Since 1997, tire dealers and fleets have turned to the Tire Industry Association (TIA) for comprehensive educational programs for truck tire and wheel service technicians. TIA’s Commercial Tire Service (CTS) Program has already trained more than 13,000 instructors and technicians with varying levels of experience. The model provides different levels of training so that new hires and veteran technicians can receive meaningful information and eventually become TIA Certified.

The new TIA Automotive Tire Service (ATS) Program uses a similar structure to meet the needs of passenger, sport-utility and light truck tire and wheel service technicians. Basic ATS enables inexperienced employees to develop the minimum skills necessary to work in most retail tire dealerships.With the web-based component, TIA members can ensure that all of their employees have documented training at a fixed cost, thereby eliminating issues related to turnover. Basic ATS also allows members to provide experienced employees with documented training, so dealers can minimize liability by ensuring that everyone in the shop has been trained to follow safety guidelines and proper procedures for servicing passenger and light truck tire and wheel assemblies.

As a second phase of the ATS Program, TIA will introduce Certified ATS this fall to meet the needs of experienced technicians and provide them with additional information as well as hands-on training. Curriculum from Basic ATS provides the foundation from a minimum skills standpoint, so technicians must have a firm grasp of the material for the Certification Exam. Certified ATS also includes various industry resources and references that cover lifting points for most domestic and foreign vehicles as well as load/inflation tables and tire/wheel dimensions.

Certified ATS will use the same “train-the-trainer” approach that has made the Certified CTS Program so successful. Hands-on training and demonstrations will take place so Certified ATS Instructors will have the advantage of receiving a comprehensive educational program. The class will be divided into two sessions, each one giving the Instructor the necessary credentials to prepare others for TIA Certification.

Students that complete the 3-day class, and successfully pass the exam, will become TIA Certified ATS Instructors, giving them qualifications to prepare technicians for certification. On the other hand, students that successfully complete the 4-day class will become TIA Certified Advanced ATS Instructors and receive the credentials to teach the Certified ATS Instructor Program in the field. The primary difference between the two classes is that the 3-day students are expected to understand the material well enough to teach technicians, while the 4-day students must actually demonstrate their ability to teach the curriculum to other instructors.

Another major difference between the CTS and ATS Programs can be found in the skills demonstration component of the training. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations require the employer to verify that the employee has demonstrated the ability to perform the necessary tasks, therefore the Certified CTS Technician Program requires company management to “sign off” on the skills portion. In the Certified ATS Technician model, the TIA Certified ATS Instructor is required to sign the Skills Demonstration Form, making it a more hands-on certification.

By creating the Certified Advanced ATS Instructor Program, companies with multiple locations spread throughout the country can utilize professional corporate trainers to train key employees in each store or region. They, in turn, as Certified ATS Instructors, can train the technicians. With roughly 40,000 retail locations in North America, the automotive tire service industry is substantially larger than the commercial tire service industry, so the Certified ATS Program had to be adapted to meet the needs of TIA’s retail members.

The final step in the ATS Program will revolve around a Certified Master Technician/Instructor component that includes the tire wear conditions and undercar analysis, in-depth ride complaint diagnosis, tire pressure monitoring system repair/calibration and aftermarket fitment modules. The expected time of completion for the Master program is at least a year away, as the depth of information will require more extensive research and development. When finished, it will represent the pinnacle of instructor and technician training and certification, creating a pool of professionals that “know everything they could possibly know” about original equipment and aftermarket automotive tire and wheel assemblies.

Ultimately, the goal is to improve the image of the industry through technician education. TIA members will someday have access to a complete curriculum of training and certification programs for all types of tire and wheel service. With the first two levels of the CTS Program already in place, the most logical place to start was the retail tire service industry. By the end of the year, Basic and Certified ATS will be launched, so we can turn our attention to other areas and eventually meet the training needs of all TIA members.