Computers In The Workplace

   

    The specific industry I am going to write about today is the automotive repair industry. I have experience working in automotive and Harley Davidson specific shops. Computers have completely changed the way automotive repair and maintenance is accomplished. "The first chips in cars were introduced in the late 1960's and early 1970's to manage simple functions such as fuel injection and transmission shifting." (Swinhoe, 2018) Fast forward to 1996 when the federal government legally mandated OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) Ports in vehicles. The OBD system is used to monitor emission systems, mileage, speed, and store fault codes when a malfunction occurs. These fault codes or DTC's (Diagnostic Trouble Codes), can then be used to diagnose and repair a vehicle. These systems have made the troubleshooting and fault isolation of the many complex electrical and mechanical systems dramatically easier and more efficient. In my current vehicle I have an application on my phone that communicates with my vehicle, and can automatically set up an appointment with my local dealership for routine maintenance and fault code repair when necessary.

It is vital for employees to be computer literate in the automotive repair industry primarily due to the phasing out of paper manuals. Every major manufacturer now uses computer based manuals and repair publications. When a repair manual is written sometimes there are errors in the procedures, and when discovered can be corrected fleet wide through computer manual updates. In the past these types of updates could take months to reach every repair facility. Now it is almost instantaneous, which has increased the efficiency and effectiveness of technical repair manual update procedures.

Once the workstation computer is connected to the OBD2 port in a vehicle, the vehicles software version is verified and can be updated. These updates sometimes correct potential software faults in the different systems, many of which are safety related. If an electrical or mechanical fault is detected the OBD2 system will display a code. Technicians then use these codes to identify repair procedures in digital technical manuals. From my years experience in the automotive industry I can honestly say most DTC's are either in emissions related systems or ABS (anti-lock brake system) systems. I can also say with 100% confidence troubleshooting is far easier with computer technology and the OBD2 system.

With the dawning of the automated age computers are making things like self-driving vehicles a possibility. Drones have already begun to deliver packages in some large cities. I believe that in the next ten years there will be more of a push for automation and autonomous vehicles. Once the use of autonomous vehicles can be proven to be safer than having vehicles under human control, I believe the government will start to mandate things like public transportation to be automated first, followed by all passenger vehicles.