“Training Day in Fort Myers” – The Group Training Academy EV Tour Blog

March 27, 2021 -  Fort Myers, Florida

Training day in Fort Myers.

I could not attend the training as I flew the unfriendly skies back to Morgantown (three legs and over five hours of layovers) but got a full rundown from John on the day's events.

Once again, the class was very well received by the participants. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but AVI and The Group Training Academy are hitting that "sweet spot" on electric vehicle training right now. Maybe folks are just looking to get back to some normalcy coming out of Covid, perhaps the material content is timed right for the growth of EV sales, or maybe John is truly the all-powerful master dynamic superstar trainer he says he is. I'd say it is a little of the first two and a lot on the last. All kidding aside, John is a fantastic trainer and truly connects with his audience. That bond is crucial when dealing with a critical subject like EV training, where high voltage hazards can rear their ugly head in a heartbeat.

One sidebar from Saturday's training that is humorous but indeed emphasizes this point was relayed to me by John. One of the safety items we emphasize in our classes is to make sure that the area around the electric vehicle being serviced is secured against intrusion by other technicians, clients, and the odd stranger that sometimes find their way into an active repair facility. Some allowances need to be made in an educational environment as we generally have over twenty people all watching and learning as practical exercises take place. Still, we do drill down to our attendees the importance of respecting high voltage.

On Saturday, John had a student performing a meter reading on a high-voltage circuit, under close supervision, and utilizing all the correct personal protective equipment. As the procedure took place, another student inadvertently leaned against our hydraulic vehicle lift on the other side of the studio, well away from the EV activity. The lift actuated, and the corresponding sound of the lift moving caused the entire class to jump back, thinking the sound was associated with the HV meter reading. They all had a good laugh over the situation, but this does bring the safety issue to the forefront. When a technician is working on live circuits, he needs to secure his area for the work and be spatially aware of his surroundings. A backfire, the dropping of a crushed body panel, or simply a shout from one side of the shop to another could abruptly interrupt the diagnostic procedure's flow and startle the technician.

So, this was a bittersweet ending for John and me. We love training and all the little things that go along with it, but it is good to look forward to a couple of weeks of non-travel to recharge. As said before, stay tuned for announcements on future training tour destinations, new courses to be offered, and maybe cool training props for us to tell you about.

If you are interested in finding out how to bring TGTA live training to your area, contact us at Phone: 1-800-718-7246 | Email: support@aviondemand.com. We will be adding tour stops for the EV classes and additional content on such topics as advanced diesel diagnostics, ADAS, and light, medium, and heavy-duty braking systems.