owners don’t want their staff out of the shop  Students don’t want to extend their work day or work week to attend training  No one likes to admit they are not already trained  Can be intimidating to learn about new technology in large groups  Lots of training products out there – not all of them are worth the time and money  Bottom line – if I don’t have to, I don’t 2

Solutions  Make it convenient  Offer the training on line  On the internet  Downloadable to a smart phone or any other device if “streaming” not an option  Self-directed, so students don’t have to fit in to a training schedule  Make it mandatory  Training and certification  Make it meaningful  Target visual learners  Develop the curriculum to match your hot buttons 3

Training is a Critical Service  The more they know  What the program is/does  Fraud prevention in knowledge  Training is not an ancillary service  Conduct a needs assessment  Use full-time curriculum developers to interact with the Jurisdictions to tailor training to the needs of your Program  Not an off the shelf product  Continuous Improvement  Not one and done  Use the data you are collecting to target needs of the stakeholders 4

Training Benefits the Program as a Whole  Partner with the industry  Counter staff  Program ambassadors  Consumer acceptance  No one should “guess” at program rules  Inspectors  Get it right  Fraud prevention  If they know you are watching...  Use inspection units as part of training  Hands on or videos of actual inspections  “Cheat Sheet” hand outs 5

Repair Technician Training  Reluctance to take training for many reasons  Time away from the shop...or worse, life  Provide it on line  Self-directed, self-paced  Intimidated by group dynamic/new technology  Videos of how it’s done  Manuals that are easy to read  Interactive on line information with quizzes to practice  Reading and Listening and Interacting  Target visual learners with graphics and diagrams  Offer optional classroom settings 6

Make it a Desirable Product  Not worth effort  Know your audience - make sure the information is valuable to your Jurisdiction  If OBD is new to your area, teach about it; if not, don’t make seasoned repair technicians train on information they already know  Engage the industry in development of the training program  Use your data to see where the problems are  Train on the solutions  Repair Technicians are proud of their expertise, help them to broaden their specialties  Use real life examples and interesting media  You are competing with ESPN and Newsweek – don’t show them public access 7

Ongoing Training Technical Support  Have Expert Technicians Available  Provide Inspector technical support in real time  Contact center staff should be highly qualified  Repair Technician assistance line  Dual purpose video-interrupt technology  Technical newsletters targeting the latest known issues  Quarterly events for station staff  Keeps stakeholders engaged 8

Online  Sustainable  No more printing and mailing  Program updates that change the materials are handled in real time  Material always relevant  Students work through a self-paced interactive learning module  At their pace, on their schedule  Students can download PDF versions of manuals or read them on line  On a laptop, smart phone, through an inspection unit 9

Online Exams  Certification Exams  Mandatory training/certification  Credibility for the consumer  Gets the industry’s attention  Can be written using any computer, at home or in a proctored setting  Exam results are immediate  Flexible variability in question delivery  Lessens exam fraud 10

11 Need More Info? Bonnie McPherson, Training Manager Vehicle Inspection and Compliance PARSONS Jim Sands, Vice President Vehicle Inspection and Compliance PARSONS