With the rapid changes and developments experienced in capital equipment over the past few decades we have reached the point where the skills and the knowledge of our technicians is the critical difference in developing and maintaining our relationships with our customers. This has included changes in machine design, computerization of componentry, telematics, and the use of exotic materials. Additionally, the technology within dealer management systems continues to progress at a rapid pace with VoIP, AI, and “smart” systems to name just a few.

The Rental Industry Technician comprehensive skills assessment covers the four major areas of equipment; Engine, Drive Train, Hydraulics and Electrical. In creating this assessment, we have into consideration the major manufacturers. The Rental Industry Technician assessment recognizes that it is not necessary for these technicians to be able to have the skills to repair and rebuild major componentry.

We have created thirty multiple-choice questions within each of the four categories above. The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the comprehensive skills assessment, these assessments have been developed to be used to create a specific technical training program for each employee in the repair and maintenance business.

With everything that goes on in a parts business it is easy to forget that we also have a responsibility to make money. We have to make money to be able to pay competitive wages to attract and retain talented employees. We have to make money to have available buildings and equipment that allows us to store the parts and have space for the people. We need to make money to be able to provide the most current equipment and training to provide effective and efficient labor.

This program provides you with the understanding of the costs of operating the parts business. It exposes you to the means and methods of how to make money. From understanding how the parts pricing systems work. How the prices are structured and the variables and how they are calculated. You will learn their effect on the gross profit. The approach used to derive the price point is based on sales activity, prices and the companies and products with which we must work and compete.

When selling parts, or processing orders, the employee needs to understand the impact that their work makes on the profitability of the department and in fact on the dealership as a while. This class provides all of that.

Before we can be of any value to anyone else we have to be of value to ourselves. That is an old adage, but it still rings true. Ignorance is not knowing what to do. How can we know what to do if we don’t understand basic finance? This is especially true within the labor business, where the technicians look at their hourly wage and compare it to the labor rate charged to the customer.

We will expose and explain all aspects of the operating statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow forecast. These are the three major documents in the world of finance. We will define and describe all of the terms the accountants use. There will be no mystery to basic finance when we are finished. We will explain cost of sales and what it consists of, as well as all of the various expense elements. Personnel Expenses, Operating Expenses, and Fixed Expenses are discussed so that everyone will be able to understand and accept how and why money is spent and how we make it.

The fundamentals of basic finance have been a mystery for too many people for far too long, especially in the labor business. This program gets past that so that the employees in a parts business will understand the effect of each of their decisions.

The management and supervision in business is in many cases misunderstood. You manage process but you have to lead people. Often, we get consumed by our need to improve our processes. Since the 1980’s with the “Japanese” continuous improvement movement we have been obsessed with eliminating non-value added, tasks and processes. But what have we done to inspire management to improve their ability to lead their employees.?

Leadership is a complicated function. It involves compassion, courage, trust, integrity, commitment, loyalty, inspiration, and communication. A true leader will take people to places that they would not have gone to on their own. This program explores the true meaning of leadership and talks about differing leadership styles and their impact on performance.

Leadership has to ensure that the day to day operations are performing and at the same time they must focus on the future. They also have to understand and accept how important managing change is to improvement. They have to be able to look at their businesses with “fresh eyes” to ensure that they can identify and eliminate their “sacred cows.” This is a critical class for anyone in a leadership position.

Have we completed the transformation of the inventory from being managed by people to being controlled by systems? This program will reintroduce the fundamentals of Inventory Control so that everyone can understand why we have the parts we have, and don’t have the parts we don’t have. In the market today, customers are demanding more service from suppliers, and suppliers are shrinking assets at the same time. That is quite a contradiction and one which is impossible to explain without knowledge of the subject. How do we expect the customer contact personnel to be able to serve customers without understanding Inventory Management? This class solves that problem.

The basics of order point and order quantity theory will be discussed and explained in a style that is simple and clear. Lead times, order costs and carrying charges will be exposed and details given as to their content. The fundamental metrics to employ to maintain control of the performance from the inventory rules in the dealer business system will also be covered.

Finally, the Backorder Analysis function will be described in detail such that the participants can proceed from the webinar to the operation and conduct this analysis to determine what it is that is causing backorders and what they should do about it. The program will provide you with the understanding and tools necessary to manage a parts inventory more effectively.

That big area in your facility stuffed with parts can and should be a showcase for your dealership. A distribution center which has been designed and developed to be space effective, productive and safe is a wondrous thing. Not many equipment dealerships have such a warehouse, do they? A warehouse stores parts, and it requires that there are aisles for people and equipment to perform the order picking and receiving functions as well as the physical counts. It also has to have packing and shipping benches as well as staging areas for inbound and outbound shipments. Finally, there are the shipping and receiving docks.

This class will present warehouse theory from what the location nomenclature – the location identification, should consist of to the sizing principals to use in determining the storage space required. It will expose different picking methods and the appropriate storage media and material handling equipment for each. The metrics of picking and packing, storage efficiency, shipping and receiving, and dock handling will be developed.

The overall sizing theory of cubic and square foot requirements for each part number stored as well as systems to utilize that will tell you which location size should be used for which part, and how many of each of these location sizes are required helps with the designs and layouts of your warehouse in a manner that can be used by everyone.  This is a commonsense program exposes a little understood area in a dealership: the warehouse.

Dealing with change is one of the biggest challenges we face in our lives. It will also be one of the largest challenges you face in creating value for customers and remain relevant in the supply chain. Jack Welsh is famous for saying “When the world around you is changing faster than you are…. the end is near.

Look around. Look what has happened in only just the past two decades; Cell Phones, Smart Appliances, Artificial Intelligence to name just a few. Look also at the changes in the equipment we support; computerization of componentry, telematics, etc. Now look at your business internally. What changes have you made in how you do things? This program covers all of these issues.

It is critical that we know how to lead through these periods of rapid change. We have to be able to communicate effectively. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? And how we get everyone committed to these changes is covered in detail in this comprehensive class.

Managers must understand how to engage their team, and lead the business, through change. You will learn how to effectively manage change, become consistent in identifying and resolving critical change issues and innovating in how you do the work and find new and different ways to grow is covered in detail. Don’t miss this important class.

It is an exciting time to have a career in the electrical field. Electrification is being reimagined and updated with the latest technologies to enhance the way we live, work and play. Continuing education can prepare you for diverse roles in the electrical industry while keeping you on top of technological advancements and safety standards. Plus, continuing education is essential to remaining relevant, competitive and effective in your career. Let our accredited online training courses help achieve your career ambitions in the electrical industry today!

This comprehensive skills assessment covers all of the topics and subject matter required in the course of performing electrical tasks. In assessing this position, we have taken all of the classes involved in the electrical business and created a job assessment questionnaire. We have taken the over 900 questions, from the pretest and final assessment, from all of the classes offered. We have taken all of these questions and boiled them down to one-hundred essential questions. Each question has an answer within a multiple-choice selection, true/false, and yes/no.

The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the comprehensive assessment skills, the assessment has been developed to be used to create a specific employee development program for each employee in electrical teams.

There are some fundamental truths about people and their work: everyone wants to do a good job, everyone can do more than they think they can, and everyone is fundamentally lazy. In management and leadership we have to deal with the people and the processes. That is the job. You lead people and you manage the process.

The job of the manager or supervisor starts with the basic job function description and moves on to standards of performance. Everyone has to understand what is expected of them, as well as accepting that what is expected of them is both achievable and important. The various aspects of management are exposed in this power program.

In dealing with people, you also will need to be able to communicate with the employees.  In this program we explore two of the main forms of communications: praise and criticism. This part of interpersonal relations can be learned. These are skills that can be learned by following a simple plan. We discuss this plan in detail, which has many common elements with both praise and criticism to provide you with a better ability in working with your employees.

There are some fundamental truths about people and their work: everyone wants to do a good job, everyone can do more than they think they can, and everyone is fundamentally lazy. In management and leadership we have to deal with the people and the processes. That is the job. You lead people and you manage the process.

The job of the manager or supervisor starts with the basic job function description and moves on to standards of performance. Everyone has to understand what is expected of them, as well as accepting that what is expected of them is both achievable and important. The various aspects of management are exposed in this power program.

In dealing with people, you also will need to be able to communicate with the employees.  In this program we explore two of the main forms of communications: praise and criticism. This part of interpersonal relations can be learned. These are skills that can be learned by following a simple plan. We discuss this plan in detail, which has many common elements with both praise and criticism to provide you with a better ability in working with your employees.