 Air Care News
July 1998
Training Providers: Getting the Most Bang
for Your Buck
Often, automotive training classes can be a hit or a miss, especially
when it comes to emissions repair training or other emissions-related issues. Nonetheless, there are a
number of things you can do to get the highest return on the training dollars you spend.
Emissions repair training classes like this one
are an important part of the Enhanced Inspection & Maintenance Program in the Denver metropolitan
area.
1. Variety in Training
-- Seek out as many training providers as you can. The Denver metropolitan area has some of
the best trainers in the country. Contact them to get training schedules. Educate yourself about what
each training provider offers. For a list of the training providers, contact the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment at 303-692-3126.
2. Ask the Right Questions --
Talk to the trainer that will be teaching the class. Ask about the level of the class (entry,
intermediate or advanced), the prerequisites (if any), if you can bring your own hand-held scanner or
DVOM, whether the class will have immediate, real-world applications, and whether the class includes
case studies.
3. Consider a Personal Trainer
-- No, we don't mean someone to help you tone your physique! Rather, identify a trainer with his own
tools who can spend as much as a month or more exclusively at your facility to work in a repair bay with
technicians. As an owner, this option may require you to offer incentives based upon repair effectiveness
and customer satisfaction. A sometimes costly option, but one that can pay for itself in
a short time if done effectively.
4. Customized Training --
Not quite the same as a personal trainer, but worth considering too. If a trainer or training
organization does not offer what you need, ask for a customized package. A lot of training curricula
is in modules which can be modified to fit your specific needs. Larger organizations like Snap-on Tools,
NAPA, and CarQuest have local and national training coordinators who will take your request for a
customized program seriously. Call or fax them.
5. Specialization -- Let a
technician specialize in a specific make or procedure. Use that technician to train colleagues in that
area. Some technicians become outstanding trainers. Learning skills and then teaching them to someone
else helps keep a technician sharp.
6. Negotiate fees! -- Many
trainers and/or training organizations have discounts available for the asking based upon the number of
trainees, first-time enrollment and other factors.
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Be on the lookout for 1982-1991 full-sized Jeep Wagoneers and Grand
Cherokees equipped with 360 cubic inches, Motorcraft two-barrel engines (non-feedback). Enhanced emissions
data shows an average carbon monoxide reading of 125 grams per mile for these vehicles.
Contact a State of Colorado Emissions Technical Center for some
tips on fixing these vehicles so that they can pass an enhanced emissions test.
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Trivia:
Facts & Figures
The average repair effectiveness index (REI) for registered facilities in August 1996 was 78. The
average REI in May 1998 was 83.6.
Approximately 37 percent of vehicles that fail and are returned for a retest fail again.
The mean carbon monoxide reading for vehicles that pass an initial enhanced emissions test is
approximately 9.0 grams per mile.
The mean carbon monoxide reading for vehicles that fail an initial enhanced emissions test is
approximately 80 grams per mile.
A 3,600-pound vehicle that produces 150 grams of carbon monoxide per mile will produce approximately
its own weight in carbon monoxide in a year (based on 11,000 miles per year).
VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) continues to grow two to three percent per year for the 10 counties
that are part of the basic and enhanced inspection and maintenance areas.
During winter 1995/1996, vehicles were driven more than 60 million miles a day in these countries.
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Get Credit
for Your Effective Repairs
A recent audit of the Colorado AIR Program found that only 28
percent of motorists returned to enhanced inspection and maintenance testing lanes with the appropriate
repair data and a completed Vehicle Repair Form on the back of the Vehicle Inspection Report. Without
these, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of repairs performed by technicians or to give
proper credit for good work.
Among the more important items are diagnostic costs, actual repair
costs, parts costs and systems repaired. Take a few extra moments to fill out the Vehicle Repair Form
before sending a motorist back for a retest. These repairs are central to efforts to improve air quality.
The repair industry and its technicians deserve credit for their fine work.
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Insider
Repair Tips
Air Care News is developing a forum to allow technicians
to share valuable information with colleagues about emissions repairs on specific vehicle makes and
models. Those that have proven difficult to repair will be of special interest.
If you have discovered an effective diagnostic technique,
a Technical Service Bulletin that addresses an emissions-related failure or an emissions warranty
campaign, or any other helpful tip, let us know. Your tip may be published in a future edition of Air
Care News with full credit to the submitting technician and his/her repair facility.
To submit a tip, mail or fax your information to:
Air Pollution Control Division
Small Business Technical Assistance Program
APCD/MS/B1
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, Colorado 80246
Fax: 303-782-5693
Be sure to include copies of the original Vehicle Inspection
Report (including the VIN number), the service repair order (including detailed diagnostic, labor and
part costs), a short write-up of the diagnostic procedure used with all readings you recorded with your
diagnostic equipment, and a copy of the after repairs Vehicle Inspection Report (if possible).
If you have any questions, contact Gary Cagle at 303-692-3125.
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Enhanced Area
Shows Improved Inspection Performance
by Tom Myrsiades
The Colorado Department of Revenue has noticed an improvement over
the past three years in emissions inspection performance throughout the basic and enhanced program areas.
Visual inspections for required emissions equipment -- a vital element of the emissions inspection
program in Colorado -- are being properly performed on most vehicles.
The catalytic converter, air injection system, oxygen sensor, check
engine light and fuel inlet restrictor are required in Colorado's program areas. 1975-and-newer vehicles
must pass a visual inspection for the presence and apparent operability of these components. If the
required equipment is missing, the vehicle will fail that portion of the test.
The U.S. EPA also requires that all models sold in this
country pass the federal test procedure (FTP). Manufacturers have found that, in order to meet the EPA
requirements, computer-controlled emissions equipment is a necessity. However, a vehicle may show
readings low enough to pass a Colorado emissions test even when emissions control equipment is missing or
not functioning. That is why a visual inspection is required.
The Colorado Department of Revenue is legally required to audit
emissions stations and inspectors. By using unmarked vehicles that have been set up to fail the visual
inspection, Revenue can rate performance. In 1995, inspectors were not catching very many of the
altered vehicles. However, performance has improved to the point that four out of every five tampered
vehicles are properly identified.
Of the more than one million vehicles tested in the program
annually, Revenue estimates that less than one percent are incorrectly passed with missing or altered
equipment. This success rate translates into cleaner, healthier air for all of us.
Tom Myrsiades is an emissions compliance supervisor
at the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, Emissions Section.
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