Anyone interested in working with today’s Class 8 vehicles is in the driver’s seat when it comes to obtaining a career as a truck technician or parts professional. Employment opportunities abound, especially for those who are properly trained in servicing electronics, frames, suspensions, collision damage and other skills beyond engine repairs.
Along with the well-publicized shortage of drivers, retirements and a paucity of younger people entering the field also are depleting the ranks of qualified truck repairers and parts counter people.
Although trucking OEMs are actively putting the pedal-to-the-metal in engineering autonomous 18-wheelers to start rolling freight on real-life highways, widespread adaptation is several years down the road. It’s likely that autonomous trucking will initially consist of convoys led by a specialized electronics-trained human driver behind the wheel of a front-running semi with a platoon of robotic big-rigs following behind.
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And the eventual arrival of fully self-driving tractor-trailers is expected to further drive demand for the repair segment because each unit will be logging more miles – a computer doesn’t need to take a break at a roadside rest stop.
There are many truck repair programs available throughout the country, but according to several industry experts, a potential technician or parts pro would be wise to choose courses that provide more than the typical instruction relating mainly to diesel engines.
“We do not consider the education programs adequate for our needs,” says Adam Pigeon, COO at Royal Truck and Trailer Sales in Dearborn, Mich., which has 22 full-service repair bays plus a busy parts department.
“It is very difficult to find both counter sales and outside parts sales representatives. Most of our counter staff started in our warehouses,” learning key details on-the-job and through supplier-offered instruction. “Our vendors are always willing to provide further training on their product lines,” says Pigeon.
“We bring our vendors onsite to train our technicians,” he adds. “We also internally train by putting our less experienced techs with more seasoned ones.”
A third-generation family business established in 1970 and carrying a million-dollar parts inventory, “We facilitate training between our vendors and customers depending on the requests of our customers,” says Pigeon. The company additionally hosts an annual training session for members of the Michigan Trucking Association Equipment and Maintenance Council, a program that attracts significant enrollment.
Pigeon emphasizes the necessity of more extensive and well-rounded training being made available. “It starts with the larger corporations putting together programs with local schools and then offering them internships.”
More awareness needed
Among Royal’s loyal parts-purchasing customer base is Michigan’s Truck Collision Services (TCS), a pair of full-service crash and mechanical repair shops owned by Ray and Kris Chatfield with locations in Lansing and Gaylord.
“There’s a lot of need for awareness,” says Ray Chatfield in discussing a dearth of suitable educational programs for students entering the field. “The problem is that they offer mechanical skills for diesel engines but not collision or frame and suspension skills,” resulting in a slow-go as the learning curve is largely dependent upon on-the-job experience.
And unlike automakers that facilitate precise repair data and procedures for cars and light trucks, such guidance from large-truck OEMs is frustratingly scant, according to Chatfield.
“You have to figure things out by trial-and-error. My guys pay really close attention when they’re pulling things apart,” he says.
In June Volvo Trucks North America introduced a “ready to bolt-on and roll” Genuine Painted Parts Program that delivers within 48 hours a line of more than three dozen components such as hoods and bumpers.
“Our customers have asked for a solution to reduce their time in the shop as a result of body repairs,” says product manager Michael Leipold. “With this program, our dealers can stock or express-order custom-painted pieces for their fleet customers. In some cases, repairs can literally begin on those vehicles as soon as the truck rolls into the shop. That can mean the truck is on the road days earlier than was previously possible.
“We listened closely to our dealers and customers when developing our catalog of offerings,” adds Leipold. “Whether it’s replacing a single piece of the bumper or a complete cab, we believe these factory quality parts can save fleets time and money.”
Educational partnerships
Chatfield reports that at TCS “we rely on 3M for repair procedures and training, plus we use I-CAR procedures in the repair process. Our techs buy into training knowing that there are no (OEM-specified) repair processes in HD trucking. This sets us apart by sending our techs to training and showing how much we appreciate their everyday ‘get it done’ attitude.
“I have some older fellows and I have a guy who’s really been around the block, so he knows how to fix things,” he says. “Most of my guys are ASE certified, and some of my guys and myself have been to ‘Freightliner school.’”
“We provide a suite of web-based and instructor-led training courses to our network and customer technicians,” says Nicholas Smith, a spokesman for Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), which produces several Class 6-8 trucking nameplates, including Freightliner, along with providing training.
Offering a curriculum divided into vehicle (Freightliner/Western Star) and engine (Detroit) courses, the instructor-led sessions are taught by DTNA corporate teachers joined by a network of 80 dealer/distributor trainers who are certified to conduct courses at their respective locations. There are four regional corporate sites, and mobile training units are dispatched for onsite instruction at fleets and other entities.
“The training is somewhat mechanical, but focuses even more so on electrical and electronic systems,” Smith explains. “The courses start with fundamentals and progress to complex diagnostics using our software tools. Presently we do not offer OEM collision repair training.”
In a partnership with Universal Technical Institute labeled “Finish First” in Arizona and Illinois, a 12-week DTNA-specific curriculum is comprised of 17 certified classes.
“Two years ago we also launched a tech school partnership program called ‘Get Ahead’ through which tech school students and instructors get access to online DTNA technician training,” says Smith, reflecting on the issues surrounding the personnel shortage.
“One factor is the shift in the collective mentality toward four-year degrees being the educational baseline, and the related dismantling of auto/diesel shop programs in middle and high schools. Another driver is the rapid propagation of technology in trucking – we now need to recruit not only mechanically inclined students, but also those capable of utilizing computers to diagnose complex problems,” he points out.
“We as an industry have not acted swiftly or decisively enough in communicating these advancements in our industry to students and their influencers; the broader public still regards the technician career as a dirty dead-end and steers their kids away from it,” says Smith.
“The industry has to come together in a concentrated effort to advertise to students and influencers today’s technician career as a feasible alternative to pricy four-year degrees, as well as lobby state education and government to re-introduce hands-on education starting with middle school,” he asserts. “OEMs and employers also need to help bring existing tech schools into the present through investments in instructor education and support as well as modern vehicles and training aids.”
Upgrading ergonomics
“From an economic perspective, the industry will need to attract more entrants, and thus will need to be more competitive with alternative choices that prospects might consider,” says Egan Hernandez, director of marketing and communications at Industrial Parts Depot (IPD) in Torrance, Calif. “A healthy and affordable technical training school system is important to develop trained and qualified technicians.”
OEMs and the trucking aftermarket have a role to play in filling the void of recruiting enough big-rig operators, according to Hernandez, especially regarding enhancements to the driving experience itself.
“Ergonomic upgrades can help with the working stress-related issues. UV protective windows can help protect against skin cancer risks, and around-truck camera viewing upgrades help drivers to better know and react to their environment,” he says. Ergonomically designed truck seats can assist in alleviating the discomfort of extended seating periods.
Referring to the constant cabin-comfort and safety developments being implemented in cars, Hernandez notes that “it is up to the trucking industry manufacturers to head down this same path, not only from an OSHA occupational hazard viewpoint, but also to attract more drivers into the industry and improve their working environment.”
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