Commercial Vehicle '0801 April 2008
What: Commercial Vehicle Show 2008
Where: NEC, Birmingham
When: April 15-17
How: www.cvshow.com
The Commercial Vehicle Show, Britain's largest road transport event, returns to take over the NEC from April 15?17, and there's plenty for technicians and maintenance engineers. Although aimed at fleet engineers and managers, this huge event provides an excellent opportunity to get to grips with what's new, not only in power, transmission and servo technology, but vehicle diagnostics, in-cab systems and controls.
We're not just talking mechanical engineering, but hydraulics, pneumatics, electro-mechanical and electronics for everything from engine and air conditioning management, to the PLC automation for tipping systems, vehicle-mounted cranes etc, on a whole range of special-purpose trucks.
From the training perspective, it's worth getting to the SOE IRTE stand, half of which is given over to irtec, the testing and assessment scheme that certifies vehicle technicians, in terms of their theoretical and practical engineering competencies. Head of licensing David Oakeley says visitors will find technical experts from several of the accredited assessment centres on the stand, ready to answer your questions about the assessments, certification, and available course modules and accreditation.
Engineers not in the know need to think of irtec as the Corgi scheme equivalent for vehicle engineers. As Oakeley puts it: 'An irtec licence proves a commitment to safety and demonstrable professional development by both the technician and employer? We're providing a sample ?inspection of vehicles' theory test on the stand, so engineers can come along and have a go - whether they're intending to go for heavy vehicle or light commercial vehicle technician accreditation.
'It's all about helping them to understand the standards expected and, if they're successful with the sample test, we can register them on the stand for formal practical and theoretical testing at any of our recognised centres. We can also talk to them about the tests available that best suit their career pathways and help them to achieve licensing for their intended job profiles.'
Configure your training
For example, advanced or master technician accreditation means passing four theory and practical tests - the core maintenance technician module and three others. Supplementary modules could be around multiplexing and Canbus for vehicle electronics and diagnostics or, equally, maintenance and repair on, say, petroleum tankers, air conditioning or tail lifts.
'With the expansion of demand, we have already accredited modules for tail lift maintenance, and we're now looking at forklift trucks, handling of gases, hydraulics and maintenance of vehicle-mounted cranes.'
What about the rest of the show? Well, you'll find all the majors, from DAF to Isuzu, Iveco, John Deere, MAN, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Scania, Whale Tankers etc. But there's also a range of air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturers - companies such as Leyland Auto, Thermo King and Webasto - as well as hydraulics specialists, including Alfa, Driveline, Manuli, Parker Hannifin and Penny Hydraulics. And you'll find lifting firms, from Jungheinrich to Ratcliff Palfinger and Stertil.
It's also worth noting some of the specialist zones at the show - such as Cool 2008, Workshop 2008, Municipal 2008 and Tipcon 2008. The Cool Pavilion, for example, this year incorporates the entire range of vehicles, products and services for cold-chain transport. Meanwhile, Workshop 2008 looks set to cover the entire vehicle maintenance and repair business, from micro-cars all the way up to 60-tonne special operations vehicles.
SOE
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