**[Cairo US Embassy Training Center]{.underline}**

**[By Tarek Nour, Transportation and Vehicle Operations
Specialist:]{.underline}**

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as American vehicles manufacturers
introduced the second generation of on board diagnostic computers
(OBDII), I developed a technical assistance program for other U.S.
Embassy motorpools facing diagnostic problems. In most cases, smaller
embassy fleets are maintained with fewer mechanics who often lack the
training, diagnostic tools and repair manuals necessary for these more
sophisticated engines.

Sensing that Cairo's large operation could provide assistance to other
posts, I proposed to the U.S. Department of State's Logistics Management
(LM) branch that we start a technical training center in Cairo. The LM
branch provided start-up funding to purchase new diagnostic tools and
training materials, which I have now developed into an ongoing help
center by e-mail and a series of annual workshops for U.S. Embassy
mechanics from around the world.

From the beginning, I established some basic goals for the program:

1\. Train State Department overseas automotive technicians on the
sophisticated vehicles technology and the new computerized diagnostic
tools;

2\.  Provide on-line technical support, vehicle service manuals, and
updated vehicle diagnostics bulletins for dozens of posts;

3.  Provide a list of tools and workshop equipment that meet
manufacturers' standards to perform repairs on given vehicles; and

5\. Offer advanced defensive driving and accident prevention training.

To date, I have trained more than 56 technicians from 24 different
countries.  Mechanics, dispatchers and motorpool supervisors have come
from as far away as Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Kabul, Afghanistan;
Bujumbura, Burundi; Kiev, Ukraine; Antananarivo, Madagascar; Moscow,
Russia; and Rangoon, Burma.

The technical training program has had an enormous impact on the ability
of embassy technicians to maintain American manufactured vehicles
overseas. Vehicle breakdown times were reduced significantly, vehicle
utilization time was increased and vehicle safety was improved after the
technicians learned how to manage the vehicle technology. We have
received many e-mails from the trained technicians to explain the
difference that it has made when they returned back from the training
and applied the new technology at their posts.

The mechanic foreman at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia wrote: " It
has been so beneficial. At the time I came for that training, we had two
Chevys parked in our workshop. It was like a miracle when I returned. In
fifteen minutes, the work of one vehicle was done, and the vehicle was
ready for the road test. The other one, we had to drop the tank to
replace the pump. We are now enjoying handling puzzles. My work was made
much simpler by the diagnostic code reader Tarek gave me."

Mechanic Joy Maliakkal from U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, said "
Cairo was an excellent experience that I'll never forget.  I've never
had an opportunity to learn how to work on high technology vehicles in
the past. This training has provided me with several answers to problems
we currently face.  First, New Delhi had received the Tech 2 diagnostic
equipment that none of us in the shop knew how to operate.  After this
training, I learned the basic knowledge on operating the Tech 2 and I am
now able to operate and diagnose the vehicle problems and reset after
repairing the particular warning information. Second, I learned how to
identify vehicles' year and model with the vehicle identification number
(VIN). Before this training, no one in New Delhi knew how to find the
manufacturing year, the vehicle make and the engine code. Finally, we
had a better understanding of the SI2000 web site (SI2000 is the General
Motors tool for information on operating and maintenance, bulletins, and
warranties), which is useful to us for referring to service manuals,
parts locations, troubleshooting, and new information as it comes
available.

Mechanic Foreman Andrey Kostin from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said: "I
started using SI2000 sometimes even more than ALLDATA. ALLDATA is a
provider of electronic diagnostic and repair information and services
for the automotive service industry. Also, it's much easier now to read
the scanner data to find a problem or make a periodic change to a part."

In addition to the training, we have developed on-line technical support
for all State Department missions around the world. They provide
electronic bulletins, electronic vehicles' service manual and updated
software for the diagnostic tools on request.

One satisfied colleague in Chennai, India wrote: "Our fully-armored
vehicle (FAV) had been nothing but a paper weight for the last 6-9
months. The PCM (internal computer) on our FAV burned out and rendered
it useless for 6-9 months. I found it this way when I arrived at the
post. The mechanic in New Delhi said a replacement part would have to be
programmed, but he didn't have the expertise or the equipment to do so.
Enter Tarek Nour. He suggested that we purchase the part and ship it
directly to him and he would program it and send it to Chennai. After
about 2 months of back and forth with the vendor in the States, the part
was shipped to Cairo,  programmed and forwarded to Chennai. The mechanic
returned to Chennai yesterday, installed the new part and after about 2
hours repaired our \$50,000 paper weight. While it still requires some
minor maintenance after sitting idle for so long, it is useable. I
wanted to point this out because too often the hard work and dedication
of our staff go unnoticed and unappreciated. Thank you very much for a
job well done!"

Our future plans include:

1\. Do a training program for alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, as
U.S. Embassy in Cairo will be one of the first U.S. Embassies overseas
to use alternative fuel vehicles overseas;

2\. Develop a web-based self-training program to be available to all
State Department technicians around the world;

3\. Sharing technical information and vehicle maintenance and repair
instructions to a wider audience; and

4\. Broaden coverage of our advanced defensive driving and accident
prevention training courses.