The March 30 deadline is nearing for registration for the April 19-20 ACOFAS Technician Training Clinic on the government's new CSA truck safety enforcement regime.


The focus of this class is the CSA procedures that went into effect late last year and how it will impact customers and aftermarket repair businesses. CSA stands for Compliance, Safety, and Accountability.

"How will this affect you? Your customers and their employees will be looking at you as a service professional to advise them of the regulations and how they apply to them," explains Gordon Botts of ACOFAS, the American Council of Frame And Alignment Specialists. "When your technicians perform any task on a customer's vehicle, they should be looking for any defect that could cause your customer to receive a violation. If your technicians are not trained in the regulations and what an enforcement officer is looking for, they will not be able to be effective in their job. Your customers are going to look for professional service providers that can help them stay out of trouble."

The program will be April 19-20 in Allentown, Pa. It is being hosted by ACOFAS member Michael Ross at Ross Body and Frame. The CSA portion of the clinic will be instructed by John Cheruka of Commercial Vehicle Safety & Accident. Cheruka has been instructing enforcement officers nationwide for many years. He and an assistant will be teaching in class-room setting Tuesday morning. Hands-on vehicle inspection training will be conducted Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. esting of the technicians by Pennsylvania and New Jersey enforcement officers will be conducted Wednesday afternoon and Certificates will be awarded upon successful completion of the course.

Michael Kinney, formerly of Noregon Systems, will be available Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday to demonstrate and instruct the Noregon J-Pro computer diagnostics system. Kinney is now a distributor for Noregon.

For information and registration, contact www.acofas.com, or call Gordon Botts at 815-482-4255.