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• Ride the common rail 

   By Damien Coleman, Product Manager/ EBI Specialist at Snap-on

• Auto Service Finance rebrands as Bumper, as FT rates it one of Europe’s 100 fastest growing companies 

  Bumper, previously known as Auto Service Finance, has been rated by the Financial Times as one of the top 100 fastest growing companies in Europe.

• A reality check  

  This year’s summer was good, but as usual, was over too quickly – so back to work and a reality check!
      
  However, during my summer travels some of today’s necessities of life were conspicuous by their absence. I hired a car, only to discover that the USB connection I needed to use to charge my phone and link to my favourite music playlists didn’t work. The local radio station’s dubious choices in music didn’t help relive the tedium, but when I got to the hotel my woes were compounded when I discovered that they wanted to charge a ridiculous amount to use their wi-fi – I mean seriously, who in their right mind can justify charging hotel guests for basic wi-fi – unless the hotel is run by Ryanair (who seem to want to charge everyone for everything), which it wasn’t.
      
  So, with no wi-fi in the hotel room, I had some time on my hands, so I started thinking about the connections we expect in today’s connected world and in turn what connections are needed to run today’s workshop. This got me thinking about the problems it would face if these connections were either expensive, were restricted, didn’t work as they should or didn’t exist at all.
  
  Form over function
  Back in the 1990s I remember well being handed a new portable diagnostic tool which could connect to the internet via the mobile phone networks. Subsequently, it was able to conduct remote and bi-directional diagnostics on a vehicle anywhere in the world, when the vehicle was also connected to the internet – effectively ‘PC anywhere’ technology. However, I also clearly remember complaining to the development engineer within a couple of minutes because the functionality was too slow. He was visibly shocked and was clearly offended by my negative feedback on what was his pride and joy. Then I realised what had made me comment negatively – it was not the impressive technology, but the speed of use and the corresponding ability to run the diagnostics I wanted to conduct. In IT terms, this is referred to as system ‘functionality’ and ‘non-functionality’. Simply, the ‘non-‘functionality’ is the design of the system and the ‘functionality’ is what it can deliver. It might be easier to remember this in layman’s terms as being ‘Form over function’.
      
  When applied to the workshop, this directly applies to a wide range of electronic connections that are needed to support your day-to-day business, and if these connections do not work as needed, how this can quickly and detrimentally impact your business activities.
  
  Don’t miss the ‘bus’
  The ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection is a good example. A ‘bus’ within a PC are wires that transfer data between components inside the computer, or between the computer and its peripheral devices. We have all come to use this connection for a wide variety of tasks, from using it as an auxiliary power source for many different gadgets, to a vital communications port for various functions such as printers and other data transfer requirements. However, if it does not work correctly, physically or electronically, then simple tasks suddenly become major issues.
      
  This wired technology has moved on and most of us are now connected by wi-fi in the office environment, but increasingly also in the workshop to connect diagnostic tools to the internet. Data transfer speeds depend on the technology used and the latest generation (soon to be 802.11ax) is super-fast, which becomes more important as software updating of vehicles involves the transfer of massive data files. Generally, wi-fi connections work well, but when they suddenly stop working, it is more difficult to diagnose as it is not a physical connection than can be more easily tested. This may happen after a software update and a recent experience showed me how simple a problem can be, but how difficult it was to discover, when my PC was updated and a simple setting was changed. Over three hours of technical support was needed to discover that it was a simple tick-box setting which needed to be re-enabled. These wi-fi problems move into understanding the IT environment of certificates, configurations, permissions, log-in and passwords between the router and the various connected devices, without even starting to consider the wider communications providers that connects your workshop to the wider world.
  
  Have a cookie
  This leads me onto an increasing communications requirement which has become a fundamental part of our day-to-day lives, from both the personal and business aspects – the internet. If there is ever a perfect example of living in a connected world, this is it. However, if you think about the wide-ranging possibilities that the internet supports, do you ever stop to think about the technology behind what is happening to understand the control mechanisms that are needed for it to be safe and secure? If you visit a website, not only are there likely to be cookies tracking your choices and mapping your activities, but there will be certificates being exchanged to ensure secure communication. This may extend to log-in criteria and passwords, or may be implemented by the service provider whose website you are viewing. This becomes particularly important when you are paying for something online.
      
  In simple terms, all this is a form of coded access, but this works not only to ensure the correct access rights, but more importantly, to stop anyone who does not have the valid access rights from interfering or monitoring what you are doing.
  
  Control
  What then does all this lead to at the workshop level? In terms of the technology of the equipment, then it is developing to be both more reliable and faster, but the same cannot be said of the beloved OBD connector, which is not only restricted in terms of speed, but will become restricted in terms of access without the correct roles and rights authentication which requires certificates from the vehicle manufacturer. As the manufacturer controls this certificate, then it becomes ‘He who controls the connection, controls the function and ultimately the business’, so the workshop of tomorrow needs to worry most about a connection that they have no control over, but which will control their business.
    
  Time then to sign up with one of the aftermarket associations and join the fight to protect access to the in-vehicle data!
  
  xenconsultancy.com

• 300% increase in EV/hybrid training demand 

  LKQ Euro Car Parts says demand for the IMI-accredited EV and hybrid training offered through LKQ Academy has increased by more than 300% in just two years.

• Process not problem 

  With the first blossoms of the spring almost upon us, Frank thinks a fresh look at the importance of diagnostic approach is in order

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