First there was a shortage of drivers now there is a shortage
of mechanics. What come next planners.
Funnily enough dhl at Worksop have been persistently looking for a planner for several months now
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.
That is why they are called Fitters.
Suedehead:
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.
RDC waiting room bollox. A laptop and diagnostic program is needed to monitor live data from sensors during a road test and to test operate actuators during the diagnostic process and then often to calibrate the replacement part. Unless you understand the theory of operation of what are often complex systems you are just ■■■■■■■ in the wind. You may strike lucky hitting it with a hammer but will it be a permanent fix?
cav551:
Suedehead:
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.RDC waiting room bollox. A laptop and diagnostic program is needed to monitor live data from sensors during a road test and to test operate actuators during the diagnostic process and then often to calibrate the replacement part. Unless you understand the theory of operation of what are often complex systems you are just ■■■■■■■ in the wind. You may strike lucky hitting it with a hammer but will it be a permanent fix?
Exactly most vehicles are so complex you can’t do anything without the correct diagnostics. Hence mechanics need the diagnostic kit to work on them these days. Having spent the last nearly 10 years with various diagnostic kit’s for my own cars I know a reasonable amount about the intricacies of vehicles how all the modules all talk to each etc. In fact on my current Skoda Octavia you have to use diagnostics to tell it you have changed the battery and set the parameters so the smart charging system does not overcharge or undercharge the battery including the battery type AGM, EFB, EFB+ or regular flooded battery if non stop start, and even change the serial number, but that just needs changing by 1 digit rather than the actual battery serial number. As it was all 1’s so just changed it to a 2 at the end.
Old school mechanics do come into some parts of vehicle repair still but are less frequent, even brakes with electronic park brake require diagnostics to wind the calipers back, it can be done like most things with work arounds, but its easy when you have the right kit to do stuff like that. Injectors need coding in, egr valves need coding in, static dpf regens, not to mention actuator tests and everything else. So many parts need coding in or adaptations reset when replaced on vehicles now.
Sent from my CPH2173 using Tapatalk
There’s been a shortage of good, all round fitters for ages. The old boys are happy doing the springs, clutches, hubs etc, not many of them are interested in diagnostics work as they’ve never been trained on it nor do they want to be. But they’re fast retiring.
Lot of the newer starters or “diagnostic technicians” as they call them would throw a wobbler at having to pull a gearbox out. Fitters that are happy and capable of doing both aren’t common.
There’s always been a surplus of ■■■■ ones that move about on agency.
The job like most things is changing though becoming far more technical and less mechanical with longer service intervals and brake/clutch linings lasting enormous mileage. So many things electrically controlled.
Problem is there isn’t enough training at a lot of places. I did nights at Merc and Daf and did about 5 courses in 10 years lol.
Personally I prefer driving. Moneys not as good but not arsed.
Hello welcome to the new world, everything lasts longer now the only time you see gearboxes being changed is if you watch wheeler dealers
It’s all designed with all the sensors and technology that you have to go to a main dealership and the proper software needed for that is mostly only available there,
When you hear people saying after they have been to a normal mechanic or workshop and they diagnose something and then it was something else it’s because they have a diagnostic system that they bought on the internet cheap
Example for a Volvo back street operator who claims to have the real equipment mostly has the cheap one, for him to have the real one would cost him a fortune
The dealers do sell the proper system but for a high price the other stuff is mostly rubbish like looking for a needle in a haystack
You could eat your dinner off the floor of any main dealership now
also after watching loads and loads of internet car shows it becomes apparent that even if lamborghini do use volvo thottle bodies or aston martin use ford parts if its got a chip in it its probably going to need programming to make it work properly not just plug and play
I was talking to a trailer fitter yesterday , lovely chap , and he was saying his old boss said he’d knee cap him if he left , reading this ( shortage of fitters ) maybe he was telling the truth
I
Now the article is no longer behind a paywall it is possible to get beyond the first couple of lines. In spite of it having become significantly more dominated by electrical work it is still a dirty and heavy job, working in a noisy often poorly lit and freqently uncomfortable environment while handling awkward and heavy components and under constant scrutiny and pressure over how long the job is taking. It continues to require a lifetime ongoing personal investment in expensive tools simply to carry out one’s trade, which is a daunting prospect putting off those who might otherwise be interested.
I notice that one of the article’s contributors complaining about the shortage is director of a waste handling company. There is nothing quite like the stink of refuse wagons, from experience even sewage tankers are more pleasant to work upon, I am hardly surprised he is having difficulty recruiting staff especially when he is moaning about the cost of wages. There will be more than just a few Forum members who started off in vehicle repair but have opted for an easier life driving.
Certainly the workforce is ageing and the industry is having great difficulty attracting apprentices easily and keep their staff, this being the dealers’ own fault in the main part. They failed to take on sufficient numbers in the past and, so like most of UK industry, have preferred to poach trained workers from someone else rather than regularly train their own employees. So often a new model is on sale with zero advance training at dealer level. What is certainly not helping matters is that the recruitment advertisements make clear that there is no offer of continued employment upon completion of training, why would anyone bother unless they had set their heart on this as a career?
cav551:
Suedehead:
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.RDC waiting room bollox.
I havent had the displeasure of being in a RDC waiting room for +25 years
cav551:
Now the article is no longer behind a paywall it is possible to get beyond the first couple of lines. In spite of it having become significantly more dominated by electrical work it is still a dirty and heavy job, working in a noisy often poorly lit and freqently uncomfortable environment while handling awkward and heavy components and under constant scrutiny and pressure over how long the job is taking. It continues to require a lifetime ongoing personal investment in expensive tools simply to carry out one’s trade, which is a daunting prospect putting off those who might otherwise be interested.I notice that one of the article’s contributors complaining about the shortage is director of a waste handling company. There is nothing quite like the stink of refuse wagons, from experience even sewage tankers are more pleasant to work upon, I am hardly surprised he is having difficulty recruiting staff especially when he is moaning about the cost of wages. There will be more than just a few Forum members who started off in vehicle repair but have opted for an easier life driving.
Certainly the workforce is ageing and the industry is having great difficulty attracting apprentices easily and keep their staff, this being the dealers’ own fault in the main part. They failed to take on sufficient numbers in the past and, so like most of UK industry, have preferred to poach trained workers from someone else rather than regularly train their own employees. So often a new model is on sale with zero advance training at dealer level. What is certainly not helping matters is that the recruitment advertisements make clear that there is no offer of continued employment upon completion of training, why would anyone bother unless they had set their heart on this as a career?
Couldn’t agree more.
More propaganda to let more overseas workers in,or allow asylum seekers to work
Suedehead:
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.
Yes, plenty. If you want to get qualified you still have to know how to do it the old way as well as the new so best of both worlds. My brother is a fantastic mechanic (runs in family, skipped me I hated it 
). I suppose it’s about who you end up working for for. Round here it’s more about independent garages than main dealers and that’s where my brother has been working
Suedehead:
Are there any “Mechanics” still around nowadays ?
A good mechanic would be able to diagnose the problem(without the aid of a laptop) and maybe strip down and repair failed part.
They are motor technicians now. Plug the laptop in and fit new parts by process of elimination to fix the problem.
Being doing the job 40 years and yes i can diagnoise strip repair engines gearboxes axles and a whole host of stuff…Back in the day a mechanic could diagnoise a fault without a laptop because they where no ECU or the multitude of sensors or electronic components there are nowdays ,hence a laptop is required to assist in the diagnostics ,You obviously do not have any idea of how vehicles work nowday ,LAPtops do not say do not say there is the bit that has failed changed it …It will tell you what component is causing an issue ,but that dos not mean it is that component ,you still have to test the wiring etcmultile components can share the same feed and earth.so again you have to solve which component if any are at fault or if it is wiring…The biggest issue is drivers saying it’s broken ,give us a clue…The reason valves are not stripped nowdays as it is usually the electronic component that fails …The main cause being water ingress caused by drivers not emptying their airtanks… Back in the day drivers could change bulbs ,airlines and other small jobs …Not now as companies can not afford the damage that can be caused ,Phoning in brakedowns because the reversing monitor is not working ,refuses to drive it Back in the day drivers didn’t need reverse cameras ,they had skills
I don’t have access to the FT but I thought this had been a problem for a couple of years.
They put drivers wages up at the ‘shortage’ time so fitters with an HGV went off driving trucks as they could earn a bit more.
From the job adverts I’d seen, certainly round my way that seemed to be balancing itself out.
Jimmy McNulty:
I don’t have access to the FT but I thought this had been a problem for a couple of years.They put drivers wages up at the ‘shortage’ time so fitters with an HGV went off driving trucks as they could earn a bit more.
From the job adverts I’d seen, certainly round my way that seemed to be balancing itself out.
In what way ?
Suedehead:
Jimmy McNulty:
I don’t have access to the FT but I thought this had been a problem for a couple of years.They put drivers wages up at the ‘shortage’ time so fitters with an HGV went off driving trucks as they could earn a bit more.
From the job adverts I’d seen, certainly round my way that seemed to be balancing itself out.
In what way ?
Adverts for mechanics seemed to be up to about £18 per hour and above.
norb:
Being doing the job 40 years and yes i can diagnoise strip repair engines gearboxes axles and a whole host of stuff…Back in the day a mechanic could diagnoise a fault without a laptop because they where no ECU or the multitude of sensors or electronic components there are nowdays ,hence a laptop is required to assist in the diagnostics ,You obviously do not have any idea of how vehicles work nowday ,LAPtops do not say do not say there is the bit that has failed changed it …It will tell you what component is causing an issue ,but that dos not mean it is that component ,you still have to test the wiring etcmultile components can share the same feed and earth.so again you have to solve which component if any are at fault or if it is wiring…The biggest issue is drivers saying it’s broken ,give us a clue…The reason valves are not stripped nowdays as it is usually the electronic component that fails …The main cause being water ingress caused by drivers not emptying their airtanks… Back in the day drivers could change bulbs ,airlines and other small jobs …Not now as companies can not afford the damage that can be caused ,Phoning in brakedowns because the reversing monitor is not working ,refuses to drive it Back in the day drivers didn’t need reverse cameras ,they had skills
Up to a point. Drivers don’t NEED reversing cameras now, but there is no denying that they do make the job safer and reduce the risk of damage. However, the law of unintended consequences decrees that new drivers end up relying on the cameras and therefore when they go pop, the driver has a problem because he’s become dependent on them. You are right to say that it de-skills drivers but the advent of technology has infantilised driving; it’s rather unfair to blame the drivers for that.
As to the bulbs, drivers could still change them but often company policy doesn’t allow it; and unlike the old days when most trailers had Rubbolite lenses and all you needed was a penknife at most, modern lamp units need a Torx screwdriver at the very least to gain access. The reason for this isn’t, as you might think, to make the job difficult; it’s because the unit is nowadays assembled by a robot in the factory and it’s not possible with conventional slotted or Phillips screws because the robot can’t work properly with them. That’s assuming of course that it isn’t an LED which needs wiring in; great though they are the biggest issue is there are so many different ones. Airlines are a rather different matter, I daresay the reason is more to do with the employer’s justifiable fear of getting hammered by Elf and Safety if an untrained driver gets it wrong.
When I worked for BOCM/Forfarmers, we were told to remove the air dusters from the cabs; I kid you not, because according to our H&S top bod, “there was a risk that a driver would use it improperly and insert it into their body which could have dangerous effects”. If you need an air duster in any environment then animal feeds has to be the most obvious one where it’s necessary because of the amount of crap that’s floating about; but that’s the kind of mentality we’re up against nowadays. People who haven’t a clue what our job entails but seek to tell us how we are doing it all wrong.