One step away from an iPad?

So last time blogged, I had just completed my first cascade training session to my mates, and after a bit of Micky taking, it all went quite easy.

We'll as promised, here's how the other sessions went...

The second session was a lot less nerve racking, as I knew exactly what to do, and had a better idea how long to spend on each bit. Another big difference was by the time I did this session, a lot more of my work mates had seen ODIS being used by others and were genuinely interested. So I gave out the QRGs, showed them the Play & Prove zone, and bagged myself two more signatures on the learner log.

The third and fourth session was a breeze, which was mainly down to the Play and Prove zone. Because there were now 5 of us using it at lunch times and discussing our scores, the rest of my work mates were all keen to have look at what they were missing out on, and have a go at bagging themselves an iPad! (the good news is one of them just had a crack at the test too quickly, and failed the first attempt and scraped through on his second - he's blown his chances of and iPad!)

Anyway, by time I trained them they had already sussed out a lot of ODIS, but were still over the moon with their QRGs that I gave them and the YouTube channel videos.

But more importantly - that was me DONE! And after passing the learner log on to my dealer principle - SENT!!!

I have now finally taken level 1 myself too, and got nearly top marks, proving that practice really does make perfect. So with just level two to complete (and it looks easier than level 1), I am now definately (possibly) one step away from a nice shiney iPad2!!!

You beauty - bring on the next training course!!! ;-)

1st cascade session - DONE!

So, I work with these guys every day, right? How hard can this mini training session be?

As I mentioned in the last blog, our cascade sessions have now been ok'd and booked in by the Dealer Principle and Service Manager, and the scary 'training session number 1' was booked for this Wednesday afternoon - AGHHHHHHHH!!!

I spent probably about 20 mins getting ready:
Bring car in - check
Battery charger and wing covers on - check
ODIS connected - check
Faff about trying my best to waste time and put off the training - check ;-)

So after I couldn't put it off any more, I went for it...

And you know what? It wasn't that bad!

After everyone had laughed at me and generally took the Micky, I got into showing them how to open it up and getting them to navigate around the menus, and suddenly they were glued to the screen - rather than grinning at me!
We continued on to have a play at GFF, and by the time I'd pointed out where to find Guided Functions, it was clear I was no longer needed!

And I really think this was the point that hit it home to me how much ODIS is better, because I had stopped trying to 'convince' people about the benefits of it, and was stood there quite proud of it - what's that all about! - I didn't create it!!!

By the time they were having a look around Self-diagnosis, they were sold, and my job was nearly done, and any nerves were totally in the past.

The only thing left was to get them to sign the 'learning log', which turned out to be quite a nice surprise to end on. Because it reminded me of 2 things I had forgot...
1. To give them their quick reference guides (again, found myself showing off how they worked!)
2. To show them the 'Play & Prove' zone (which they love!)

Clearly, all I have to do now is actually pull my finger out and complete the Prove zone myself, as I've just noticed that someone has already passed level 2!

Anyway, all in all, it's been quite a painless event... The guys appreciated it, and the Dealer Principle seems well impressed!

I'll let you know how the next one goes!!!

Cheers

The cascade pack... me, a trainer???

OK, so since the last blog, I've been scared silly by all the huge scores appearing on the Play & Prove zone, so much that I still haven't actually attempted the test yet (yes, I'm STILL practicing!)

But now it's time for the real scary bit... the dreaded cascade pack!

So, rewind back to the end of the official training, I was supplied with a 'cascade pack' with an explanation of how to use the documents that it contained, which would hopefully support me in training my work mates :-0

The pack consisted of:
A 'to-do' list (explaining what to do),
Some quick refence guides (one for each technician),
A learning log (for recording who I'd trained),
A pre-paid addressed envelope (for sending the log back),
A session plan (recommending what to train them, and how long it takes)

Now I've got to be honest, as a Master Tech, I've been to a number of API's etc where I been 'tasked' with passing on the information I was given, but this never seemed to be that important, and consequently was all a bit informal. But this is clearly a completely different thing, as it's obviously really important that all the techs can use ODIS properly, and this is why I am feeling very very very nervous (and a bit stressed!) about the whole cascade process.

Now to be fair, I can also honestly say that I can't ever remember being so well supported in terms of the help I have been given to carry this out, but this still doesn't change my nerves! Anyway, I've been through the 'to-do' list with my service manager and dealer principle, and after much discussion, they agreed how important this process is, and have consequently booked the 5 short training sessions that I need to train our 10 techs. This means I now have exactly 2 days to get ready for the first session... me, a trainer... we'll see!!!

Watch this space...

Extra competition!

OK, so I've been openly honest and blogged about the 'fun and games' I've had with getting my head around ODIS over the past 2 or 3 months, and for those of you that haven't been reading - I think I've recently turned a corner cause I no longer see it as the 'fear of the unknown' (just like when ElsaPro first turned up), but see it more like an opportunity to use the new faster software and new features.

So I should now be glad that I've got a 3 month head-start of the UK Technicians who have just started attending the technical ODIS launch training, shouldn't I???

Well, I sort of was feeling quite confident, and with the announcement of the 'Play & Prove zone' being released last week, I was starting to get quite excited about the prospect of winning an iPad2!

That was of course, until I saw some of the HUGE scores that have started appearing on the leader board!
Not only was I impressed with the shear size of their scores, but the fact that they managed to score them WITHIN HOURS of the thing being released was amazing!!! I clearly have got some serious competition out there, so much for a head start :-(

The bar's been clearly set pretty high, but with 25 iPads up for grabs, I've not given up yet. So, I'm spending the next few evenings perfecting Level 1 in the 'Play zone', so I'm more than ready to achieve my own whopping score (cause you can only set a score once - then it's locked). Good job you've got unlimited practice! I've also noticed a lot of the videos on the YouTube channel are the same as those in level 1, so they're helping too.

Anyway, better get on with it, as I've heard level 2 is also being released in a few days.

Cheers!

Play and Prove zone

News flash - the ODIS Play & Prove zone has been launched,

and there's already an Apprentice completed it with a monster score!

Access it via LEMA at: http://www.vwgtraining.co.uk/

Search for 'ODIS'

Click on 'Access to material'

More iPad information

I've now got more information of how I'm gonna bag myself one one these beauties!

To have a chance of winning the iPads you have to use an online ODIS game called the Play & Prove Zone

When launched (tomorrow - 3rd  Nov 2011), you will access it via LEMA. It's free to access, so any technician can use it so long as they've got a LEMA login. Just search for the word 'ODIS' and you'll see the Play & Prove zone in your results.














I can now also confirm it works like this...

Play zone
This is basically an online version of ODIS, where you can practice carrying out various tasks, like resetting service lights etc. You get advice if you don't know how to do any of the tasks. You can use this area as much as you like.
Make sure you have speakers or headphones on though, as there is speaking that really helps.

Prove zone
This is also an online version of ODIS, where you get tested by completing 10 random tasks form the Play zone. There is obviously no help in the Prove zone.

When you finish the test, your score goes on the leader board (hopefully somewhere near the top), and you 'unlock' the next level of the game.

There are 25 iPads available! YES - 25!!!

They are available as follows:

There are 3 iPads up for grabs for the

• 3 highest scoring Audi Technicians
• 3 highest scoring Skoda Technicians
• 3 highest scoring SEAT Technicians
• 3 highest scoring VW passenger cars Technicians, and the
• 3 highest scoring VW Commercial Vehicles Technicians

There is also an iPad awarded to the:

• Highest scoring Audi Apprentice Technician
• Highest scoring Skoda Apprentice Technician
• Highest scoring SEAT Apprentice Technician
• Highest scoring VW passenger cars Apprentice Technician, and the
• Highest scoring VW Commercial Vehicles Apprentice Technician

We're not done yet! There is also an iPad awarded to the:

• Highest scoring Audi ODIS Champion
• Highest scoring Skoda ODIS Champion
• Highest scoring SEAT ODIS Champion
• Highest scoring VW passenger cars ODIS Champion, and the
• Highest scoring VW Commercial Vehicles ODIS Champion

Here's the really important part...
To be eligible to win, you also have to:

• Have your own Dealer Portal Login, and
• Have used ODIS at work (and have sent a diagnostic log online with your login)

However, both of these are standard practice anyway, so shouldn't cause you any bother.

The competition is open to all Technicians and Apprentice Technicians in Great Britain that work for Skoda, SEAT, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Audi service departments.

An official communication will be published on Desktop and SEAT Central shortly, including all the terms and conditions.

Hope this wets your ODIS taste buds!!!

Who needs ElsaPro!

Just thought I'd share my latest ODIS experience, as it's good news...

Just carried out a service and needed to reset the service indicator (a job that I probably would have rather used VAS PC for a few weeks back). Anyway, as I'm now getting used to reaching for ODIS, I did for this job, only this time I kept one eye on the time it took me - and I'm very happy with the results... 2 minutes!

The car also had a headlight fault, which I needed to double check to see if there were any relevant TPIs covering this... No need for ElsaPro yet - another job for ODIS. Time taken... just over 1 minute (and no need to start logging on to other PCs!!!)

I then need to check the remove / refit instructions... still no need to leave ODIS yet! Found via the search function in less than 30 seconds!

 Finally, I had to carryout basic setting on the headlight system, and then send a diagnostic log in - all of the above was carried in approx. 5 minutes.

This really takes me back to when ElsaPro was launched - it was yet another new system that I really could have done without having to learn. It fills you with dread and frustration of the unknown, and you kinda find yourself wanting to pick fault with it. And yes, I initially thought that ODIS seemed a bit slow to start-up. But I've gotta be honest, I can't imagine having to go back to ElsaWin, and I definitely don't want to lose these fantastic new features of ODIS.

Best of all - the ODIS training has started now so I'll have lots more mates getting involved too!