Jack ran the high-voltage refresher for the whole crew

We closed the bays for a day this week so the whole crew could sit the high-voltage refresher. It costs us a day of work, which is exactly why it is worth writing down.

What the refresher covers

De-energising a vehicle properly, verifying it is actually de-energised rather than assuming, the personal protective equipment and how to test that it still works, and the rescue procedure if something goes wrong. Most of it is procedure rather than theory, and procedure is the part that decays if you do not rehearse it.

Why the apprentices sit it too

There is a temptation to send only the technicians who work on packs. We send everyone, including the apprentices and the people who mostly do brakes and tires, because the person most at risk around a high-voltage vehicle is the one who does not think they are working on one.

What changed this year

More content on the newer architectures: 800-volt systems, and the differences in how various manufacturers isolate a pack for service. The procedure that is correct on a Prius is not automatically correct on a car built ten years later, and that gap is where accidents live.

What it means for your car

Nothing visible, which is the point. It means the person opening your car's high-voltage system rehearsed the procedure this year rather than remembering it from training some time ago, and that the shop treats a day of lost revenue as cheaper than the alternative.

Written from the week's repair orders in Shop-Ware, anonymised. The counts here are one week; the guides carry the long-run figures.