ELYRIA, Ohio — Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake have enhanced their in-person training programs for 2019 with a new two-day Advanced Technology Training course, in addition to their three-day Air Brake Training class.

Registration is open for the complete schedule of both courses. The Air Brake Training courses will cover 25 locations across the U.S. from February to November. The Advanced Technology Training courses will start in March, and will be held in Nevada and Ohio, before concluding in November.

Additionally, to help address the increasing demand for service training, Bendix has doubled its technical training force.

The 2019 edition of the Air Brake Training class, which will visit more cities and states than last year, is designed for both new and experienced technicians, including those who work on school buses, a company spokesperson told School Bus Fleet. Topics that the course covers include fundamentals of compressed air, tactics to employ for air system failure mode diagnosis and troubleshooting, and air brake system and foundation brake components (air compressors, valves, foundation drum brakes, and air disc brakes).

“The Advanced Technology Training class is an exciting new addition to our training curriculum; it picks up where the Air Brake Training course ends, covering the operation and troubleshooting of higher-level driver assistance and safety systems, as well as diagnostic software,” said Lance Hansen, Bendix North America regional vice president, fleet/trailer sales and service engineering.

Some of the systems addressed in the Advanced Technology Training course are:

•    AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System from Bendix CVS
•    Bendix ACom diagnostic software
•    Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program
•    Bendix Wingman Advanced and Bendix Wingman Fusion driver assistance systems
•    SafetyDirect by Bendix CVS
•    SmarTire and SmarTire Trailer-Link TPMS by Bendix CVS

The Advanced Technology Training class includes in-depth, hands-on maintenance for Bendix air disc brakes and electrical diagnostics, and, at most locations, the Bendix team will be able to utilize operational demonstration boards that “essentially put a fully operational air system at the students’ fingertips,” Hansen added.

Per-person enrollment costs are $400 for Air Brake Training and $350 for Advanced Technology Training.

Due to the quantity and complexity of the products covered, Bendix highly recommends that each student completes the Bendix Air Brake Training (three-day) class, or at minimum, the online brake school at brake-school.com, before taking the Advanced Technology Training class.

Registration is free for the Bendix On-Line Brake School, which offers an extensive, regularly updated curriculum covering all aspects of electronics and air brake maintenance.

Class size for the 2019 in-person Bendix training courses is limited, and enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis.

For registration and a full list of dates, go to www.bendix.com or www.foundationbrakes.com; call 1-800-AIR-BRAKE, option 3; email BendixTrainingSchool@hkm.dcgcentral.com; or fax (216) 651-3261.