Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/96778
Groundwork OFFICERS Chairman CHRIS PERA Eastern HighReach Company, Inc. Horsham, Pa. Vice Chairman A. ROY KERN Equipment Corporation of America Coraopolis, Pa. President BOB HENDERSON The AED Foundation Oak Brook, Ill. JOHN CRUM Treasurer Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. Pittsburgh, Pa. Immediate Past Chairman WALTER BERRY Berry Companies, Inc. Wichita, Kan. AED Board Representative DON SHILLING General Equipment & Supplies Inc. Fargo, N.D. Executive Director STEVE JOHNSON The AED Foundation Oak Brook Ill. DIRECTORS GARY BRIDWELL Ditch Witch of Oklahoma Edmond, Okla. MIKE FESTING-SMITH NORTRAX, Inc. Tampa, Fla. MIKE HAYES Komatsu America Corporation Rolling Meadows, Ill. MICHAEL HINRICHSEN Caterpillar, Inc. Peoria, Ill. TIMOTHY KRAMER Kramer Ltd. Regina, SK DR. WAYNE LONGBRAKE Former Dean, Penn. College of Technology Williamsport, Pa. SONJA METZLER Ohio CAT Broadview Heights, Ohio KENNETH SILVERMAN Volvo Construction Equipment Shippensburg, PA KEITH TIPPETT Kirby-Smith Machinery, Inc. Oklahoma City, Okla. DUANE WILDER Liebherr Construction Equipment Co. Newport News, Va. Introducing the New Web-Based Technical Assessments for Dealer Service Techs Use this tool to evaluate service technicians – both job applicants and existing employees. A new online Dealer Technician Technical Assessment is now available through The AED Foundation. This valuable employment tool can be used to quickly evaluate applicants' technical knowledge as part of the pre-hire process, or to assess currently employed technicians. Assessments can also be used to measure employee strengths and weaknesses before and after technical training. Individual assessments are priced at $50 each for AED members and $150 each for nonmembers. The test is available in both English and Spanish versions and can be ordered online with a credit card. Dealers will have the ability to manage all processes related to AED Technical Assessments activities online through a password-protected admin login area. Here, the dealer account manager can: Order assessments Receive and assign test-taker logins and passwords Receive assessment results Create benchmarking reports Test-takers access the site with an assigned username/login and password. Once assessments are completed, results are immediately available to managers in the admin area. Created by Industry Taskforce The technical assessment was two years in the making, representing the work of a taskforce comprised of 24 equipment technical experts representing AED dealers, equipment manufacturers and AED Accredited technical colleges with equipment programs. It is aligned with AED National Construction Equipment Technical Standards that are now in their seventh edition. The 160 questions evaluate technician knowledge in the areas of diesel engines, powertrains, electric/electronics, A/C and heating, hydraulics/ hydrostatics, and safety/administration. After completing the 120-minute timed assessment, each test-taker receives a "percentcorrect" score for each of the six areas, as well as an overall score. The AED Foundation has not established a "passing" score for the assessment. However, benchmarking data is conveniently available with user selected "data buckets" and "date parameters." Using that benchmark data, individual dealerships can determine their own test performance parameters. The benchmarking data available will expand as more AED dealers utilize the Technician Technical Assessment. AED encourages dealers to improve their employee evaluation process both before hiring technicians and afterwards with AED Technical Assessments. Unlike a one-size fits all approach to training, the AED Technical Assessments allow you to pinpoint areas where additional training is needed. For more information, contact Pat Novak at 630-4685135, pnovak@aednet.org. Congratulations to Newly AED Accredited and Re-Accredited Technical School Programs AED Accreditation is based on achieving rigorous equipment industry national technical standards created and are updated every three years by AED taskforces comprising equipment dealers, manufacturers and technical colleges. -Central Arizona College, Coolidge, Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology Program (Accred.) -North Dakota State College of Science, Diesel Technology and Caterpillar ThinkBIG Dealer Service Technology Programs -Linn-Benton Community College, Heavy Equipment / Diesel Technology and Deere Construction & Forestry Equipment Tech Programs -White Mountains Community College, Mobile Equipment Technology Program -Parkland College, Diesel Power Equipment Technology and CNH Service Technician Programs -Linn State Technical College, Heavy Equipment Technology and CAT ThinkBIG Dealer Service Technician Programs -Lansing Community College, Heavy Equipment Repair Program December 2012 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 13