DEKRA training center with SEHON paint booth
DEKRA – New training center in Altensteig, Baden-Württemberg (Photo: DEKRA)
DEKRA officially opened a new training center in Altensteig in the Black Forest on 14.10.2016. Technical experts, primarily in the automotive sector, are trained and further educated there. The new training center houses a bright hall area with a total area of over 900 square meters. There, prospective damage assessors are given the practical tools for recording and calculating damage, as well as an insight into the practicalities of bodywork and paintwork.
Painting area with SEHON technology
For painting, DEKRA opted for a high-tech SEHON SE-PROFESSIONAL FUTRA combination paint booth, which was planned and developed specifically for the special requirements and needs of the DEKRA training center. This includes, for example, multi-sided glazing, which is particularly important for training courses.
A particular structural challenge at DEKRA Altensteig was that the training area is very limited in terms of space. In normal paint and body stores, the paint shops are usually very generously planned in terms of space. SEHON therefore had to find a real space-saving solution for the training center.
Fig.: SEHON SE-PROFESSIONAL FUTURA high-tech spray booth for DEKRA
Fig.: Training and further education in a SEHON paint booth at DEKRA Altensteig (Photo: DEKRA)
Everything had to be organized in such a way that, on the one hand, training courses could be held and, on the other, a vehicle could be manoeuvred easily. For this reason, the power unit technology was not positioned next to the cab, as is usually the case, but above the cab. The cab also has an internal pneumatically operated ramp.
Otherwise, the SEHON spray booth is equipped with state-of-the-art unit and control technology. This includes the fact that the spray booth is particularly environmentally friendly. For example, the spray booth with integrated dryer (combi booth) is equipped with a three-stage, full-surface filter technology that does not release any particles into the environment or surroundings. This special filter technology also leads to a homogeneous air distribution, which has a very positive effect on the quality of the painting results, especially when painting parts and components.
Fig.: Training and further education in a SEHON paint booth at DEKRA Altensteig (Photo: DEKRA)
Fig.: SEHON paint booth for the training of DEKRA experts in the automotive sector
The SEHON paint booth is completely energy-optimized, i.e. the consumption of natural resources is reduced to a minimum. This is due to the unit and control technology with intelligent and partially patented energy-saving technology. One example of this is the SE-ÖCOPLUS NT energy-saving system, which automatically switches the system to the most energy-efficient operating mode depending on the operating mode (painting, standby, drying) and also regulates the booth pressure fully automatically.
The paint mixing room in the new training center was also built by SEHON.
DEKRA press release
From a steel construction company to a prominent training location: In Altensteig in the Black Forest, the expert organization DEKRA officially opened its new training center today. This is where technical experts, primarily in the automotive sector, are trained and further educated. In addition to the existing training center and DEKRA Congress Center in Wart, the new facility forms the third pillar of the DEKRA training location in Wart-Altensteig.
“At the Altensteig training center, we have created the conditions for providing our experts with comprehensive theoretical and practical training within just a few months,” said Dr. Gerd Neumann, Chairman of the Management Board of DEKRA Automobil GmbH, on the opening of the new training center. “For us as an expert organization, the expertise and know-how of our employees is by far the most important asset. That is why we are constantly working to continuously and sustainably improve the quality of training. The investment in the new Altensteig training center is a further building block in this regard.”
Peter Herget, Head of Training and Further Education at DEKRA Automobil GmbH, explained: “When we were offered the location in early summer 2015, we saw the potential and seized it. We are very pleased that the planning and reorganization went so smoothly and that the training operation has been running at full speed here in Altensteig since the beginning of this year.”
Large training hall with various segments
The former steel construction company now houses a spacious, bright hall area with a total area of over 900 m². Here, every prospective damage assessor is given the practical tools for recording and calculating damage, as well as an insight into the practicalities of bodywork construction and painting. Each seminar participant gets hands-on experience and paints their own small plastic bodywork at the end.
Practical training takes place in six different areas in individual hall segments. In the technology and damage assessment area, there are three lifting platforms and a state-of-the-art wheel alignment facility. In addition to damage assessment and calculation, the main focus here is on training current vehicle technology on the object. The diagnosis of bodywork and chassis damage is also practiced here with the participants.
The centerpiece of the two-wheeler area is a special motorcycle lift. Damage to various types of two-wheelers can be diagnosed and measured here. Accident-damaged motorcycles are of course also on site for practicing damage assessments.
Next door is a special area for training in damage assessment for vehicles with hail damage. Here there is a “hail tent” flooded with neon light in which, thanks to the striped color scheme, ideal conditions prevail for identifying and assessing even the smallest hail dents.
Best equipment in the bodywork and paint area
The bodywork department was set up on an area of 260 m². Two modern straightening and measuring systems with straightening winks and for universal measurement are at the center of attention here. In addition, there are state-of-the-art tools and equipment as in a well-equipped body store, including a separate room with forming machines for the production or modification of body parts. A further lifting platform is also permanently integrated for the diagnosis, dismantling and assembly of vehicles involved in accidents.
A state-of-the-art paint shop has been created in the painting area of the training hall. The centerpiece is a glazed Sehon paint booth. Behind it is the paint mixing room. With the help of state-of-the-art equipment, the participants learn everything about mixing and coloring modern vehicles.
A separate area of the hall is dedicated to practical training in commercial and residential vehicles. Large vehicles, including semi-trailers, can be easily maneuvered through two large roller doors. A special truck lifting platform is installed in one of the two parts of the hall. This is also where practical instruction takes place, for example on agricultural and special machinery.
Theory lessons with short distances to practice
There are integrated classrooms in several of the hall segments, where theoretical aspects of the training can be covered in depth with short distances. There is also a separate theory teaching wing with seven training rooms that can accommodate up to 110 participants at the same time. In addition to the large classroom, there are six smaller rooms. The basic training of damage assessors takes place here largely in small groups.
In the offices above the training wing, eight employees organize and design the entire internal training and further training for DEKRA’s loss assessors and analytical experts.
The central training and further education department of DEKRA Automobil GmbH has a total of 52 employees. At the Wart-Altensteig, Kreischa (Saxony) and Hamburg-Tarpen sites, around 55,000 participant days are completed each year in training and further education. Around 25,000 participant days are realized at the Wart-Altensteig site alone.
