[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.] Why get certified as a technician? Formal tech certification programs can boost uptime and reduce costs Features Editor Key Takeaways: - Industry leaders said voluntary certifications from ASE, NATMI and TMC increasingly shape truck maintenance outcomes amid connected vehicles, advanced diagnostics and legal scrutiny. - Advocates said certifications improve productivity, safety and retention while reducing breakdowns, maintenance costs and downtime through standardized skills, leadership training and data management. - Fleets such as Publix tie advancement and training to certifications, while industry groups encourage stronger school partnerships and ongoing credential renewal to build talent. The difference between a routine shift and a roadside call often comes down to the skill, training and preparation of the technicians who maintain and repair the trucks. For fleet maintenance leaders, those outcomes are increasingly shaped by formal certification. Such programs, once viewed as optional, are increasingly seen as a competitive necessity in an era of connected vehicles, advanced diagnostics and heightened legal scrutiny. “Certification itself is a means of documenting and validating one’s professional reputation,” said Robert Braswell, executive director of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. “It affords the opportunity for measuring one’s skills against industry-accepted standards that are objectively determined.” Unlike other skilled trades, commercial vehicle maintenance is rarely subject to mandatory licensure. Certifications issued by Automotive Service Excellence, the North American Transportation Management Institute and TMC’s Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards remain voluntary. But Braswell argued that credentials still deliver measurable returns. “The certification saves a company more money than the investment in the certification program itself,” he said, pointing to more effective preventive and predictive maintenance, fewer breakdowns, more efficient labor use and tighter control of maintenance costs. ASE testing For employers, ASE certification has become a clear signal of