Truck Technician Shortages and Certified Maintenance Professionals
Many folks know that there is a shortage of auto mechanics, because they have to wait to get their cars worked on. Everyone who works in the Auto Industry knows all too well the problems this is causing. But it is not just in Auto Maintenance, as there are shortages in Aviation, Heavy Equipment and Truck Maintenance too.
On the truck side of the equation there are some serious issues to consider and one is the challenge to meet the demand of having trained technicians for all these new vehicles, which include Hybrid Trucks and even the coming Fuel Cell semi-trucks.
Technicians will need to get certified on the new equipment and yet most shops really cannot afford to send the technicians to more specialty schools. Not the cost, the problem is they need them in the shop working on customer's equipment and the shortage of qualified truck mechanics is intense and getting worse. It will continue to be a challenge and get worse as time goes on.
It appears the labor shortage crisis is all around in the Trucking Industry and the shortage of drivers is only the half of it. Due to the shortage of qualified, certified and trained Truck Mechanics and Technicians and the growing complexity of the equipment itself, thus the number of training hours to certify a master truck mechanic, the way in which trucks are repaired and maintained will have to change.
Thus we can expect in the future Holographic Manuals which overlay next to the piece of equipment being worked on and walk the mechanic through the procedures step-by-step.
We can also expect Artificial Intelligent Assistants to talk the mechanic through his work and interpret the operation and procedures for the task at hand. Right now Carnegie Mellon is working on such systems to do just that. Indeed when this technology finally gets here it will not be a moment too soon.
Of course the T-5 Group (The Truck Think Tank Team) is also considering other High-Tech Futures in order to deal with the labor shortage of technicians such as easier diagnostics through the use of special materials. Such as Valve Covers of Nano Tubes for faster inspections and trouble shooting.
