New Bosch remote maintenance tool helps workshops solve tricky diagnostic problems

Plochingen, Germany – With automaking becoming ever more digitalized, modern cars and trucks are becoming increasingly more complex. The rapid pace of developments means that workshops are ever more frequently coming up against their technical limits, especially when it comes to the diagnosis of the latest vehicle models. In some cases, faulty parts can only be replaced by using a diagnostic tool supplied by the automaker. With its new remote diagnostics service, Bosch can now offer all workshops, bodywork shops, and vehicle glass specialists a solution for these complicated servicing tasks as well. The remote diagnostics service comprises the following three powerful elements, which combine to enhance repair-shop efficiency and open up new opportunities for generating revenue: the customer portal, which handles things such as servicing appointments, scheduling, and online payments; Bosch technical support, which gives workshop staff advice and tips for dealing with cases that are difficult to diagnose; the RDS 500 communication tool, an interface that allows Bosch experts to access the customer’s vehicle remotely.

Remote diagnostics service with Bosch RDS 500

What happens in the case of tricky diagnostic problems? Once the appliance has been connected to the vehicle and an internet connection has been established – for example over wi-fi – the workshop technician can use the service portal to call up the remote service. This gives the Bosch expert access to the vehicle. With the help of the necessary technical diagnosis tools, they can then resolve the diagnostic problem. For the entire duration of the remote procedure, the workshop mechanic remains in direct contact with the Bosch expert. In certain cases, moreover, the Bosch expert may also have to get their own impression of the situation on the ground. All it takes for this is for the workshop mechanic to have installed the Bosch Visual Connect Pro app on their cellphone. If this is the case, the Bosch expert can call the cell phone and use its camera look over the workshop mechanic’s shoulder in real time. Bosch expert and workshop mechanic can then analyze the problem step by step, and quickly arrive at the right solution.

Thanks to the remote diagnostics service, therefore, the workshop will no longer have to refer customers to an authorized repair shop or buy cost-intensive diagnostic appliances when complicated diagnostic tasks crop up. The workshop can offer its customers a complete one-stop service, and generate additional revenue.

Good response to online training courses and webcasts

In recent years, Bosch has been offering online training courses in addition to its classroom-based technical courses at the Bosch Service training centers. Above all, these online courses are used to prepare workshop mechanics for local technical training courses. Last year, the portfolio was extended to include a new and innovative e-learning program – Bosch webcasts. Up to 200 participants at various locations can follow these technical courses live, using a chat function to ask questions. All participants need is a computer and a stable internet connection. Webcasts are especially suitable for subjects that lend themselves to digital tuition without the need to work directly on a vehicle. Both the online training sessions and the webcasts are carried out by the national Bosch Service training centers. As participants’ feedback has so far been very positive, more and more Bosch service organizations around the world are adopting these online programs.

E-learning programs replacing classroom training in the pandemic

The constraints of the coronavirus pandemic have meant that the online training programs offered by Bosch have taken on special importance this year. In Germany, for example, classroom courses were not allowed until June. For this reason, Bosch switched some of them to online formats. In Germany alone, the Bosch Service training centers organized more than 60 training days in total, with some 400 participants. The subjects included beginners’ and more advanced electronics, common-rail and high-pressure injection systems, and 48-volt systems. Apart from courses on passenger-car technology, there were also programs for commercial-vehicle workshops.

The online sessions were complemented by live webcasts on parts 1 to 3 of the Esitronic web training program, on Euro 5 and Euro 6, on PassThru applications in various passenger-car models, and on how to use the Bosch DAS 3000 to calibrate driver assistance systems, among other subjects. A total of 31 webcasts were shown, with more than 250 participants.

Since the end of June, classroom courses have again been permitted in Germany, at the Bosch Service training centers in Plochingen and Kassel. But following the very positive uptake of online courses and webcasts, these e-learning formats are to be kept on and expanded for the theory components of courses.

Online training positively received across Europe

In other parts of Europe, the Bosch Service training centers report similarly positive feedback about the online programs. In Scandinavia, for example, weekly online training courses focusing on driver assistance systems were offered. In the first half of 2021, these online courses reached more than 500 participants. And over the same period, some 750 workshop associates attended online courses in the Netherlands on subjects such as gasoline and diesel injection systems, common-rail systems, Esitronic, sensors and actuators, and brake systems. A very similar range of subjects was covered in online courses in Belgium and Luxemburg in early 2021, attended by nearly 270 workshop associates. In 41 online courses offered between January and June 2021, moreover, the Bosch Service training centers in Poland recorded more than 370 participants.

A survey conducted within the Bosch Car Service network in Poland shows that classroom courses remain an essential element of training programs, despite the growing share of online courses. Just under half the workshops polled favor continuing with theoretical and practical classroom courses in the Bosch Service training centers. One quarter would like to see theory taught online. Roughly another quarter expressed a preference for both theoretical and practical subjects to be taught online.