The transition to electrified vehicles is not just a product evolution. It is an operational shift. Service environments that once focused primarily on internal combustion engines are now confronting high-energy battery systems, advanced electronics, and safety risks unfamiliar to many technicians.
In this episode of the Training Impact Podcast, Corey Glassman of ASE shares the story behind the creation of a new industry standard for electrified vehicle safety and certification. For learning and development leaders, training managers, and operational stakeholders, the conversation offers far more than a technical discussion. It provides a blueprint for how industries can respond when emerging technology disrupts established training systems.
Corey’s career arc alone makes this conversation worth your time.
Corey Glassman began his career as a certified automotive technician. He served as an instructor at Denver Institute of Technology and in the Air Force for tactical air command. His early interest in education and technical clarity shaped the trajectory of his professional life.
One defining moment came when he purchased a Fluke diagnostic meter. Dissatisfied with the manual, he rewrote it from an automotive technician’s perspective and sent it back to the company. Fluke hired him. He then spent over 30 years helping design and refine diagnostic tools used globally.
What makes this relevant for training leaders is not just the career pivot. It is the mindset behind it. Corey recognized that tools designed from an engineering lens often miss the practical realities of the end user. He understood the importance of seeing training and documentation through the eyes of the technician.
That mindset ultimately positioned him to help ASE develop an entirely new safety standard for electrified vehicles.
ASE saw the trajectory early. Electrified vehicles were entering the mainstream. While hybrids had existed for years, fully electrified platforms introduced higher voltage and current levels than most service technicians had routinely encountered.
This was not theoretical. EVs were already appearing in service bays. Orange high-voltage cables were becoming visible under the hood. Battery systems capable of delivering hundreds or even thousands of volts were no longer confined to research labs.
The industry needed a common safety language.
Without it, training would fragment. OEMs might develop internal guidance. Independent shops might improvise. Schools might lag behind product releases. ASE recognized that if it did not define a unified framework, someone else would, and that someone might lack balanced expertise across both electronics and automotive service.
This is where learning leaders should pay attention.
When technology evolves faster than training infrastructure, the absence of structure creates risk.
Many technicians are comfortable working around 12-volt systems. Even 24-volt systems, such as those found in military vehicles, are manageable. The danger with electrified vehicles is not just voltage. It is the combination of voltage and current that creates energy capable of producing arc flash and arc blast incidents.
Arc flash can produce intense heat and light. Arc blast creates pressure and molten material. These events are common risks in electrical trades, but not traditionally in automotive service environments.
Then there is battery chemistry. Unlike many electrical systems that can be safely de-energized, lithium-ion battery packs inherently store energy. Damage or internal failure can trigger thermal runaway events that are extremely difficult to extinguish. In some cases, containment rather than suppression becomes the only practical response.
For dealer networks, this changes the risk profile of the entire facility.
It is not just the master technician who needs awareness. Service advisors moving vehicles, parts personnel receiving damaged shipments, and even overnight cleaning staff operating near electrified vehicles must understand safe boundaries.
Creating a new industry standard is not a simple document-writing exercise. Corey describes a process rooted in ideation and structured collaboration.
No idea is immediately judged right or wrong. Possibilities are analyzed and grouped. Input is gathered from OEM training developers, safety organizations such as NFPA and OSHA, and industry professionals actively working with the technology.
ASE did not write the standard in isolation. The industry wrote it collectively.
Workshops brought together experts from OEMs and independent shops. Feedback loops were built into the development process. Even after release, ASE continues to monitor exam data and field questions to refine the certification.
For L&D leaders, this offers a powerful lesson. Large-scale training initiatives succeed when they are built with practitioners, not for them.
This approach mirrors principles seen in structured training governance models such as the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap, where alignment between stakeholders, learner roles, and measurable outcomes ensures sustainability rather than one-time rollout.
One of the most practical insights from the episode is ASE’s decision to create tiered certification levels.
Level One addresses awareness. Individuals who may not directly repair electrified systems still need foundational understanding of hazards and safe procedures.
Level Two addresses technicians actively working on high-voltage systems. This includes system isolation, personal protective equipment requirements, and structured engagement protocols.
ASE intentionally stops short of certifying battery disassembly due to inherent chemical risk.
This tiered model reflects smart training design. Not every learner requires identical depth. But every learner requires clarity around expectations.
In distributed dealer networks, this aligns closely with role-based training architectures often discussed within dealer training environments. Structured role definition reduces variability and increases accountability.
Adoption at Scale
One of the more impressive outcomes is how quickly the certification reached parity with other established ASE categories.
Within a few years, electrified vehicle certification adoption aligned with long-standing certifications covering traditional automotive domains. Considering that becoming a master technician can take years of progressive certification, achieving early alignment signals strong industry acceptance.
For training leaders, this demonstrates the power of timing and clarity. ASE developed the standard concurrently with EV market introduction. They did not wait for widespread incidents to define safety boundaries.
This is proactive training governance in action.
Measuring Success Without Waiting for Failure
Jeff Walter raises an important question in the episode. How do you measure success for a safety standard?
In traditional training, you can assess knowledge before and after a learning intervention. With safety standards, success is often the absence of catastrophic events.
Corey notes that in electrical trades, arc flash incidents occur daily. In automotive service, widespread severe incidents related to EV high-voltage systems have not been observed at similar frequency.
The presence of guardrails appears to be influencing behavior.
For operational leaders, this reinforces an important truth. Well-designed training programs often prevent problems that never make headlines. The return on investment may be invisible, but it is real.
Lessons for Learning and Development Leaders
There are several takeaways from this conversation that apply beyond automotive service.
First, understand the learner’s lens. Corey’s background as a technician shaped how he approached standard development. He did not design from abstraction. He designed from lived experience.
Second, involve practitioners. ASE convened experts actively working with the technology. This built credibility and accelerated adoption.
Third, tier competencies. Not every role requires identical training depth, but every role requires clarity.
Fourth, move early. Waiting for incidents to define training priorities introduces unnecessary risk.
Finally, view certification as a floor, not a ceiling. Certification validates foundational competence. Mastery develops over time through continued practice and learning.
These principles are especially relevant in extended enterprise environments where training must scale across independently operated locations, a dynamic frequently explored within distributed training models.
If this conversation sparks strategic questions for your organization, the companion case study titled How ASE Led the Creation of a New Industry Standard for Electrified Vehicle Service provides a structured exploration of the initiative.
The case study examines training structure, learner segmentation, adoption challenges, and how ASE navigated large-scale industry collaboration. It connects these decisions to broader governance principles aligned with the Training Program Roadmap and lifecycle-based development models frequently used in franchise-structured environments.
Where the podcast offers narrative insight, the case study offers architectural analysis.
Together, they provide a comprehensive look at how structured training leadership can stabilize industries during technological transition.
Electrification is reshaping automotive service. ASE’s proactive development of an electrified vehicle safety standard demonstrates what responsible industry leadership looks like when risk profiles shift.
For L&D professionals and operational leaders, this episode is not just about EVs. It is about governance, collaboration, and disciplined training design.
When emerging technology enters your environment, the question is not whether you will respond. The question is whether you will respond with structure.
Corey Glassman’s story and ASE’s initiative provide a compelling example of how to do it right.
🎧 To explore the full conversation, listen to the Training Impact Podcast episode featuring Corey Glassman of ASE.
📄 Download the companion case study: How ASE Led the Creation of a New Industry Standard for Electrified Vehicle Service
🌐 Learn more about ASE on their website: https://ase.com/
