MECP in the Year Ahead

One of the goals for 2019 and beyond is to increase the number of certified technicians, and to re-energize the program as the only certification standard for the industry, according to Kris Bulla, a consultant for MECP. Currently, there are four different certifications available—Mobile Product Specialist, Basic Installation Technician, Advanced Installation Technician and Master Installation Technician. More than 2,700 individuals are presently certified, with most certifications in the Basic category, according to data from MECP and the Consumer Technology Association.

“The Basic Certification is for someone who has little to no experience in the bay, someone who is looking to become employed in a job that requires certification, and wants to continue working in the bay and needs the education,” Bulla said. “Advanced or higher is the level where we want everyone to be.”

More is expected of each level, Bulla added. “A Master Technicians could run or manage a shop if they don’t already, or they might have the opportunity to move into a manufacturer or a distributor position with this type of certification. The Basic and Advanced guys in a shop where a Master technician works will typically go and get help from them if they can’t figure something out.”

It’s important to continue moving up, Bulla said, and the goal for the coming year is to increase efforts to encourage technicians to move beyond the Basic level. “I think that understanding that Basic is an entry-level certification will help them understand that they should be higher than that after a year or more in a shop environment,” he explained. When it’s time to renew a certification, the entire test has to be taken again, Bulla said, adding, “Part of the advantage of the higher-level certifications is the four-year certification length, versus the two-year Basic level.”

Rewriting the Basic Certification Guide in 2019

The guide for the Mobile Product Specialist certificate was recently rewritten and launched as of the first of October, 2018, according to Bulla. “You can purchase any of our Study Guides to study, or use them as reference manuals on day-today installations. “For the Mobile Product Specialist and Basic guides, the books are just about all you’ll need to study and prep for the test,” Bulla said.

However, the Advanced and Master levels require experience in the bay that the guide doesn’t necessarily cover.

Bulla noted that the general routine is to rewrite or revise the books about every four years.

Jayson Cook, a store manager at Columbus Car Audio in Columbus, Ohio stated that he recently purchased the new Mobile Product Specialist study guide. Having been a salesman for 20 years, Cook stated that he is glad a certification is available for salespeople. “I need to spend some time on that,” he said of the study guide. “I like that they’re doing something for salespeople in the industry, because I don’t think salespeople get enough credit.”

Bulla stated that the Basic guide rewrite will start in 2019. “I have already reached out to get some Subject Matter Experts. These SMEs are people across the industry who have a specific expertise in one or more areas, and we utilize them to write parts of the study guide or exam. That way we always have the most knowledgeable in the industry producing the content for these guides and exams.”

Rewriting a complete guide can take about eight to 12 months, Bulla noted, and MECP will begin the efforts on the Basic guide right after CES in January. “A new Study Guide comes out a month before the exam. For those who have already been studying and are ready to go on the previous guide, this gives them

time to take the older exam, or to get the new guide and brush up before taking the new test.”

Cook added that he hopes to see more awareness among consumers regarding what MECP has to offer. “I think we as an industry need to step back and say, ‘What can we do to get MECP more credit and more validity with the consumer?’”

Raising Awareness of MECP Certification Among Consumers

While still in the planning stages, Bulla noted that he’s working with the CTA marketing team to try to redevelop messaging moving forward.

“We will be exploring doing more in the future to raise awareness of the program,” he said. “We also want to encourage the retailers and technicians themselves to talk about MECP. We have a retailer kit that we send out for anyone who has MECP certified technicians on staff. It’s a sign and banner they can put up in their store. That’s one of the core reasons ASE Certification became so popular on the automotive repair arena, because of the signs and banners in

repair facilities where people had their cars being serviced. A lot of people don’t realize we do that, and we are trying to raise awareness of that, too.”

Due to the daily emergence of new vehicle technologies like car to car communications and hybrid and electric vehicle advances, new subject matter trajectories are always being entertained. “These guys will have to know how to interact with and integrate with new technology. We want people to know we’re trying to stay ahead of the curve.”

Education and Real-Life Experience Both Essential for Improvement

Certification makes a good installer better, according to Ernie Hartman, technical services manager at AAMP Global. “It makes someone who is dedicated to the industry a little bit more passionate and a little bit more knowledgeable. You’re not going to be able to pass an MECP exam and be an expert overnight,” Hartman said, adding that he began working in the industry in 1993, but didn’t get involved with MECP until 2008. He has since written content for three study guides and three exams, he said, and has contributed to the Advanced Guide, Master Guide and recently released Mobile Product Specialist guide. In the past, he led training classes through AAMP specifically to help 12-volt professionals prepare for certification.

“Studying and taking the test taught me a lot of things that were very fundamental that I never learned when I first started,” he said. “It teaches you the ‘why.’ If you understand things at a fundamental level, in the end you can troubleshoot better, design better, and just have an overall better grasp of what you’re doing.”

Brandon Green of The Car Audio Shop in High Ridge, Mo. noted that real-life experience, and the information available through MECP certification, are both valuable. “I think people who don’t think it’s worth anything, don’t want to put the effort into it,” he said, “which is fine if their store works for them. I think it’s worth putting the effort in and having more credentials to back you up.” Green is currently Master Certified. He doesn’t require his employees to get certified, but he stated that he’s considering it for the future. “I want it to be something they want to do and want to work toward,” he added.

MECP Study Group and Other Resources Provide Support

For those who are working toward earning their certifications, Bulla recommended a few resources. “There is the MECP Study Group on Facebook, which has me and other guys in the industry who will help guide those who have questions,” he said. He also suggested reading The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason. Although it is an older publication, he said, the fundamentals in the book are important. “Something we hear all the time is,

The Car Audio Shop in High Ridge, Mo. displays a sign in the store window to show that MECP Certified technicians are on staff. The sign is part of the retailer kit provided by MECP to mobile electronics shops.

‘I don’t need the certification. I’ve been doing this 20 or 30 years,’” Bulla added. “But the test covers a large swath of technology and education, and while they might be really good at radios or remote starts—and they’re probably really good at what they do—they may not know the reasons behind it.”

A technician might excel at installing certain products, Bulla said, but he might not know why the problems are occurring if something is not working as expected. “We are trying to give these guys the education that will help them more quickly diagnose issues, resolve problems in a more efficient manner, and get them to a solution faster,” Bulla explained. “The very common situation involves a guy who always does things a certain way, and has been in the industry 20 years, and he’s on Facebook saying, ‘Hey, I can’t figure this out, what’s up?’ A Master Technician may come in with a troubleshooting method or a question that he may have overlooked it because he never experienced it before.”

Real-world examples are available in the study guides, he noted. “We don’t have hands-on training because we don’t have the capacity to do that. We rely on entities like Installer Institute, Mobile Technical Training and Mobile Solutions for hands-on experience, and we often recommend those types of organizations,” Bulla said. “For the book reader, we do bring up actual real-world experiences on how this stuff applies to a vehicle and how to test it properly. We describe the situation, and we give the step by step instructions.”

Another statement Bulla hears from people is, “‘Anyone can read the book and pass.’ This is not typical, especially beyond the Basic level. There is hands-on experience and vehicle familiarity needed to some extent for the higher-level certifications.”

Some institutions can administer tests, Bulla noted. “We assign one or more of their trainers to be a proctor. The proctor can administer the test for anyone who doesn’t work for them or with them,” he said. “We will also certify proctors who might be distributor reps, or company reps who interact with retailers. It’s in their best interest to make sure the guys they deal with are certified, because it can reduce their product return rate and increase customer satisfaction when their product is installed correctly.”

Hartman noted that the tests are timed, and each test has a maximum time allotment of three hours. “The Basic has 150 questions. The Advanced test has 150. And the Master test has 200 questions and you still only get three hours.”

If people ask Hartman questions about certification, he said, it’s usually: “What should I study? What should I focus on? What’s the best way to prepare?” His first piece of advice is to avoid reading the book from start to finish. “It’s not meant to be read like a novel. It’s more of a reference material. I recommend first taking the practice test. At the back of each section, there are 10 questions that relate to that section. I tell people to go through and answer those questions right out of the gate.”

This gives those who are studying a chance to get a sense of the material they’re already familiar with. “Then, go back and study what you don’t know,” Hartman added.

“Practice tests are available online (https://cea.eitprep.com/subscribe/) for the Basic, Advanced and Master exams,” Bulla said. “The Mobile Product Specialist practice test will be online soon.”

Certification Demonstrates Dedication to Improving Oneself

At The Car Audio Shop, Green said, the certifications of the shop’s technicians are displayed on the wall. “We give a brief overview about it to our customers. We compare it to the ASE and let them know what it means in our industry, and we give our clients a bit of insight,” Green said, adding that it means nothing to some customers.

“For others, they definitely like seeing that you’ve put forth an effort to make yourself better and learn as much as you can. They feel it’s important when you’re working on their car that you have knowledge—that you don’t just know how to get your hands dirty, but you also take the time to read the books and take the tests.”

Although Cook said that no one has ever come into his shop and asked whether the technicians are MECP certified, he added, “It’s not that the certification isn’t valid, but it needs to have more weight. I think all of us as an industry need to do better when it comes to raising awareness.”

Cook stated that he hopes to see MECP continue to grow, “because it is our industry certification,” adding that he feels manufacturers could do more to help increase visibility, too.

“Years ago, when I first started, I remember seeing certifications hanging up at all our locations and we would talk about that,” Cook said. “No one knows what it is now. Our job as shops and shop owners and employees is to build that awareness, but the value also needs to be clear. I also think the Basic Certification is too basic. A Basic Certification is cool for a guy who’s new, but we aren’t pushing them to be Advanced or Master—and maybe that’s our problem.”

Hartman hopes to see more manufacturers supporting MECP certification in the future, too. “I would like to see more training, more classes and more people offering to help people study for MECP tests,” he said. “It can be very daunting to someone who has never done it before. If more 12-volt companies got behind MECP and promoted it and put the logo on their packages, it would raise consumer awareness and people would walk into shops asking for that, which would lead the shop owners to want to get their guys certified.”

At AAMP, Hartman stated that he always makes it a point to promote MECP as much as possible. “When I was promoted to my current position, I made it mandatory for all my guys to be MECP certified,” he added. “All of my tech support representatives have to hold at least a Basic Certification, and the engineering techs have to hold at least an Advanced Certification.”

Hartman said he initially got involved in MECP because the person who’d first trained him in the industry took the MECP exam and failed. It made Hartman curious about what it would take to earn the certification, and after becoming certified, he later became a contributor. “They’re always updating and changing with the industry,” he said. “The process is always evolving.”

In the past, Ernie Hartman of AAMP Global led training classes designed to prepare technicians for MECP Certification exams. A balance of studying and hands-on experience in the bay is necessary to advance to the next level.