TIA training programs to address counter personnel issues

LAS VEGAS — The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is revising and upgrading its Automotive Tire Service (ATS) and Commercial Tire Service (CTS) training programs to provide a bridge between technicians and management/sales personnel from an industry guideline and accepted practices perspective.

TIA's Training and Education Committee determined over the past couple of years that a pressing need for dealers is a training program for personnel who are not involved directly in servicing tire and wheel assemblies.

"After much discussion, it became obvious to the committee that there are a lot of tire industry employees who could benefit from technical training, specifically one that stops short of the step-by-step procedures for servicing tires and wheels," TIA President David Martin said.

"These programs will be perfect for administrative, office and sales personnel who want a deeper understanding of the products they sell and service."

TIA has been conducting technician training and certification since 1997, with more than 125,000 individuals completing a program. Until now, the training has focused on the safety procedures for servicing passenger, light truck, medium truck, earthmover, farm and industrial tire and wheel assemblies.

The new ATS program will emphasize topics such as basic tire/wheel terminology and construction, vehicle fitment and tire replacement guidelines, tire service procedures including inflation, tire repair guidelines and limitations, wheel installation and torque procedures, and tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

The new CTS program will cover much of the same information for commercial truck tire assemblies (with the exception of TPMS) in addition to OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.177, which specifically covers the servicing of single and multi-piece tire/rim assemblies used on large vehicles.

"These programs will be new in the sense that the scope and purpose will be different than our traditional technician training resources, but the message of promoting tire safety in the shop and on the road will not change," remarked Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of training.

"We are simply rewriting, re-editing and repackaging our existing training assets to fill the need for technical training outside the shop. These industry employees may not need to know the step-by-step procedures for servicing tire and wheel assemblies, but there is an abundance of useful information related to guidelines and industry recommended practices that will help them improve tire safety."

The new ATS and CTS training programs will be available only on TIA's Online University, starting in the first quarter of 2019.