Jil McIntosh
 

September 2, 2010

John Cochrane co-owner of Fleetway Automotive (Cochrane Wholesale Parts Customer)

John Cochrane

LINDERTECH: TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE
 

Shops that can’t keep up with technology might as well close their doors

Each year, cars become more complicated, which means that technicians need to know more about them. Many have gained invaluable knowledge through the Lindertech Conference, a series of training workshops held by Cochrane Automotive in Toronto.

John Cochrane, who has been repairing vehicles and training technicians since the 1970s, says that if technicians don’t keep up, shops are going to lose business. “If you don’t have the ability to flash computers, and the technical information and tools to fix the vehicles, you might as well close up shop,” he says. “If you don’t train, ultimately, the repair community will fall behind in terms of being able to repair cars as well as the OE dealers do.” He was instrumental in helping to bring Right To Repair to Canada.

Top trainers in the field

Cochrane’s training sessions are based on courses originally run by Jim Linder of Indianapolis, Indiana. His Linder Technical Services held training courses in that state, and he and Cochrane developed a relationship. “He had 350 people training for ten or eleven years, and I went to see what it was all about,” Cochrane says. “These trainers were tops in their fields. Whatever specialty they were involved in, they were in-depth. I realized we needed this type of training here.”

Working under an agreement, Cochrane set up Lindertech North, using some of the trainers from the U.S. courses. The Canadian courses have been running since 2006.

Polling to see what’s needed

Rather than just set up topics, Cochrane polls technicians, and has a training committee to discuss the subjects attendees want to cover. Trainers are sourced, mostly on cutting-edge projects such as high-tech diagnostics. The courses cover both domestic and import vehicles; recent classes included Volkswagen and Honda driveability issues.

The original courses were three-day weekends, but they are now held on three Saturdays throughout the year. Most of the attendees have been to Lindertech Conferences in the past and are back to learn more. For 2010, courses were held in February and April; the third course day is set for October 16. Between 70 and 120 participants have attended courses in the past, coming from all across Canada. They’re held at Cochrane Automotive’s Training Facility, and include a small trade show with vendors such as ACDelco, the anchor sponsor for the event, Vetronix, and other diagnostic suppliers. The focus is entirely on diagnostic test equipment, service procedures, and emissions-related parts.

Being prepared for cars out of warranty

Cochrane is very blunt about the need for training. “You have to look at what’s coming to you, what’s in the warranty arena,” he says. “They start to enter the aftermarket in the fourth year, so we’re targeting vehicles four years and older. You want to be prepared behind the scenes, so that when the customer comes in, you can fix their car and not send them back to the dealer. Any shop that is not committed to ongoing training will ultimately see their customer base diminish.”

For more information, call 416-236-1763, or email headoffice@cochraneauto.ca.