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particular fault code, for example on a VW Golf, and if they are from the VAG team, they will know what that fault code means, they would have seen it before, and they will know the top three things that would normally resolve that issue. They will provide that information accordingly. If the customer does not find the route cause with this observation, then our technician has obviously got the ability to dive in deeper, and do research into original information, or aftermarket information, or we even have our own in-house knowledge base to turn to!” “We have got all the information and all the various resources available to us. That means we can help our customer fix that vehicle. If anything, we’ve got more at our disposal than what a dealership would have. We’ve got the experience, but we have also got all of the various information resources to support all major vehicle brands.” It’s not just show-and-tell either: “Where our technicians are working with our customers in resolving a complex issue, our technician can actually take over the device, and this is why it’s called DrivePro, as we can drive the device for the customer. Like TeamViewer, all of a sudden, the technician is there in his garage in Aberdeen, and down in Oxford, our technician has looked into his device instantaneously, and is talking him through where to go, or running the routine remotely for him.” Summing up as we wrapped up an educational time spent at Opus IVS, Neil concluded: “We can get up close and personal with our customers to make sure they get the job done.” SEPTEMBER 2020 AFTERMARKET 49 www.aftermarketonline.net Wherever they are, requests come into Opus IVS from customers, in three main ways. One way is through the diagnostic device itself, which collects all of the vehicle data, and all the information that they need. They also send the support requests through online via the website. Lastly, there is the mobile app. “That’s got a VRM look-up,” pointed out Neil, “and they can send through support requests directly from their mobile phone. "IVS 360 is our support service. Let’s take a Ford Galaxy for example. The customer has reached a point in their diagnostic process where they are not sure where to go next; this could be that they have run out of testing possibilities or simply wanting assurance before they order an expensive part. They speak to one of our IVS 360 Ford technicians and are guided through how the particular system works, what the common fixes are and even to a granular level of what wires/pins to test with expected voltages/signals! “If they are using our latest DrivePro technology, the IVS 360 team can even log into their device in real- time and remotely guide them through the diagnostic process.” Next, we then moved down the hallway to find out more about DrivePro. Remote Through another door we found the Remote Services team, working to support users of the company’s DrivePro device with programming and complex diagnostic routines – on demand: “This is essentially another team of technicians for customers who are using our latest DrivePro technology. Obviously, there is a charge for Remote Services and Remote Assisted Programming (RAP), but then what will happen is that this team will actually connect with the OE application, remotely via our customer’s device, and carry out Flash Programming or complex routines, on behalf of the customer allowing them to attend to other vehicles in their workshop.” According to Neil, this is a growing segment for the company: “We are essentially bringing the data resources of a franchised dealership to the customer.” Support comes in many guises, a concept on which Neil elaborated: “We have different field teams globally, testing and developing software. Another large team we’ve got in Oxford is our Development team, we have a team of around 35 engineers that are working in collaboration with our teams in the U.S to combine the databases and technology of all our diagnostic platforms we now own, and ultimately drive forward the position of our products. “For example, we released some updates last month for Porsche. Whatever the brand, if our customers have a vehicle in that is still under warranty in their independent garage, or one that needs a service reset, we are behind them to help them action these jobs.” Experience By this point, the guys were busily working away, so we asked Neil about their backgrounds: “They are all main dealer trained, at various levels of experience. Generally speaking, the minimum sort of experience we would take on with a Master Tech would be 10 years. Some of our techs have worked for the same brand for 30 years plus. They have worked the whole of their career, working for, for example, Mercedes-Benz. Then, the only job after that was working for us. We keep their knowledge up to date by sending them on training courses with the vehicle manufacturer. They will go to the same training courses as those in the dealership.” With these guys, when they see a problem with an older vehicle, they will say, “Oh I know the solution to that,” before they even have to look. According to Neil, this is the crux of it: “This is a massive part of our success. Some of them will see a Above: OPUS IVS building in Oxford