What's the diff ?

[Lil Giants]

I suspect it's Edmonton that is the center hub for the west side of Canada b/c it seems everything heavy equipment & parts usually comes from there.

Originally Posted by Supermario

as great as Reman is for our customers, there is a negative side to this type of approach. our new younger mechanics are becoming " robot parts changers" .

I know exactly what you're talking about Mario, I see the exact same thing happening with agricultural machinery & the young 20's & 30's mechanics just don't seem to have a clue what they're doing, they just R&R parts to chase the problem... but to be fair - the equipment is getting more electronically complicated every yr & the training is not there to support it & the diagnostic tools are just as ridiculously expensive that it's impossible to supply every dealership in the country with them... but then again, big dealerships don't seem to have a conscience about raising their shop rate 10% to 15% every yr either while the quality of service drops. 6yrs ago I was paying $65/hr, now it's $130/hr, all the while the mechanics have received next no training & no specialized diagnostic tools.

That's my rant & it's all your fault Mario.

[sparkycuda]

I see the same problem every day. As a Technical Trainer for the Kentucky/Indiana Komatsu dealer, we also struggle with the loss of knowledge caused by using Reman components. We haven't taught a engine/trans/final drive rebuild class in several years because Reman is the quicker way to get machines back in production. Keeping up with the latest technology and troubleshooting procedures is our #1 priority for training, and we use disassembled components where possible to let them see what is inside. Mario, you hit the nail on the head about troubleshooting and understanding systems when you have never seen the inside! We do what we can, but since Reman is handled by Komatsu, we have a hard time even sourcing a component to tear down for training class. It is a different market than when I started in this 45 years ago. Technology has changed so much and so quickly over the last 20 years, we often get newer technology before we have everyone trained on the previous version! At least it is not boring - sometimes extremely frustrating - but not boring.

Ken