John Parry (left), the irtec steering-group chairman, has a favourite anecdote that neatly puts independent accreditation for CV technicians in context. "If you were waiting to board a plane and the captain said: 'This aeroplane has been maintained by a guy who's been doing it for years. He hasn't got qualifications but he knows how everything works, and he comes in really early.' You'd get off, wouldn't you?" While the former DHL engineering director concedes he's tired of repeating the sketch, it underlines today's central CV maintenance issue. "Ask any member of the public if they think technicians need a licence to repair trucks, trailers, buses or coaches, and they'll be astonished when you tell them they don't," says Parry. So, with many of the 6,500-plus irtec licensed technicians approaching their five-year renewal, what better time to revisit the IRTE accreditation scheme designed to verify their competence and currency?
展开▼
