As real-world business conditions drive demand for online training options, distance learning is an increasingly vital tool for keeping North America’s fleets and truck drivers rolling safely – and for seven years, the Bendix On-Line Brake School has continually expanded and evolved to serve the entire trucking industry. This spring, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC surpassed more than 100,000 registered users of brake-school.com, which provides easy and convenient access to nearly 90 training courses, as well as customized educational plans for fleets and industry organizations.
“Even as in-person training sessions and events have understandably been postponed or rescheduled industrywide, knowledge sharing and access to in-depth, up-to-date technical information remain crucial components of fleet, vehicle, and highway safety,” said Barbara Gould, Bendix director of corporate communications. “Reaching drivers, technicians, distributors, fleet personnel, owner-operators, and anyone in the trucking industry with free expert training when it fits their schedule – that’s been the purpose of brake-school.com since day one. We’re grateful for everyone who’s turned to the Bendix experts as a resource, and we’ll keep working to support their efforts toward safer highways and vehicles.”
Through free registration at brake-school.com, students can access a curriculum covering the full spectrum of braking and active vehicle safety system product topics, all developed by the team at Bendix. Recently added courses cover steering gears, as well as tutorials on Bendix ACom PRO, the company’s recently redesigned and re-engineered diagnostic tool.
Topics include general education on product features and operation, troubleshooting, diagnostics, and maintenance best practices. The portal also includes courses on:
- Air disc brakes
- Air dryers
- Compressors
- Electronic safety systems (including side object detection, lane departure warning, tire pressure monitoring, stability, and collision mitigation)
- Foundation drum brakes
- Slack adjusters
- Trailer safety systems
- Valves
Courses number 89 in all, exploring complex systems in-depth while offering an easy-to-navigate interface. Others discuss highway safety and Reduced Stopping Distance (RSD). The Bendix On-Line Brake School also offers a complete air brake training course designed by the team behind the well-known in-person Bendix Brake Training School.
Customized Programs and Other Resources
Since launching brake-school.com in 2013, Bendix has aimed to ensure its content is ideal for integration into customer fleet and training programs, and regularly works with fleets and industry groups to craft specialized educational plans based on their needs and size.
“Customized programming makes the best use of everyone’s time and resources,” Gould said. “Because training goals, technology needs, and tracking systems vary widely, we’ve made it possible for companies to monitor the participation and progress of registered employees as they work through the On-Line Brake School curriculum. We’re also engaging in remote training sessions set up directly with fleets and technicians.”
Bendix’s history as a leader in providing a broad menu of technical know-how dates back more than a half-century, and its in-person Brake Training School is among the industry’s longest-running educational programs.
Recognizing the role that timely and relevant training plays in highway safety, Bendix has broadened its post-sales support options to include offerings such as webinars, podcasts, blogs, and video tech talks. The Bendix® Knowledge Dock multimedia center at knowledge-dock.com offers access to archives of Bendix Tech Tips and the “Truck Talk with Bendix” podcast, which includes the Driver Insight series for the men and women behind the wheel. And the company’s YouTube channel provides Bendix Tech Talks from industry shows, as well as OE-specific demonstrations and instructional videos on Bendix Wingman Fusion with Enhanced Feature Set.
Field-tested sales and service professionals form the heart of Bendix’s training education programs, along with its veteran field technical support team and the Bendix Tech Team at 1-800-AIR-BRAKE (1-800-247-2725) – an expert technical support group providing service advice, brake system troubleshooting, and product training.
“Technologies and maintenance requirements change, but the importance of supporting product knowledge and vehicle uptime does not,” Gould said.
