This is Part 4 of a 5-part series on the trucking tech shortage and the strategies to combat it. Read Part 1 on the overall issue here. Read Part 2 on youth outreach here. Read Part 3 on recruiting women here.
George Arrants, ASE Education Foundation vice president, said one silver bullet won’t solve the maintenance technician shortage in the trucking industry, but what about firing off several high-tech solutions? They may not all hit, but these tools should at least make a dent.
Virtual welder
Lincoln Electric created the VRTEX 360 virtual reality arc welding simulator to introduce potential welders to the trade and train students in a safe setting without expending fuel or materials. The welding mask overlays a digital arc on the torch and simulates a real weld on the training coupon. Scores are based on speed and accuracy and collect data on travel and work angles. Instructors can track progress on each student without looking over their shoulder, while the student builds muscle memory for the perfect seam.
Be Pro Be Proud, a workforce initiative organization set up by the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, has the smaller version, the VRTEX Engage, as well as the comparable Miller Electric AugmentedArc, aboard its mobile training center, a 2020 Freightliner Cascadia.
Augmented Reality headsets
The Be Pro Be Proud truck, which will be at the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council conference in Atlanta, also has a HoloLens aboard to walk users through an engine inspection.
“It takes you through the step-by-step process of actually inspecting an engine and putting it together or taking pieces away that aren’t necessary,” said Trey Lamberth, director of communications for Be Pro Be Proud.
It can also simulate the inspection and assembly of a Class 8 air disc brake.
Gamification
Look for gamification—attaching rewards based on performance—to become a big training trend in the 2020s. The reward needn’t be tangible; holding the top score and bragging rights does just fine.
Pike Electric, a Be Pro Be Proud sponsor, developed a simulation where the user dons an HTC Vive VR visor and assumes the job of operating a line truck’s boom, trying to capture the virtual coins (like Mario would if he chose the electrician trade over plumbing) as the bucket rises to the relay. Then they walk through working on an energized power line.
“That gamification element makes it sticky,” said TMC general chairman and treasurer Kenneth Calhoun, who is also the fleet optimization manager for Altec Service Group, another of the demo’s sponsors. “The student remembers for a very long time, and I think it’s something that has the potential to influence the decisions they’re making further down the line.”
TMC has worked with Design Interactive to develop a gamified app called AUGMENTOR to help train SuperTech competitors on their smartphone or tablet.
“You are rewarded once to achieve sub goals and are incented to continue,” said Matt Johnston, division head of commercial solutions at Design Interactive. “Take those as the basic building blocks and add that it is fun, in some cases even addictive, student engagement increases. Any trainer would tell you that engagement is extremely important to a student’s success.”
