OESAA delivers Autoinform Live workshop training event

The Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) has delivered its latest Autoinform Live workshop training event. Held at the GTG Academy in Wolverhampton last weekend, more than 200 industry professionals attended the UK’s biggest workshop training event, with sessions delivered by OE suppliers and well-respected industry figures.

Automotive training expert, Frank Massey was on-hand to deliver training sessions on future technologies and industry issues, such as ‘Pumping losses’ – the mechanical inefficiency of a gasoline engine caused by the position of the throttle – and vibration analysis.

Talking about Autoinform Live, Massey said: “We’ve been involved with training for about 30 years now, and we decided to give it a brand – Autoinform – which provides education based on our experience and knowledge gained in the industry.

“The event changes every year, and each time we try to put a different ‘flavour’ on it; for example, we might concentrate on ignition, common rail or emissions, which is a really big issue at the moment.

“It means we have to do a lot of research – which is great for us – and to-date it’s been really well received. We’re getting good numbers and the right calibre of people: those who want to progress and succeed in the industry.”

Schaeffler’s technical services manager, Malcolm Short added: “We try to refresh the event every year, with more presentations, updated content and new suppliers.

“The garages love that this event takes place at the weekend: we did a survey after the Edinburgh show and people responded overwhelmingly that they wanted it on Saturday and Sunday as it meant they weren’t taking time out of their busy working weeks.”

With the seminar schedule divided into three categories, Autoinform Live 2017 gave delegates the option of booking the programme which best suited their requirements.

Acoustic partitioning helped to eliminate distractions from the other training sessions, with many of the classes utilising a professional audio system. Presenters lead such sessions using wireless microphones to delegates in over-ear headsets to help cancel out unwanted background noise.

Malcolm Short continued: “The headsets, which we introduced last year, are great if you’re in a busy workshop. This year we coordinated the event so that two people weren’t presenting side-by-side, keeping background noise down.”

OESAA chairman, Nigel Morgan said: “Malcolm works with the suppliers to make sure that the training we provide is interesting and topical for our delegates every time.

“However, the reason we continue to organise these events remains unchanged: as technology evolves it really is the OE suppliers who are best placed to support the people who are fitting our products.

“Roughly 50-60 per cent of attendees come every year because they recognise that technology moves on so quickly, and we give them the knowledge they need to stay ahead of the game.”