Appendices
A. Observation Notes
A.2 Auto ter Riet
Environment
Tools
Technician
7.2 An operator tells to be overloaded to the amount of different programs and screens that should be used during its work. Even for six screens the amount of programs is to large to remain usable. 7.3 Five PC’s are available, and it occurs that all are occupied and the technician cannot do its work.
8.1 Since PIPO’s are scheduled with certain frequencies, a year-overview can be made of the total workload to the technicians per week.
8.2 When a technician encounters problems, the supervisor is asked for advise over email. This can include pictures.
8.3 On the PC’s, the technicians have an extensive phonebook in addition to the contacts in their work phone.
8.4 Not all operators and technicians report their issues to the supervisors, because they have the idea that nothing will happen from this.
8.5 A technician suggests that working with more parttime technicians will make it easier to make suitable planning.
1.1 Working hours are between 08:00 and 17:00, Monday till Friday
1.2 Not a specialized car garage (previously a focus on Daihatsu); repairing many different car brands and types
1.2.1 Technician tells that repairing multiple car brands cause that repairs will be more time consuming that those of specialists in 1 brand. Especially with unfamiliar brands or types for the technician, it takes more time to figure out where certain parts are placed in the car.
1.3 Within the workplace 4-6 technicians are working
1.4 Large machines include: break-tester (APK), 5 car bridges, machine for balancing tires
1.5 All technicians have a personal toolbox, including tongs, screwdrivers, wrenches etc. This toolbox has around 6/7 drawers and can be moved around in the workplace on wheels.
2.1 Technicians use gloves for some of the repairing tasks. One technician mentioned that it is not possible to perform all repairs with gloves.
2.2 Most tools are included in the personal toolbox, and are tools meant for detaching or attaching parts of the car from/to each other.
2.3 The technicians knew where to find their tools immediately.
2.4 Larger machines include a machine testing a car’s breaks, a machine to balance tires, bridges and a OBD-system (see observation 7.1).
3.1 According to the technician, over the last two decades less technicians are working at the garage. 3.2 A technician tells that it is difficult to find new good technicians, because car technician is not
attractive work because of the low payment and the high amount of physical work combined with the large amount of thinking while completing a repairing task.
Actions
Learning
Information sources
Technology
3.3 A technician tells that technicians feel lots of pressure to work quickly, coming from multiple sources: the customer, the management and/or a dealer.
3.4 Multiple technicians confirm that they have back complaints.
4.1 The technician confirms that most of the repairing tasks include the exchange of an old part from the car with a new part.
4.2 Complex repairing tasks are handled by a specialist, which is an external party to the garage. 4.3 When the technician analyzed a defect within the engine, the engine will be send to a specialist/
revision garage since the repairing is too complex and will take too much time for the technician. 4.4 Before executing a repairing task, the technicians always analyse the defect first using its own
senses, using test-machines or using the OBD-system (see observation 7.1).
4.5 When the technician finds the cause of a defect, the technician communicates with the reception about the price of the repair and whether to perform the repairing task immediately.
4.6 The technician or the receptionist communicates with the customer about the repair and the prices. 4.7 When a technician starts a repairing task, the technician clocks the starting time and the end time
of the repair, since can influence the price of the repair.
4.7.1 The technician clocks in or out by scanning its personal barcode with the computer in the garage.
5.1 In order to be licensed for conducting APK on cars, a technician has to perform an exam every two years which includes both a theoretical and practical test.
5.1.1 The technician says he feels a lot of pressure while performing this test for the APK license, since failing possibly ends up in a decreased loan.
5.2 In the Netherlands, the MBO education for car technician varies between two and four years. 5.3 The MBO education includes weeks of supervised practice at several garages, varying from a
length of ten weeks in the first years to 24 weeks in the last year.
5.4 Completing the four years during MBO education includes a “revision exam” in which the technician student has to build-up a completely disassembled engine.
6.1 The technicians receive most of the information through its own senses: looking, feeling, hearing, smelling, and (probably in less frequency) tasting.
6.2 In order to know whether they correctly performed a repairing tasks, the technicians conducts a test drive with the repaired car.
6.2.1 During a test drive it is possible to digitally “read” the car’s sensors for additional information. 6.3 The car includes a lot of symbols, mostly telling what not to do / what the dangers are. 6.4 Different closures of liquid tanks (like engine coolant or wiper fluid) have different colours.
6.5 On parts that are replaced by a garage, stickers are placed including the garage that performed the repair of that part and including the date of the replacement.