The Diesel Laptops distributor for commercial truck diesel diagnostic software, hardware and services has launched a new Virtual Diesel Technician Program. This service, the company says, is a first in the commercial truck and off-highway industry. Diesel Laptops places its development in the context of what some see as a “diesel technician shortage” extant around the country.
For those who utilize this program, unlimited access to Diesel Laptops’ certified, in-house technicians is the upside. They’re available via phone and live chat and can both remote-access a truck owner or shop’s diagnostic tools and video-stream through their mobile device to see exactly what they’re looking at.
Find more about the new program via the company website or an explainer video at this link.The program also grants clients access to the wide array of repair information that Diesel Laptops has created, including VIN decoders, labor time guides, repair information for more than 70,000 diagnostic fault codes, wiring diagrams, component locators, torque specifications, parts cross-referencing, step-by-step repair information, and more. These applications are provided through traditional desktop applications, along with websites and mobile applications.
The program, according to the company website, is available in a 12-month lease at $299 per month; those who join receive a refurbished Panasonic Toughbook with Diesel Laptops’ repair information pre-loaded and more, including services listed above. Once the 12-month period is complete, everything is the client’s to keep, including software. Tyler Robertson, Diesel Laptops’ CEO, places the value of the program in the context of understaffed repair shops working in some volume: It’s “difficult for most shops to acquire the resources they need to properly diagnose and repair commercial trucks,” Robertson says. “The Virtual Diesel Technician Program gives repair shops access to both live, real-world diesel technicians and repair information.”
Diesel Laptops is staffed with certified diesel technicians from a variety of industries, and currently handles more than 50,000 customer repair, software and diagnostic questions every year. These are all documented and organized in the company’s database, allowing Diesel Laptops to build the world’s largest database of solutions for known symptoms and diagnostic codes.
