Automotive Technician Shortage: A Workaround Using AI
Christian Stadlmann
CRO at Anyline
Across the automotive industry, a persistent challenge is the labor shortage, leaving companies with too few skilled workers to meet their demands. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising solution to alleviate this issue, offering a valuable resource to help companies bridge the gap and better address their needs.
Why Is There a Shortage of Labor in the Automotive Industry?
The automotive industry is grappling with a severe technician shortage. By 2024, the U.S. could be short about 642,000 automotive, diesel, and collision technicians if current trends continue. This shortage may worsen as electric vehicles (EVs) become more common, requiring new skills that many existing technicians lack.
Several factors contribute to this shortage, including:
- Extended Vehicle Lifespan: Many people are not trading in, upgrading, or otherwise replacing their vehicles as often, meaning more well-trained technicians are needed to maintain them.
- Limited Competitive Salaries: The automotive industry struggles with employment compensation issues, which results in salaries that are less competitive than those in other sectors.
- Skills for Modern Vehicles: Another core problem exists in that newer vehicles require highly skilled technicians with advanced skills and many of today’s technicians lack those newer skills.
- Less Technical Education: Enrollment in trades programs is decreasing, leading to a drop in the number of trained professionals. For example, graduates from key programs decreased by 34% from 2012 to 2021.
- Aging Workforce: Experienced automotive technicians are retiring, creating a gap that companies will find difficult to fill with new talent.
The New Reality
Due to this ongoing worker shortage, it has become more evident than ever that automotive service centers need to make some adjustments in the coming years. This is not a cycle that will change – employment in the industry is not projected to improve. Rather, companies will need to find new ways to get work done, and that often means making the move to automation and technology.
Companies must work to identify core business tasks that they must do, remove those tasks that are no longer necessary or contributing to efficiency, and work to automate whatever they can.
Digitalizing Customer Check-in and Check-Out Processes
There are numerous strategies for improving efficiencies within most companies, and this is one of them. Here, technicians available are trained to work on vehicles, and that means they need to focus that time on the skills they have and spend less time collecting vehicle information and cross-referencing multiple references for parts across disparate databases.
By using technology, many of these tasks are automated, and that means the productivity of technicians can improve significantly. This allows the same number of technicians to tackle more cars.
You can set up online appointment platforms that allow the customer to do all the work in the process, such as registering their vehicle information before making an appointment. That saves the technicians valuable time during the process.
AI-Powered Mobile Data Capture for Tires and Vehicles
Mobile data capture for Automotive offers a rapid and cost-effective solution for recording and sharing data across multiple IT platforms. Utilizing AI, machine learning, and computer vision, technicians can quickly scan and digitize critical information such as DOT codes, vehicle identification numbers (VIN), tire size and brand details, license plate numbers, and customer IDs. This technology enables technicians to access comprehensive vehicle data instantly without spending excessive time on manual data collection.
With this approach, all necessary information about the vehicle and tires is immediately available in the database, reducing the time technicians spend gathering data and allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. Additionally, this data can be centrally stored and seamlessly shared within the company, creating a detailed historical record of customer interactions, vehicle conditions, and potential maintenance needs over time.
Data capture automation minimizes the risk of technicians spending time on routine tasks that do not leverage their specialized skills.
Key Takeaways:
- Leverage Technology: Adopting AI and automation can enhance operational efficiency, ease the impact of the labor shortage, and improve customer service.
- Free Up Technician Time: By automating routine data collection, technicians can dedicate more time to high-value tasks that utilize their expertise, boosting productivity and job satisfaction.
- Enhance Data Accuracy and Integration: Digital data management ensures that customer and vehicle information is accurate, easily accessible, and integrated with CRM and inventory management systems, leading to better service planning and inventory control.
The automotive industry must adapt to this “new normal” by embracing innovative technologies that address the ongoing labor shortage. By strategically using AI and automation, companies can maintain and even enhance their service capabilities despite the challenges posed by a shrinking workforce.
To stay ahead in this evolving landscape, integrate Anyline’s mobile data capture solutions into your operations. Contact us today to learn how our technology can help streamline your processes, improve data accuracy, and enhance overall efficiency in your automotive service center.
