The national-level annual contest for mechanics on vehicle diagnosis and repair skills was recently held at SMLI’s truck plant in Ropar, Punjab. Indersons Motor Pvt. Ltd. of Delhi clinched the top position among six finalists shortlisted from 85 teams this year.
It’s a competition of not just technical know-how. It’s a trail of a technician’s temperament and smartness to approach a problem and seek a quick way-out in spite of the stress situation. It’s also a test on the collaborative and resource management skills as a part of a team. This event is a testimony to the changing dynamics in engine technologies and customer satisfaction parameters in the commercial vehicles space that puts immense stress on dealership mechanics these days, and how an auto maker responds to the challenges arising in the service domain.
SML Isuzu is well known for this initiative that brings all its dealers and their respective technician teams under a competitive limelight, modeled on various national and international skill contests organised by Isuzu Motors, Japan, including the Isuzu One Grand Prix World Technician Competition. The OEM sees this as an integral part of the larger framework of strengthening its service network and its quality, by imparting proactive skill training to their workshop technicians.
The company is running training centers at Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Siliguri offering professional training courses to them on various technical processes involved in the service and maintenance of SMLI products.
Multi-stage contest
Garnering more applicant entries than the previous editions, this year’s competition saw 85 teams participating in the level one screening test. Each team consisted of four members – a mechanic, an electrician, a supervisor and a service engineer. A total of 25 teams were selected for level two, only to finalise the top six teams for the grand finale. The ‘super six’ contestants were HKS Automobiles (Greater Noida), Jayalakshmi Motors (Rangareddy, Telengana), Max Trucks (Chennai), Inderson Motors (Delhi), Eros Motors (Nagpur) and Burma Automotives (Bangalore).
“Service is the core of our business. It is said that the first vehicle is sold by the efforts of the sales team. But the second vehicle and every repeat vehicle thereafter is persuaded by the efficacy of the service team.
– Yugo Hashimoto, Managing Director and CEO, SML Isuzu
The ultimate play-off demanded outstanding performance in hands-on practical tests from the six contestants. A brand-new ‘Samrat HD 19 XM’ truck was given to each of them, which has to be inspected as per standard protocols, and make required observations as warranted in the question paper. The teams have to identify the botched up engine faults and error codes and rectify them, all with a stiff time duration of 50 minutes.
The evaluators assessed the working of each team based on the parameters of safety and protection, inspection process, failure analysis, measurement, and tool selection. The contestants ran up against time and trickily set faults in the vehicle to accomplish the tasks. Further, as a new addition to this year’s skill competition, the organisers conducted a technical quiz among the electricians and mechanics from the six finalist teams to identify the brightest among each of the category.
Value addition to training
The conclusion of the 2018 competition saw Inderson Motors and Burma Automotives bagging the top two positions respectively, with a cash price of INR 40,000 for the winner and INR 30,000 for the runner-up. HKS Automobiles was declared the second runner-up with an award of INR 25,000. Electrician of Max Trucks team Mr. Viswanathan won the title of “Champion Electrician” and the mechanic of Inderson Motors Mr. Siddharth Majumdar earned the “Champion Mechanic” title by topping the quiz round.
“Great service from dealers is a pull factor for customers towards a brand. This competition must kindle the competitive spirit among the service teams, not just among each other, but necessarily to beat your own previous standards and accolades. That way, we can win our customers better than before
– K.S. Dhody, Executive Director-Works, SML Isuzu
The General Manager – Corporate Marketing and CRPM, Mr. Nawal Kumar Sharma, was extremely pleased with the skill competition. “Our dealers’ response to this initiative is fantastic… their participation level and competitive spirit is enhancing year by year”, he rejoiced, while noting that the the observations and learning from the skill competition are improvising the professional training courses offered to service technicians in a big way.
“Next year’s competition will be a little tougher”, he cautioned while emphasising the service complexities associated with the advent of BS-VI engines in terms of technical know-how.
“But the right approach to the emerging challenges will unlock immense profitability potentials for the dealerships and technicians in the BS-VI era, as the unauthorised workshops will be seriously lacking necessary skills and support”, he added.
A familiarisation programme on the BS-VI technology as a part of the training programme for service technicians will commence from next year, Mr. Sharma disclosed.