{"id":12427,"date":"2021-09-26T10:17:53","date_gmt":"2021-09-26T08:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=12427"},"modified":"2021-09-26T10:17:53","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T08:17:53","slug":"truck-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2021\/09\/26\/truck-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Truck tech shortage a question of quality, not quantity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone knew the truck tech shortage was coming, so why hasn\u2019t the issue been fixed? Maybe because we have misidentified the culprit.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series on the trucking tech shortage and the strategies to combat it.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

In case you haven\u2019t heard, there\u2019s a serious problem in the trucking industry: a shortage of maintenance technicians, an issue that jeopardizes fleet availability and perhaps, our very economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so you probably have heard this before. A lot. There\u2019s a popular sentiment that when all the expert mechanics retire and these kids nowadays with their smartphones and participation awards take over, we\u2019re all doomed. It\u2019s the same stale narrative that\u2019s been bandied about for the better part of the 21st century, not just in trucking but in all skilled trades. It\u2019s also one in desperate need of a fresh approach and concerted effort to understand the root causes, so the truck technician shortage can finally get resolved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Albert Einstein\u2019s definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. That seems to be the case here.<\/span><\/p>\n

A search of FleetOwner.com<\/a> archives reveals this impending crisis dates as far back as February 2001, as an article noted Chevron addressing the \u201ctech shortage already affecting many fleets\u201d <\/a>by starting a \u201cdiesel technician of the month program\u201d to \u201cenhance the professional image of this key occupation in trucking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another from 2004 quoted Chuck Roberts,\u00a0 former executive director of\u00a0 the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), saying: \u201cTruck mechanics represent an aging workforce and we\u2019re not attracting anywhere near the same number of new hires to replace the ones that will retire\u201d and that maintaining and repairing trucks is perceived as \u201ctough, greasy, dirty work,\u201d even though it\u2019s way more computer-based and sophisticated than it was \u201c10 or 15 years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated<\/a> that by 2022, trucking will need to fill 67,000 technician jobs busted open by the \u201csilver tsunami,\u201d or the gradual retirement of baby boomers, as well as pick up another 75,000 diesel techs to address market growth. Because of the flourishing economy, there were a record number of commercial trucks and buses sold from 2018 to 2019 in the U.S. and Canada, which Navistar estimated at around 864,000 units. That\u2019s a 28% increase from 2015-2016. And they are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be and will need able techs to ensure they stay roadworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

So for 20 years, people have been talking about the problem, but without enough action. It\u2019s adorned the home\u00adpage of every trucking trade website, filled every think tank industry report, and orbited every consultant blogosphere. Everyone knew this was coming, so why hasn\u2019t the issue been fixed?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe because we have misidentified the culprit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a technician shortage; we have a shortage of qualified applicants,\u201d contended George Arrants, vice president of the ASE Education Foundation, to FleetOwner<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

He indicted both the schools and industry, saying they don\u2019t properly communicate their needs to each other, leading to a major disconnect. He also pointed to disappointing retention numbers: an ASE survey found 42% leave the trucking field in the first two years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a pipeline. There are just too many leaks in the pipe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to fix the leaks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrants said this at the start of the new decade, within days of starting his role at the nonprofit, which evaluates and accredits the U.S.-based training programs, along with testing and certifying the potential truck and automotive technicians. He gave up his consulting business, which\u00a0 specializes in helping high school and college programs get accredited, to take a more active role in solving the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

His first action is to poke holes in the notion that the problem is merely unclear branding or lack of warm bodies. Like modern trucks, it\u2019s way more complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shortage cause<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

If there is a leak, it\u2019s best to trace the pipeline back to the source. That would be the education system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is sometimes what education is teaching isn\u2019t what industry needs,\u201d Arrants explained. He gave the example of a school spending $70,000 on a new engine training aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the same amount of money, they could have bought two whole trucks and had access to all the systems of the truck,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

This would allow the students to get hands-on experience with more common equipment serviced by entry-level techs, such as brakes, electrical systems, and trailer components. Once they complete their coursework and start a job, those are the areas they will work on. After sharpening those everyday skills and learning those systems, Arrants argues, then the fleet or shop can teach them how to handle heavy engine work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a fleet in this country that\u2019s going to put a 19-year-old on a $60,000 engine; it ain\u2019t happening in my lifetime,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another problem is the \u201cmuseum-quality equipment\u201d many schools are using, said Kenneth Calhoun, American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council<\/a>general chairman and treasurer. The 30-year-industry veteran said he has far too often witnessed instructors \u201cteaching people how to overhaul engines that don\u2019t exist anymore, and systems that have evolved significantly along the way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun, whose primary job is fleet optimization manager for Altec Service Group<\/a>, pointed to significant EPA standard changes from 1998 to 2013 to curb emissions that drove this complexity. For the last decade, trucks have also added more sophisticated electrical systems, cameras, and sensors for collision avoidance and system monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where Arrants said students are most lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that\u2019s killing us right now in the schools is electrical,\u201d he stressed. \u201cInstructors aren\u2019t good at it. So, clearly, the students aren\u2019t good at it. And then they get out in industry and nobody\u2019s good at it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent data from SuperTech, TMC\u2019s national skills competition for technicians, reflects the underwhelming knowledge level, with Arrants calling the general performance \u201cborderline horrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He said professionals still often score in the low 30s at the 16-year-old competition, and in the last two years, 30 contestants scored a zero.<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun relayed budgetary concerns as a reason for the antiquated systems. Arrants, meanwhile, said techs use pricey multimeters with limited sampling rates when a lab scope costs a third less and much better to meet the diagnostic demands of modern electrical systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with training on old or unnecessary equipment, students aren\u2019t learning what modern shops need in a new hire.<\/span><\/p>\n

OEMs have engineered these complex systems to last more than 1 million miles, so the emphasis needs to be on preventative maintenance, both Arrants and Calhoun said. WyoTech<\/a>, from where Arrants\u2019 son recently graduated, does offer such coursework, while others he has visited don\u2019t stress PM enough and are also unfamiliar with CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) scores. Instructors \u201chave never heard the term \u2018out of service\u2019 and the criteria associated with bringing the vehicle back into service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the issue arises in the school systems, Arrants said it\u2019s because fleets, dealerships, and shops in those communities are not acting as proper stewards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any accredited school is required to have an industry advisory council to guide them on the current needs of the fleet. If industry representatives use the meeting time as only an excuse for a good meal, a little talk, and no follow-through, as Calhoun alleged is often the case, the students never stand a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither will shops and fleets expecting a competent influx of skilled labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not necessarily blaming education as I am industry, because industry comes to all these meetings, and they\u2019re looking for the silver bullet solution that doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d Arrants said, referring to conclaves such as the upcoming TMC meeting at the end of February. \u201cWe have a national concern with a local solution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He urged trucking to \u201cget involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun concurred.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a systemic problem that we\u2019ve basically created for ourselves, and right now it has just about every industry you can think of in difficult shape,\u201d he said. \u201cWe basically have allowed our secondary educational system to atrophy and idle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Every skilled trade, from welders to electricians to machinists, is facing some hiring crisis. Deloitte predicted that by 2028, manufacturing will have a deficit of 2.4 million workers and risk up to $2.5 trillion in lost productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

This puts the onus on trucking to ensure its prospective students and new technicians understand what the job entails at the onset, which isn\u2019t always attractive, and where it can lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe sometimes get the mentality of being in panic mode where we got these positions in these jobs we need to fill, when maybe we should be talking about the careers,\u201d Calhoun said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He explained that there are technicians who don\u2019t look like they just emerged from an oil spill, who instead work on the high-tech electronics and use deductive reasoning to assess fault codes\u2014the challenging jobs that would attract the best and brightest, but admitted, \u201cWe\u2019ve been searching for a while on how to say that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The industry has known about the problem for decades, and now, as the last baby boomers inch closer toward retirement, luring the next generation into the trucking industry has never been more dire, the competition never\u00a0 fiercer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to go find work somewhere else,\u201d Arrants warned. \u201cAnd we\u2019re losing a lot of them to other industries, advanced manufacturing, wind generation and other businesses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is who will plug the leak?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting for someone to come up with something that\u2019s going to revolutionize everything and make the changes that we need to address all of our issues,\u201d Calhoun said. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to happen.\u00a0 What has to happen is for the individuals that genuinely care about it to understand that they have the ability to have an impact and make a difference.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

By John Hitch<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.fleetmaintenance.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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KNOW WHO WE ARE<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone knew the truck tech shortage was coming, so why hasn\u2019t the issue been fixed? Maybe because we have misidentified the culprit. This is Part 1 of a 5-part series on the trucking tech shortage and the strategies to combat it. In case you haven\u2019t heard, there\u2019s a serious problem in the trucking industry: a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12427"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12429,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427\/revisions\/12429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}