Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MAY 2020 64 S ince I first became involved in the certification of individuals and companies about 15 years ago, I've witnessed an evolution beyond my wildest dreams. We all started out trying to make sure our people were certified in the core competencies as qualified service professionals. We wanted to equip them with the knowledge to service products today and absorb the onslaught of new products and technologies. When we started, there were relatively few certified technicians, but we now have technicians who've been trained and certified to keep pace with the rapidly changing service industries. The marketplace formerly viewed change with concern as something slightly negative. The old rule was "show me it works" before we would accept any new gadgets – skepticism was the rule. But now that the speed of innovation is near instantaneous, in many cases a demand exists even before a new product is launched. And as technology changes, there's a need to change products rapidly enough to achieve the right price point or gain an advantage over a competitor. As these product changes occur, they are accompanied by a need for new state-of-the-art components to meet the evolving demands of the market. The result is that you find yourself repairing products that are new both inside and out. In the industries we represent, the technician must not only be able to service older products, but products and options that are brand-new. This calls for identifying the changes, providing training on servicing the new technologies, and offering appropriate new certifications. This is done by manufacturers and industry associations like the Professional Servicers Association (PSA) in the appliance industry, and the Electronic Technicians Association and Enterprise Wireless in the wireless service sector. They help us prepare to gain a handle on the tech monster that looms large in all of the electronics service industries today. How fast is technology changing? To find the answer, I asked for help and came up with a partial list of some recent major changes for the appliance industry: • Energy-saving DC-powered components that call for an entirely new approach to diagnosing refrigerator problems • An evolution of refrigerants that demands fresh knowledge to repair sealed systems • Induction cooking • Lokring technology • Steam laundry equipment • More electronic controls The wireless service industry has put together a partial list of new technologies that have worked their way into the repair requirements. The Electronics Technicians Association gave me the following list of new technologies and responsibilities that require training and certification: • High-speed data • Fiber optics • Public safety systems • RF interference • Distributed antenna systems • 5G technology The list highlights just a few of the advancements in technology in these two service industry sectors, with many more to come. Think of the other industries that CSC represents, such as biomedical, computer and audio/video service companies, and you can see that the technology explosion touches us all. Getting training and being certified in these new technologies is something we'll have to plan for. Keeping up is becoming more challenging, but it isn't something we can overlook. So we should get started with ongoing training and certification on the new technologies every day. Change is unavoidable, and it's an integral part of the job description of every technician who wants to remain successful in these service industries. Take advantage of the current and future training and certification programs in these specialized areas to remain a top professional in your field. JOB EVOLUTION– CHANGE IS UNAVOIDABLE S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T RO Don Pierson, Certified Service Center (CSC) www.certifiedservicecenter.org

• Cover